Dem lawmakers push bill to restore funding to U.N. agency with alleged ties to Hamas

"A group of Democratic lawmakers is calling for the U.S. to restore funding to a controversial United Nations agency that supports much-needed humanitarian aid to Palestinian refugees but faced accusations that some of its employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks on Israel.

Speaking at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol on Thursday afternoon, Democratic Reps. André Carson of Indiana, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Jan Schakowsky of Illinois, among others, said passing H.R. 9649, or the UNRWA Funding Emergency Restoration Act, was crucial for helping Gazans...

H.R. 9649 has 65 co-sponsors and support from more than 100 human rights organizations. But not everyone is supportive of restoring funding.

Anne Bayefsky, Director of the Touro Institute on Human Rights and the Holocaust and President of Human Rights Voices, said lawmakers’ support of H.R. 9649 whitewashes the UNRWA’s alleged ‘connections to terrorism’ and sends ‘the wrong message to Israel and America’s enemies at the wrong time.’

‘Let’s get the facts straight: UNRWA employees directly participated in October 7 atrocities; 10% of UNRWA employees are reported to have ties to multiple Palestinian terror organizations; a significant percentage of UNRWA’s senior education leadership are members of Hamas or Palestinian Islamic Jihad,’ Bayefsky said in a statement to Fox News Digital.

Bayefsky also noted that ‘UNRWA facilities — including schools — have been used as Hamas command and control centers and weapons depots [and] UNRWA's Gaza headquarters powered a Hamas data center directly beneath it.’

Bayefsky slammed the UNRWA for not having taken, in her view, ‘serious steps towards accountability or prevention… while at the same time demanding more funding.’

‘This is not a small drop in a fictional ocean of humanitarianism,’ Bayefsky said. ‘UNRWA’s ties to Palestinian terrorism emanate from raising a generation of Palestinian Arabs on the hatred of Jews in its schools, upending the meaning of a ‘refugee’ to serve as a vehicle to eviscerate the Jewish state. And spreading slanderous lies guaranteed to undermine peaceful coexistence between Palestinians and Israelis to the detriment of all.’"