Cruz: U.S. Should Cut UN Agency Funding Due to Terrorist Connections

U.S. Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), and 23 colleagues sent a letter to President Trump requesting that his administration work with the United Nations (UN) to dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). The USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) has identified multiple UNRWA employees who participated in the October 7 terrorist attack, as well as 14 others affiliated with Hamas. The OIG is currently expanding its investigation.

“We strongly support your administration’s efforts to preserve Israel’s long-term security and ensure that Gaza has a future free of Hamas’s terrorist influence,” the letter said in an excerpt. “Your strong leadership has been instrumental in advancing a comprehensive 20-point peace plan that demands Hamas disarm and play no role in Gaza governance. Achieving stability in Gaza requires ridding Gaza of the military, social, and political infrastructure that fed Hamas’s power. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is one such structure that must be dismantled, not just in Gaza but across the region.

“Israel found that at least twelve UNRWA employees participated in the Hamas-led October 7 attacks, and that roughly ten percent of the agency’s employees in Gaza have ties to terrorist groups. Recently, a USAID Office of Inspector General (OIG) investigation identified three additional UNRWA employees who participated in the attacks as well as 14 others affiliated with Hamas. The USAID OIG is expanding its probe to examine more than 100 UNRWA employees for potential ties to Hamas and involvement in the attacks.

“We strongly urge your administration to take decisive action to fully dismantle UNRWA and eliminate it from the UN budget. Any aid organization in Gaza or otherwise must be demonstrably free of ties to terrorism and committed to transparency, accountability, and peace. We must ensure this failed system doesn’t continue reinforcing the conditions that have fueled terrorism for generations. The time to act is now.

“Thank you for your attention to this matter. We stand prepared to assist.”