AMMAN — The
US Senate is working on a bill that halts the
provision of benefits to UNRWA and the descendants of Palestinian refugees,
according to news sources.
اضافة اعلان
On Wednesday, US Senator Jim Risch, a member of the Senate
Foreign Relations Committee, led 13 colleagues in reintroducing the bill,
tilted the “United
Nations Relief and Works Agency Accountability and Transparency Act”.
The
text of the bill states that its aim is “to withhold
United States contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)”.
Under the bill, descendants of
Palestinian refugees would no
longer be considered refugees. The bill reads that “derivative refugee status
may only be extended to the spouse or a minor child of a Palestinian refugee”.
Ending UNRWA contributionsThe bill stipulates that the US must halt any contributions
to
UNRWA or related entities unless and until the US Secretary of State submits
a written certification to the effect that: “no official, employee, consultant,
contractor, subcontractor, representative, affiliate of UNRWA” or other partner
organization “has propagated or disseminated anti-American, anti-Israel, or
anti-Semitic rhetoric, incitement, or propaganda”.
The bill reads that “derivative refugee status may only be extended to the spouse or a minor child of a Palestinian refugee”.
The bill includes within this categorization of incitement
and propaganda “advocating, endorsing, or expressing support for violence,
hatred, jihad, martyrdom, or terrorism, glorifying, honoring, or otherwise
memorializing any person or group that has advocated, sponsored, or committed
acts of terrorism, or providing material support to terrorists or their families,”
with
Included on the US
list of Designated Foreign Terrorist
Organizations are the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), the
Palestine Liberation Front (PLF), and Hamas, according to the
US Department of State’s official website.
No advocacy for ‘right of return’The text also describes any descriptions of “Israelis as
‘occupiers’ or ‘settlers’” as propaganda.
Furthermore, it includes within the category of incitement
“expressing support for boycott of, divestment from, and sanctions against
Israel (commonly referred to as ‘BDS’)” and “claiming or advocating for a
‘right of return’ of refugees into Israel”, as well as “ignoring, denying, or
not recognizing the historic connection of the
Jewish people to the land of
Israel”.
The text also describes any descriptions of “Israelis as ‘occupiers’ or ‘settlers’” as propaganda.
The bill also stipulates that the Secretary of State “shall
submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees describing the
actions being taken to implement a comprehensive plan for… urging other
countries to withhold their contributions to UNRWA, to any successor or related
entity".
BackgroundRisch first introduced the act in July 2022, with the
support of 12 colleagues.
While reintroducing it on Wednesday, he said: “UNRWA has a
long history of employing people connected to terrorist movements like
Hamas,
promoting anti-Semitic textbooks, and using its schools to store Hamas weapons.”
“It is unthinkable that US taxpayer dollars would be used to
help fund such an organization.”
The
Trump Administration had halted US funding to UNRWA in
2018. Then, the Biden Administration resumed funding and has thus far provided
more than $682 million to UNRWA.
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