UNRWA could face terror sanctions from the US

The Trump administration is reportedly considering imposing terror-related sanctions on the UN agency charged with providing relief to Palestinians over UNRWA’s ties to Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza.

By World Israel News Staff

The Trump administration is mulling imposing terrorism-related sanctions on the United Nations relief agency charged with providing aid to Palestinians over the agency’s links to Hamas and other Gaza terror groups, Reuters reported Wednesday.

Citing two officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, the report said that US officials are holding deliberations on possible terror sanctions that could be imposed on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, following revelations regarding the agency’s ties to Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, including the use of UNRWA facilities to house Israeli captives after October 7, 2023.

The list of possible steps that Trump administration officials are considering against UNRWA includes blacklisting the agency as a foreign terrorist organization.

While no final decision has been reached, a State Department spokesperson responded to the report by confirming that sanctions may be imposed on UNRWA.

“Everything is on the table. No final decisions have yet been made,” the official said, while calling UNRWA a “corrupt organization with a proven track record of aiding and abetting terrorists.”

There has been some pushback from within the State Department, however, with multiple career officials reportedly advising against blacklisting UNRWA.

The United Nations has downplayed the agency’s ties to terrorism, acknowledging the possible ties of just nine former staffers to the Hamas invasion of Israel in 2023, while denying accusations of broader links between Gaza terror groups and UNRWA.

UNRWA’s Washington office chief, William Deere, said the agency would be “disappointed” if it were to find that the Trump administration is in fact considering adding UNRWA to the terrorist blacklist.