US denounces UNRWA as a ‘subsidiary of Hamas’

American envoy condemns continued international funding for UNRWA, citing the UN agency’s extensive ties to Islamic terror groups.

By World Israel News Staff

A senior US diplomat urged countries to stop funding UNRWA, accusing the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees of having become a “subsidiary of Hamas” during a United Nations pledging conference convened to address a major funding shortfall.

Jeff Bartos, the US representative for UN management and reform, delivered the criticism Tuesday at the annual General Assembly meeting for voluntary contributions to UNRWA, sharply opposing appeals from UN officials who said the agency is nearing a breaking point.

“Another annual pledging conference for UNRWA. Same speeches,” Bartos said, according to remarks published by the US Mission to the UN. “Same condemnation of Israel. Same failures to condemn Hamas.”

Bartos called on member states to end their support for the agency’s operations in Gaza, saying donors had repeatedly funded UNRWA while expecting a different outcome.

“Year after year, you choose to fund UNRWA in Gaza, hoping for — and perhaps even expecting — a different result,” he said. “It is time — it is well past time — to break this cycle.”

He noted extensive documentation of UNRWA schools in Gaza teaching hatred of Jews and glorifying terrorism, and said countries had a choice “to stop underwriting an organization that has become a subsidiary of Hamas.”

UNRWA and the UN have downplayed the agency’s ties to Hamas and other terror groups, while acknowledging that some staff members were likely involved in the Hamas-led October 7, 2023, attack on Israel. The UN has said nine UNRWA employees suspected of having participated in the attack were dismissed.

The conference came as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for urgent funding to close a $100 million gap. Guterres warned UNRWA was nearing a “breaking point” after deep austerity measures and restrictions on its work.

“They cannot keep going like this without urgent backing and financial support from member states,” Guterres said.

UNRWA acting commissioner-general Christian Saunders also warned that the agency’s financial position was unsustainable, saying the viability of its operations was at stake.

“UNRWA’s financial situation is untenable and the viability of our operations across the region is at stake,” Saunders said at the pledging conference, according to Arab News.

Saunders said UNRWA had implemented $175 million in austerity and cost-control measures in 2025, including reduced service hours, salary cuts for many Palestinian staff members and vacant international posts. He said the measures “are not sustainable in the long term and cannot continue indefinitely.”

At the close of the conference, Saunders said the amount of additional funding pledged was “a little disappointing,” given the agency’s $100 million shortfall.

The controversy over UNRWA intensified after Israel alleged in January 2024 that about a dozen agency employees took part in the October 7 massacre. The allegations led the United States and several other major donors to suspend funding.

Most countries later resumed support, but the US has continued to block funding to the agency.

Bartos urged donors to shift money away from UNRWA and toward a US-backed “Board of Peace,” arguing that Palestinians should be moved away from “endless cycles of dependency and forever refugeehood.”