II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 5388 

To restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for 

Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 21, 2024 

Mr. WELCH (for himself, Mr. SANDERS, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. KLOBUCHAR, 

and Ms. HIRONO) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 

referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To restore funding for the United Nations Relief and Works 

Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘UNRWA Funding 

5 Emergency Restoration Act of 2024’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) The humanitarian crisis in Gaza has 

9 reached a catastrophic emergency level, with at least 

10 2,000,000 Palestinian civilians suffering daily due to 


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1 a lack of access to basic necessities of life caused by 

2 the escalating conflict. 

3 (2) In October 2024, the Integrated Food Secu4 rity Phase Classification’s Famine Review Com5 mittee concluded— 

6 (A) the entire Gaza Strip is in IPC Phase 

7 4 (Emergency) acute food insecurity; and 

8 (B) there is a risk of famine for the entire 

9 Gaza Strip between November 2024 and April 

10 2025. 

11 (3) Since 1949, the United Nations Relief and 

12 Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near 

13 East (referred to in this Act as ‘‘UNRWA’’) has 

14 played a vital and central role in providing shelter, 

15 education, healthcare, and financial assistance to 

16 millions of Palestinians living in vulnerable refugee 

17 communities in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Leb18 anon, and Jordan. 

19 (4) UNRWA’s aid operations are essential to 

20 meeting the humanitarian needs of Palestinian civil21 ians living in Gaza and elsewhere. 

22 (5) Following allegations of direct involvement 

23 by fewer than 20 UNRWA employees in the dev24 astating terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023, 

25 UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini acted 


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1 swiftly and decisively, fully cooperating with Israeli 

2 authorities, publicly disclosing the allegations, and 

3 immediately terminating all the employees who may 

4 have been involved. These fewer than 20 employees 

5 represent a small percentage of the approximately 

6 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza and UNRWA’s 

7 total workforce of approximately 30,000. 

8 (6) United Nations Secretary-General Anto ́nio 

9 Guterres took additional action, including— 

10 (A) launching an investigation into the al11 legations by the United Nation’s highest over12 sight body, the Office of Internal Oversight 

13 Services; and 

14 (B) creating an Independent Review 

15 Group, led by former French Foreign Minister 

16 Catherine Colonna, to assess whether UNRWA 

17 is doing everything within its power to ensure 

18 neutrality and respond to allegations of serious 

19 neutrality breaches. 

20 (7) In April 2024, the Independent Review 

21 Group— 

22 (A) concluded that UNRWA— 

23 (i) has established a significant num24 ber of mechanisms and procedures to en25 sure compliance with humanitarian prinVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:05 Dec 05, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S5388.IS S5388

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1 ciples with an emphasis on the principle of 

2 neutrality; 

3 (ii) already possesses a more devel4 oped approach to neutrality than other 

5 similar United Nations entities or non6 governmental organizations; and 

7 (iii) recommended additional steps to 

8 strengthen neutrality policies, all of which 

9 UNRWA immediately agreed to fully im10 plement. 

11 (8) UNRWA has implemented a High-Level Ac12 tion Plan to implement the Independent Review 

13 Group’s recommendations. As of September 2024— 

14 (A) 2 recommendations have been fully im15 plemented; 

16 (B) 17 recommendations are in progress; 

17 and 

18 (C) the timeline for implementing the re19 maining recommendations is outlined in 

20 UNRWA’s related High-Level Action Plan, 

21 which articulates specific actions and resource 

22 requirements. 

23 (9) On October 28, 2024, Department of State 

24 spokesperson Matthew Miller declared— 


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1 (A) UNRWA plays ‘‘an irreplaceable role 

2 right now in Gaza, where they are on the front 

3 lines getting humanitarian assistance to the 

4 people that need it. There’s nobody that can re5 place them right now in the middle of the cri6 sis.’’; and 

7 (B) UNRWA plays ‘‘an important role 

8 providing services to Palestinians in the West 

9 Bank and throughout the region as well.’’. 

10 (10) On November 12, 2024, Ambassador 

11 Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the United States Perma12 nent Representative to the United Nations, con13 firmed, ‘‘UNRWA’s role has been vital as the front14 line of this humanitarian response. The Agency fa15 cilitates approximately 80 percent of humanitarian 

16 aid in Gaza.’’. 

17 (11) Following the decisive actions taken by the 

18 United Nations and the commitments made by 

19 UNRWA toward additional reforms, major member20 state supports of UNRWA, including the European 

21 Union, the United Kingdom, Germany, Sweden, 

22 Japan, France, Switzerland, Canada, The Nether23 lands, Australia, Italy, Austria, Finland, Iceland, 

24 Romania, and Estonia have resumed their funding 

25 to UNRWA. 


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1 (12) Ireland, Portugal, Spain, and Belgium 

2 have since provided resources to UNRWA beyond 

3 their original commitments. 

4 (13) The United States, which has historically 

5 been the largest funder of UNRWA, plays a pivotal 

6 role in supporting UNRWA’s critical mission. 

7 (14) Properly vetted funding for UNRWA re8 mains in the comprehensive strategic interests of the 

9 United States and its allies. 

10 (15) In an October 13, 2024 letter to the State 

11 of Israel Minister of Defense, Yoav Gallant, and the 

12 State of Israel Minister of Strategic Affairs, Ron 

13 Dermer, Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Sec14 retary of Defense Lloyd Austin warned that 2 draft 

15 bills being considered by the Knessett ‘‘would dev16 astate the Gaza humanitarian response’’ and ‘‘could 

17 have implications under relevant U.S. law and pol18 icy’’. 

19 (16) On October 19, 2024, Ambassador Linda 

20 Thomas-Greenfield, the United States Permanent 

21 Representative to the United Nations, expressed 

22 concerns about these 2 draft bills at the United Na23 tions Security Council Briefing on the Middle East, 

24 and stated ‘‘there is no alternative to UNRWA when 


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1 it comes to delivering food and other life-saving aid 

2 in Gaza’’. 

3 (17) On October 28, 2024, the Israel Knesset 

4 approved these 2 bills, which bar UNRWA from op5 erating in Israel and will drastically curtail UNRWA 

6 operations in the West Bank and Gaza. 

7 (18) On November 1, 2024, the world’s leading 

8 humanitarian coordination forum, known as the 

9 Inter-Agency Standing Committee, declared that im10 plementation of the Knesset legislation ‘‘would be a 

11 catastrophe for the humanitarian response in Gaza, 

12 diametrically opposed to the United Nations Char13 ter, with potential dire impacts on the human rights 

14 of the millions of Palestinians depending on 

15 UNRWA’s assistance . . . there is no alternative to 

16 UNRWA.’’. 

17 (19) If UNRWA cannot operate in the occupied 

18 Palestinian territory, the responsibility for providing 

19 services to Palestinians, and for bearing the cost of 

20 these services, will lie not with the United Nations, 

21 but with Israel. 

22 SEC. 3. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

23 Congress— 


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1 (1) recognizes that preventing further erosion 

2 of civilian conditions in Gaza remains in the stra3 tegic and moral interests of the United States; 

4 (2) supports UNRWA’s unique and indispen5 sable contribution to immediately addressing urgent 

6 humanitarian needs in Gaza, especially in mitigating 

7 and stopping the spread of famine and disease; 

8 (3) reaffirms the imperative of UNRWA’s con9 tinued provision of humanitarian and human devel10 opment services to Palestinian refugees in all its cur11 rent fields of operation, including Jordan, Lebanon, 

12 Syria, Gaza, and the West Bank (including East Je13 rusalem); 

14 (4) urges the Government of Israel to assist 

15 UNRWA in its neutrality efforts by providing 

16 names, information, and evidence UNRWA can use 

17 to aggressively pursue allegations related to staff 

18 violations of UNRWA’s neutrality policies; 

19 (5) urges the President— 

20 (A) to join United States allies in restoring 

21 funding to UNRWA in response to the respon22 sible actions taken by the United Nations and 

23 the commitments made by UNRWA toward ad24 ditional accountability and transparency; and 


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1 (B) to ensure continued funding to 

2 UNRWA is assessed based on UNRWA’s ongo3 ing execution of the recommendations of the 

4 Independent Review Group, led by Catherine 

5 Colonna; 

6 (6) recognizes the implementation of some of 

7 the Independent Review Group’s recommendations 

8 will require United Nations member state coopera9 tion, including additional funding; 

10 (7) urges the United States and Israel to assist 

11 UNRWA in its implementation efforts of the Inde12 pendent Review Group’s recommendations; and 

13 (8) supports appropriating critical funds to 

14 UNRWA for fiscal year 2025 and beyond. 

15 SEC. 4. RESTORATION OF FUNDING FOR UNRWA. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date of the en17 actment of this Act— 

18 (1) title III of division G of the Further Con19 solidated Appropriations Act, 2024 (Public Law 

20 118–47) is hereby repealed; 

21 (2) section 308 of the Israel Security Supple22 mental Appropriations Act, 2024 (division A of Pub23 lic Law 118–50) is hereby repealed; and 

24 (3) notwithstanding any other provision of law, 

25 the Secretary of State shall, as soon as practicable— 


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1 (A) rescind the temporary pause in fund2 ing for UNRWA described in the press state3 ment entitled ‘‘Statement on UNRWA Allega4 tions’’ issued on January 26, 2024; and 

5 (B) resume the provision of funding to 

6 UNRWA under current authorities of the De7 partment of State. 

8 (b) REPORTS.—Not later than 90 days after the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act, and quarterly thereafter 

10 through December 31, 2027, the Secretary of State shall 

11 submit a report to the appropriate congressional commit12 tees of jurisdiction describing the steps UNRWA is taking 

13 to implement the recommendations made by the Inde14 pendent Review Group, led by Catherine Colonna. 

Æ 


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