104 
(30) Former UNRWA general counsel James 
Lindsay noted in a January 2009 report that 
‘‘[T]eachers in UNRWA schools were often afraid to 
remove posters glorifying ‘martyrs’ (including sui-
cide bombers) for fear of retribution from armed 
supporters of the martyrs.’’. 
(31) UNRWA officials have compromised 
UNRWA’s strictly humanitarian mandate by engag-
ing in political agitation, propaganda, and advocacy 
agitation against Israel and in favor of Hamas, as 
reflected by the following, inter alia: 
(A) UNRWA officials have repeatedly 
called for the United States and other nations 
to deal directly with Hamas and have repeat-
edly called for political ‘‘reconciliation’’ between 
Hamas and Fatah. 
(B) UNRWA officials have repeatedly cas-
tigated Israel for her actions to defend innocent 
civilians from rocket and mortar attacks from 
violent extremist groups in Gaza and from 
other Acts of International Terrorism, and has 
repeatedly blamed Israel, not Hamas and other 
violent extremist groups, for present restrictions 
on access to Gaza. 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:31 Sep 28, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00104
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3155.IH
H3155
TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
105 
(C) Former UNRWA general counsel 
James Lindsay noted in a 2009 report that: 
‘‘Although it occasionally issued mild, pro 
forma criticisms of Palestinian attacks (most of 
which were clearly war crimes), [UNRWA] put 
more effort into criticizing Israeli counterterror-
ism efforts (which were condemned using lan-
guage associated with war crimes, though any 
such crimes were far from proved) . . . 
UNRWA never seems to acknowledge that 
Israel, since its 2005 withdrawal from Gaza, 
has launched strikes on the territory largely in 
order to halt rocket attacks and other as-
saults.’’. 
(D) Lindsay also noted that ‘‘UNRWA— 
through its leaders and press spokespersons—is 
constantly involved in political speech . . . These 
one-sided speeches on political matters do not 
further the goals of a humanitarian and sup-
posedly nonpolitical agency.’’. 
(E) 
UNRWA 
Commissioner-General 
Filippo Grandi described as a ‘‘massacre’’ 
Israel’s May 31, 2010, naval operation, and use 
of self-defense measures, to seize the Mavi 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
21:32 Oct 17, 2013
Jkt 039200
PO 00000
Frm 00105
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3155.IH
H3155
TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
106 
Marmara ship in order to enforce its naval 
blockade of the Gaza Strip. 
(F) Former UNRWA commissioner-gen-
eral Karen AbuZayd stated in a 2009 meeting 
with Congressional staff that ‘‘We [UNRWA] 
are not just humanitarian.’’. 
(G) In January of 2009, UNRWA spokes-
man Christopher Gunness called for an inves-
tigation as to whether Israel had committed ‘‘a 
war crime’’. 
(H) On December 30, 2008, former 
UNRWA commissioner-general Karen AbuZayd 
stated that only Israel was responsible for the 
start of the most recent conflict in Gaza. 
(I) On May 25, 2008, in an interview with 
Press TV, which is controlled by the Govern-
ment of Iran, former UNRWA commissioner- 
general Karen AbuZayd reportedly claimed that 
Hamas was free from corruption and ‘‘more 
popular than ever’’. 
(J) On October 5, 2007, former UNRWA 
commissioner-general Karen AbuZayd blamed 
Israel for violent extremist groups in Gaza 
launching rockets and mortars against Israeli 
civilian targets, stating that residents of Gaza 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:31 Sep 28, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00106
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3155.IH
H3155
TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
107 
‘‘have absorbed—and continue to experience— 
military incursions in which civilian lives, liveli-
hoods, and property have been destroyed, and 
to which they have responded with the contin-
uous firing of Qassam rockets into Israel.’’. 
(K) On March 8, 2007, former UNRWA 
commissioner-general Karen AbuZayd, com-
paring the 1948 Arab-Israeli War with more re-
cent conflicts between Israel and Palestinian 
militant groups, stated that ‘‘[T]here is a strik-
ing historical continuity in the systematic ap-
proach to use overwhelming and dispropor-
tionate force in the name of security; to sepa-
rate and exclude Palestinians from the main-
stream; to eject them from their land; and to 
occupy Palestinian land.’’. 
(L) 
On 
January 
19, 
2005, 
former 
UNRWA commissioner-general Peter Hansen 
stated that ‘‘My job [is] to represent the refu-
gees.’’. 
(M) In 2002, former UNRWA commis-
sioner-general Peter Hansen falsely accused 
Israel of carrying out a ‘‘massacre’’ in 
UNRWA’s Jenin refugee camp after Israeli 
forces entered the camp, a base of operations 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:31 Sep 28, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00107
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3155.IH
H3155
TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS
108 
for Palestinian militant groups, to carry out de-
fensive operations to halt repeated homicide 
bombings in Israel. 
(N) In 1964, UNRWA allowed its staff to 
attend the conference in Jerusalem where the 
Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) was 
established. 
(32) 
Despite 
UNRWA’s 
contravention 
of 
United States law and activities that compromise its 
strictly humanitarian mandate, UNRWA continues 
to receive United States contributions, including 
$233,300,000 in fiscal year 2012. 
(33) The bilateral ‘‘Framework for Coopera-
tion’’ that the United States concluded with 
UNRWA for 2012 actually ‘‘commends’’ UNRWA 
and does not commit UNRWA to vetting its aid re-
cipients through United States watch lists. 
(34) Assistance from the United States and 
other responsible nations allows UNRWA to claim 
that criticisms of the agency’s behavior are un-
founded. UNRWA spokesman Christopher Gunness 
has dismissed concerns by stating that ‘‘If these 
baseless allegations were even halfway true, do you 
really think the U.S. and [European Commission] 
VerDate Mar 15 2010 
22:31 Sep 28, 2013
Jkt 029200
PO 00000
Frm 00108
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H3155.IH
H3155
TKELLEY on DSK3SPTVN1PROD with BILLS