US President Joe Biden has signed the HB 2882, also known as the “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2024,” providing federal government funding through September 2024. Remarkably, the act includes a clause that prevents federal funds from being utilized for the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA).
Alongside the UNRWA fund prohibition, the bill also reduces the funding to the UN Commission of Inquiry against Israel while continuing the US’s annual security commitment of $3.3 billion to Israel. These funds are stipulated to be paid out within 30 days of the act’s enactment.
Biden regarded the enactment of the bill as a compromise achievement, saying it “keeps the government open, invests in the American people, and strengthens our economy and national security.” He further elaborated upon the bill’s accomplishments by stating, it “rejects extreme cuts from House Republicans and expands access to child care, invests in cancer research, funds mental health and substance use care, advances American leadership abroad, and provides resources to secure the border that my Administration successfully fought to include.”
Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs, Israel Katz, has praised the act for its prohibition on UNRWA funds. Katz views the UNRWA as a part of the problem, arguing that the agency’s presence in Gaza will not persist after the removal of Hamas. He accuses that thousands of UNRWA employees are involved in Hamas’s terrorist activities, a claim he utilizes to call upon other countries to ban UNRWA funding.
However, not everyone is in agreement with this step taken. US Senator Bernie Sanders voted against the act criticizing its aid to Israel and ban on UNRWA funding. He believes these actions would only worsen the conditions in Gaza. He stated, “While hundreds of thousands of Palestinian children face starvation in Gaza, this bill actually prohibits funding to UNRWA, the key United Nations aid agency delivering life-saving humanitarian support.”
Maya Berry, executive director of the Arab American Institute (AAI), echoed Sanders’ criticism, suggesting that the US political process has chosen to cut funding to the only entity capable of tackling the scale of suffering taking place in Gaza.
In January, UNRWA relieved several employees of their duties who were reportedly involved in the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, leading to a review of UNRWA’s neutrality and responses to potential breaches.
In response to the controversy, several countries, including the US and Canada, chose to suspend their funding to the UNRWA. Still, nations such as Australia and Finland resumed their support. The European Commission (EC) has further augmented their financial support to Palestinians by allocating an additional EUR 68 million.
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