Ocasio-Cortez calls for UNRWA funding to be restored ‘immediately’

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) is calling on the United States to restore the funding to the United Nations agency responsible for Palestinian refugees, which is facing allegations that 12 of its workers were involved in Hamas’s attack on Israel.

“Cutting off support to @UNRWA – the primary source of humanitarian aid to 2 million+ Gazans – is unacceptable. Among an organization of 13,000 UN aid workers, risking the starvation of millions over grave allegations of 12 is indefensible,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote Monday on X, formerly known as Twitter.

“The US should restore aid immediately.”

Ocasio-Cortez has been vocal about the need to provide Palestinians with humanitarian aid. She said in a Sunday interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the U.S. has “a responsibility to protect the human rights and humanity of Gazans and hostages alike in the area.”

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA, has come under scrutiny in recent weeks after Israel accused 12 of its employees of participating in the Oct. 7 assault that left about 1,200 people dead. A growing number of countries, including the U.S., have paused their aid to UNRWA in light of the allegations.

The Associated Press reported Monday that two of the 12 workers were accused of kidnapping or assisting in the capturing of Israelis during the Hamas attack, according to an Israeli document obtained by the news service. The document said another two of the employees were accused of participating in raids on communal farming villages.

The AP said some of the people listed in the document were accused of “participating in a terror activity,” 10 were listed as having ties to Hamas and another was listed as having connections to the Islamic Jihad militant group.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement Sunday that nine of the 12 people implicated in the allegations have been identified and terminated from their positions, He noted that one of the 12 has been confirmed dead, while the agency is still working on identifying the remaining two.

He also called on countries to resume their funding to UNRWA, explaining that current funding for the agency will not allow it to meet its requirements to support civilians in Gaza in February.

“While I understand their concerns – I was myself horrified by these accusations – I strongly appeal to the governments that have suspended their contributions to, at least, guarantee the continuity of UNRWA’s operations,” Guterres said.

“The abhorrent alleged acts of these staff members must have consequences,” he continued. “But the tens of thousands of men and women who work for UNRWA, many in some of the most dangerous situations for humanitarian workers, should not be penalized. The dire needs of the desperate populations they serve must be met.”

The Associated Press contributed.