Last week, reports blew up that a dozen members of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) had been tied to the Hamas attack against Israel.
Biden finally suspended funding for the organization, but Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is now showing his true colors by demanding the funding be restored.
Talking Points…
- UNRWA members helping Hamas
- Sanders wants funding restored
- Analysis
Israel levied the allegations against the United Nations agency, claiming a dozen UNRWA employees had participated in the October 7 attack against Israel by Hamas. According to the AP report outlining the allegations, Israel claimed:
“…seven stormed into Israeli territory, including one who participated in a kidnapping and another who helped to steal a soldier’s body.”
The United Nations has condemned the involvement of the workers, firing nine of them already. One has yet to be identified, and the two remaining workers are now dead. Additionally, the United States suspended its funding to UNRWA.
Since the initial report was made, it is now being reported that roughly 10% of the staff for UNRWA has ties to Hamas, which is about 1,200 of the 12,000 people who work for UNRWA. Additionally, about half the workers have ties to militant organizations, which has brought considerable scrutiny from Republicans in office, while Democrats, like Sanders, want the funding to continue. A senior Israeli official commented on the issue, stating:
“UNRWA’s problem is not just ‘a few bad apples’ involved in the Oct. 7 massacre — the institution as a whole is a haven for Hamas’ radical ideology.”
As we often see, Sanders is ignoring the big picture and concentrating on the 12 staffers who were found to have helped Hamas on October 7. He is now demanding that the United States resume the funding, stating:
“Today, hundreds of thousands of children face starvation and disease. Obviously, it’s not acceptable for any of the 13,000 UNRWA employees in Gaza to be involved with Hamas, and allegations against the 12 people charged must be investigated. However, we cannot allow millions to suffer because of the actions of 12 people.
“The U.S. and other countries must restore funding to stave off this humanitarian catastrophe.”
If there are that many UNRWA workers that are tied to Hamas or militia organizations, what are the chances that 100% of the funding being sent to UNRWA is being used for aid purposes and not being reallocated to Hamas or these other militia operations in the form of cash or of the resources being purchased for UNRWA.
If you look at polling, the people of Palestine appear to support the actions of Hamas against Israel overwhelmingly. If that is indeed the case, how can any funding being sent to this country be justified until Hamas and all other militia groups have been eliminated from the picture?
I have asked this question before, but why are the Palestinian government and the people of Palestine not helping Israel eradicate and remove Hamas? The fact that we have American politicians looking at the smaller picture on this is baffling to me, especially when the other reports have been verified in terms of how many UNRWA workers are actually working with terrorist organizations and groups.
This goes to show you where Sanders’ loyalties lie because it surely is not with Israel and the United States' interests. Perhaps Sanders would prefer we cut out the middleman and send money directly to Hamas. There is simply no way the United States should restore funding until the bad apples are gone and it is proven, without a doubt, that there are no more terrorist sympathizers working at UNRWA.
