American officials: Washington will not resume funding UNRWA before the end of the investigations

16 countries suspended their funding to UNRWA (Reuters)

American officials told leaders of the Arab American community in Michigan that the US administration plans to wait for the results of an internal investigation conducted by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) before deciding to resume its aid to the agency.

On Thursday, the head of the US Agency for International Development, Samantha Power, and other senior officials visited the state of Michigan, which is hotly contested in the 2024 presidential elections, amid widespread criticism in the state of President Joe Biden’s policy regarding Israel, and his failure to call for a ceasefire in the attacks on Gaza. And continuing to provide military support.

For his part, American lawyer Ali Dagher - who is of Lebanese origin - said that officials said during the meeting that Washington remains committed to providing humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people, but will wait until the UNRWA investigation is completed.

Dagher participated in one of four discussions with American officials in the city of Dearborn, which is predominantly Arab-American, near Detroit.

Reuters quoted Abbas Alawi, a former senior congressional staffer, as saying that Power spoke at length about UNRWA, but indicated that Biden does not intend to reverse his decision to stop funding the agency.

16 countries suspended their funding to UNRWA after Israel accused 12 of the agency's 13,000 employees in the Gaza Strip of participating in the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement (Hamas) attack on Israel on October 7.

UNRWA officials say they expect the UN Oversight Office's initial investigation to take several weeks.

On Friday, Israel welcomed the investigation, and a spokesman for the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, “The formation of an independent review group to evaluate the neutrality of (UNRWA) after the publication of information indicating the participation of agency employees in terrorist activities is a positive step, although it is long overdue.”

Source: Agencies