In Gaza, hundreds of thousands of civilians, predominantly women and children, have been displaced and are facing threats of starvation and fatal illnesses. NP was one of over 50 national organizations that signed a letter to President Biden, calling on him to advocate for the protection of civilians in the conflict in the Occupied Gaza Strip by reinstating funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

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Mr. President:

We are non-governmental organizations supporting the protection of civilians in the conflict in the Occupied Gaza Strip and writing to urge you to restore funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

After nearly four months of conflict which has devastated Gaza’s infrastructure and dangerously reduced essential supplies, hundreds of thousands of civilians – the vast majority of them children and women – are displaced and at grave risk of starvation and deadly disease. UNRWA is the most significant direct provider of humanitarian aid in the territory, with more than two million Palestinian civilians relying on it for critical necessities and services. UNRWA and its staff have gone to heroic lengths to continue aid operations even after catastrophic damage to many of its facilities and the death of more than 150 of their colleagues since the start of the current hostilities.

Twelve individuals among the 13,000 people UNRWA employed in the territory at the start of the current fighting are accused of taking part in Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attack on Israel. UNRWA, which has categorically and repeatedly condemned the attack, swiftly terminated the contracts of those accused. UNRWA’s Commissioner-General has requested the investigation of these employees be overseen by the highest investigative authority at the UN, while the UN Secretary General made it clear the Secretariat will cooperate with a competent authority to prosecute the individuals. This is in addition to UNRWA’s January 17, 2024 announcement that it is commissioning an independent review of staff guidelines and procedures to ensure that all staff adhere to humanitarian principles.

Continuing to suspend assistance to UNRWA for the alleged actions of individuals that UNRWA itself condemns and has pledged to help investigate is not only unjust, but detrimental to your administration’s goal of ending the current humanitarian crisis. Denying resources to UNRWA will only deepen the deprivation faced by civilians in Gaza, helping to spread rather than fight starvation and disease.

We therefore urge you to immediately restore US funding to UNRWA and to work with it and other aid agencies to urgently end the growing humanitarian catastrophe in the territory.

التوقيع،,

Action Corps
Alliance of Baptists
لجنة خدمة الأصدقاء الأمريكية 
أمريكيون من أجل السلام الآن
منظمة العفو الدولية في الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية
Brooklyn For Peace
Carolina Peace Center 
مركز المدنيين في النزاعات (CIVIC)
Center for Economic and Policy Research
مركز السياسة الدولية
مركز اللاعنف اليهودي
مركز ضحايا التعذيب
Charity & Security Network
خدمة الكنيسة العالمية
Churches for Middle East Peace (CMEP)
CommonDefense.us
Demand Progress Education Fund
الديمقراطية للعالم العربي الآن (داون)
الكنيسة الإنجيلية اللوثرية في أمريكا (ELCA)
Extend
Freedom Forward 
Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL)
المركز العالمي للمسؤولية عن الحماية
Global Ministries of the Christian Church (Disicples of Christ) and United Church of Christ
Grassroots International
الإنسانية والشمول
International Civil Society Action Network (ICAN)
Jews for Racial and Economic Justice (JFREJ)
سياسة خارجية عادلة
الأم
مكتب ماري نول للشؤون العالمية
Mennonite Centeral Committee U.S.
Middle East Democracy Center (MEDC)
Migrant Roots Media
مشروع السلام في مينيسوتا
MPower Change 
National Council of Churches
National Iranian American Council (NIAC)
New Hampshire Peace Action
قوة السلام اللاعنفية
عمل سلمي 
الكنيسة المشيخية (الولايات المتحدة الأمريكية)، مكتب الشهادة العامة
RootsAction.org
عائلات ضحايا أحداث 11 سبتمبر من أجل غدٍ سلمي
Sisters of Mercy of the Americas – Justice Team
Sojourners
الكنيسة الأسقفية
معهد التحرير لسياسات الشرق الأوسط (TIMEP)
Truman Center for National Policy
رابطة الموحدين العالميين
متحدون من أجل السلام والعدالة
UNRWA USA National Committee
النصر بدون حرب
نساء من أجل شفافية تجارة الأسلحة
World BEYOND War
Yemen Relief and Reconstruction Foundation 
Zomia Center