Internal debate inside the Trump administration has intensified as senior officials explore imposing terrorism-related penalties on UNRWA, a move that has sparked fierce legal and humanitarian objections from within the State Department. Two individuals directly familiar with the conversations said the discussions have advanced far enough to alarm diplomats overseeing the U.N. portfolio.
UNRWA, the United Nations agency responsible for assisting Palestinian refugees across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, serves as a critical provider of education, food distribution, medical care, and emergency shelter. U.N. leaders and members of the Security Council have repeatedly described the agency as the backbone of humanitarian operations in Gaza, where the two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas has produced catastrophic suffering.
The administration has taken a sharply different view, insisting the agency is compromised by Hamas ties—an accusation UNRWA has forcefully rejected. Washington, once the agency’s principal funder, halted all support in January 2024 after Israel alleged that several UNRWA employees participated in the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas assault that set off the war in Gaza.
The confrontation escalated further when U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio charged in October that UNRWA had become “a subsidiary of Hamas,” a statement that sent shockwaves through diplomatic circles. Despite this rhetoric, insiders say administrators have not settled on whether they are considering sanctions against the entire organization or targeting only specific personnel or operations.
Among the ideas circulating is an FTO designation—labeling UNRWA a “foreign terrorist organization.” The sources said this has been debated at various points, though it remains unclear if it is still under active consideration. Such a label would financially suffocate the agency and sever it from support networks worldwide.
Officials warning against the move caution that disrupting UNRWA outright could devastate relief efforts for millions of displaced Palestinians already struggling amid a severe funding shortfall. The consequences, they argue, could be swift and dangerously destabilizing for the region.
Sanctioning a U.N. agency on terrorism grounds would be a dramatic departure from precedent, particularly given that the United States serves both as a founding member of the United Nations and its host nation. UNRWA was established in 1949 through a U.N. mandate designed to address post-war displacement.
William Deere, who oversees UNRWA’s Washington office, said the agency would be “disappointed” if speculation about an FTO designation proves accurate. He stressed that such a step would be “both unprecedented and unwarranted.” Deere added, “Since January 2024, four independent entities have investigated UNRWA’s neutrality including the U.S. National Intelligence Council. While occurring at different times and from different perspectives, they have all come to the same conclusion: UNRWA is an indispensable, neutral, humanitarian actor.”
A State Department official, responding to a request for comment, took the opposite tack, describing UNRWA as a “corrupt organization with a proven track record of aiding and abetting terrorists.” The official added, “Everything is on the table. No final decisions have yet been made.” The White House declined to comment.
While Washington has a broad menu of sanctions tools—including targeted asset freezes and travel bans—an FTO designation ranks among the severest, typically used only for entities known for intentional attacks on civilians, such as branches of al-Qaeda or the Islamic State.
The possibility of labeling any part of UNRWA as terrorist-linked also raises thorny diplomatic questions about whether foreign governments that fund the agency could themselves be exposed to secondary sanctions. Many of America’s closest allies finance UNRWA’s operations.
The U.N. has acknowledged that nine employees may have been involved in the Oct. 7 attack and were dismissed. Additionally, intelligence later revealed that a Hamas commander killed in Lebanon held a job with the agency. The U.N. has pledged to investigate every allegation thoroughly and continues to request documentation from Israel, which it says has not supplied the evidence it asserts exists.
Those who have followed the internal deliberations say career diplomats and legal experts have repeatedly raised alarms over both humanitarian implications and the legal defensibility of such sanctions. They noted that political appointees have largely driven the push to penalize the agency, while seasoned State Department personnel have urged caution.
One source said the issue has recently been taken up by the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and by members of the Policy Planning Staff, emphasizing how seriously some within the administration view the matter. Gregory LoGerfo, nominated to lead the counterterrorism bureau, has recused himself from all UNRWA-related deliberations pending Senate confirmation.
Israel has long advocated dismantling the agency, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu branding UNRWA as an institution that fuels anti-Israeli hostility. As of Jan. 30, Israel formally barred UNRWA from operating on Israeli-controlled land—including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed unilaterally—and suspended all coordination with its personnel. Despite a U.S.-mediated peace agreement between Israel and Hamas in October, ceasefire breaches remain frequent, and substantive advancements toward the agreement’s broader objectives have been slow.
The U.N. continues to report alarming casualty figures among its field staff, noting that more than 370 UNRWA employees have been killed in Gaza since the conflict began.
{Matzav.com}
