• Press Release

Continuing to Block Funding for Palestinian Refugees is Cruel and Unconscionable 

February 4, 2025

(Eyad Baba/AFP via Getty Images)

In response to news reports that the Trump Administration will continue to prohibit U.S. funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Elizabeth Rghebi, Advocacy Director for the Middle East and North Africa with Amnesty International USA made the following statement:  

“Continuing to block U.S. funding to UNRWA is cruel and unconscionable. The U.S. should instead be working to dramatically increase the flow of humanitarian aid and other steps necessary to end Israel’s genocide against Palestinians in the occupied Gaza Strip. 

“UNRWA is the backbone of the humanitarian response for nearly two million Palestinians in Gaza, providing indispensable food, water, medical aid, education and shelter. The UN agency has been a lifeline providing critical aid and services for Palestinian refugees throughout the Occupied Palestinian Territory and in neighboring countries for 75 years. 

“President Trump’s move to reinstate this ban for U.S. funding for UNRWA, which extends the policy of the Biden administration, will only exacerbate the suffering of Palestinians. President Trump should press the Israeli government to repeal its law banning UNRWA and take immediate action to dramatically increase humanitarian assistance and suspend the supply, sale, and transfer of all weapons to the Israeli government.” 

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