White House cautions against ‘impugning’ UNRWA over allegations against dozen

The White House cautions against dismissing the entire UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) over the allegations that roughly a dozen employees out of some 13,000 local staffers participated in Hamas’s October 7 terror onslaught.

“Let’s not impugn the good work of a whole agency because of the potential bad actions here by a small number,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby says during a press briefing, clarifying that he is not dismissing the seriousness of the allegations against UNRWA’s employees.

Asked whether the US will consider resuming funding to the agency after the administration announced a suspension on Friday, Kirby says, “It’s going to depend on what [UNRWA’s] investigation finds and what accountability measures and corrective measures UNRWA is willing to make.”

“We understand that [UNRWA is] very dependent on donor contributions, and the United States has been a leading donor for many years… All the more reason that this investigation needs to be credible, transparent, thorough and timely.”