The Dangerous and Unjustified Abandonment of UN-Led Aid to Palestinian Refugees

The Dangerous and Unjustified Abandonment of UN-Led Aid to Palestinian Refugees

Ethan Button, 2025-26 Iowa UNA College Ambassador from the University of Iowa

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) is the primary UN organization tasked with providing humanitarian and development assistance to Palestinian refugees and displaced peoples. UNRWA operates in Palestine and many surrounding countries that house high numbers of Palestinian refugees and their families. Over its 76-year existence, UNRWA has grown to currently support 5.9 million registered refugees in various ways. It provides much-needed resources to 58 official refugee camps, educates over 240,000 students, and employs 3,142 healthcare staff to help refugees and their families. In 2024, UNRWA provided essential food and cash assistance to 2.6 million refugees, of whom 1.9 million were in the Gaza Strip. 

Other non-governmental organizations, country-led aid agencies, and UN agencies assist Palestinians in need, but they lack UNRWA’s specifically targeted and UN-launched mandate. Without this official mandate and multilayered international support, it is more difficult for other agencies to match UNRWA's scale, oversight, and weight. 

UNRWA’s financial model relies overwhelmingly on voluntary contributions from countries. In 2024, approximately 80% of its budget came from member states and from intergovernmental organizations such as the European Union. 11% of UNRWA’s budget came from private donations. The UN’s general budget also funds UNRWA, but this funding is limited to cover administrative costs. 

Despite achieving record donations in 2024, the agency faced a severe funding shortfall, meeting only 51% of its estimated $2.7 billion budgetary requirements. This vast underfunding persists even as humanitarian needs throughout Palestine reach catastrophic levels, with reported widespread malnutrition and famine conditions. 

U.S. support for UNRWA has become volatile. The United States has historically been UNRWA’s most significant individual donor. In 2023, its $371 million contribution accounted for nearly 30% of the agency’s voluntary funding. Recently, U.S. support for UNRWA has changed profoundly, reflecting the views of different administrations. 

The first Trump administration adopted a hostile stance toward UNRWA, cutting its funding from 2018 onward. President Trump posted on X, “We pay the Palestinians… HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS… and get no appreciation or respect.” Hundreds of millions of dollars already allocated to UNRWA by Congress were withheld or diverted later that year.

The Biden administration quickly restored funding to UNRWA. During Biden’s term, the U.S. was instrumental in helping UNRWA achieve record funding levels. However, following allegations in January 2024 that a small number of UNRWA staff were involved in the October 7th attacks, the Biden administration immediately froze funding. This was followed by a one-year halt by Congress, slashing the U.S. contribution for that year and rounding out Biden’s term.

UNRWA funding has not resumed under Trump’s second term, despite it becoming eligible by Congress. In February 2025, an executive order from the Trump administration formally directed that no federal funds be allocated to UNRWA, citing the 2024 allegations.

The initial allegations against UNRWA prompted 16 donor states, including the U.S., to temporarily pause their funding to the organization. Following internal reviews and an independent, third-party investigation commissioned by the UN Secretary-General (the Colonna Report), all but the United States have resumed their support for the Agency. The Colonna Report concluded that UNRWA has robust frameworks to ensure neutrality and oversight, surpassing the standards of other UN agencies and NGOs operating in Palestine and worldwide. This international consensus and independent review underscore the agency's institutional credibility and operational effectiveness. UNRWA also publishes annual reports detailing its efforts to implement additional recommendations made by the Colonna Report. However, under this administration, the U.S. still uses allegations of bias, poor oversight, and fraud to justify abandoning this essential and pre-eminent organization. 

In the absence of UNRWA, alternative aid mechanisms have proven inadequate to meet growing needs. Unilateral U.S. funding for emerging, non-UN agencies lacks the cost-effectiveness and established delivery networks of UNRWA. For instance, the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), which received a $30 million U.S. commitment in June 2025, has been criticized for operational inefficiencies and grave security risks for those traveling hours to distribution sites. As an Israeli-formed and U.S.-backed entity, GHF lacks the multilateral oversight, transparency, and broad donor base that underpin UNRWA's need to remain impartial, transparent, and in line with best practices. 

The justification for barring UNRWA support appears ineffective in light of the Agency’s widespread exoneration by international donors and UN reports. Compared to other agencies, UNRWA has a strong and improving operational fitness in administering international aid in a complex and evolving political landscape. Rather than pursuing less effective unilateral paths, untested new systems, and supporting smaller or less targeted agencies, supporting UNRWA remains the most prudent course. It is well established and sensitive to international scrutiny and subject to oversight by the UN and its member states, helping to promote best practices in humanitarian aid delivery.