Sec. 2. Findings
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Congress makes the following findings: The United States, which has been the largest donor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (referred to in this Act as UNRWA ), has contributed more than $6,000,000,000 to UNRWA since 1949. UNRWA was originally established with the good intention of assisting Arab refugees displaced by the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict to rebuild their lives. UNRWA’s current mandate provides for an increase in the population of Arab persons who are assured, through their status as Palestine refugees , that they will be entitled to return to Israel.
UNRWA has identified more than 5,000,000 UNRWA refugees in its records. If 5,000,000 UNRWA refugees were to move to Israel, the Jewish people would become a minority population in Israel, and Israel would no longer be a Jewish State. By 2030, the number of refugees recognized by UNRWA is expected to reach 8,500,000. UNRWA’s definition of refugees includes— individuals who are several generations removed from the 1948 Arab-Israeli conflict; individuals who were born decades after the conflict ended; and persons who have received citizenship from other countries.
UNRWA considers more than 2,000,000 citizens of Jordan, most of whom were born in Jordan and have lived in Jordan for their entire lives, as Palestine refugees . UNRWA considers persons as Palestine refugees if they live in the Gaza Strip or in the West Bank, which is the putative home of a future Palestinian state. United States and international support for UNRWA, an entity funded predominantly by Western countries, may be construed by Palestinians to be the official guarantor that their demand to return to Israel is an internationally sanctioned right.
On December 23, 2000, President Bill Clinton articulated, in his proposal on Israeli-Palestinian peace (known as the Clinton Parameters)— the need for a policy that makes clear that there is no specific right of return to Israel for the Palestinian people; and with respect to Palestinian refugees, a Palestinian state would be the focal point for Palestinians who choose to return to the area . UNRWA refugee camps have been used by the international community— to prevent Palestinians from peaceably settling and focusing on building their livelihoods and future; and to encourage Palestinians to prepare for a return to Israel.
The presence of UNRWA refugee camps is directly correlated with unemployment and low earnings among Palestinian communities. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics— 4 of the 5 governorates of the West Bank and Gaza with the highest percentage of their populations living in UNRWA camps have the highest rates of unemployment; and 5 of the 6 governorates of the West Bank and Gaza with the highest percentage of their populations living in UNRWA camps also have the lowest average daily wages.
UNRWA facilities have been used to support terrorist activities. On July 16, 2014, UNRWA reported that— it had found 20 missiles in one of its schools in Gaza, which were likely placed at the school by Hamas; and it returned the missiles to the relevant authorities in Gaza, which is controlled by Hamas. On July 22, 2014, UNRWA reported that it had found additional missiles that had been stockpiled in another of its schools in Gaza. On July 29, 2014, UNRWA confirmed, for the third time in less than a month, that a stockpile of Hamas rockets was found in one of its schools in Gaza, which— established a pattern of Hamas weapons being stored in UNRWA facilities; and calls into question UNRWA’s claim of being caught unawares to Hamas’ actions.
On July 30, 2014, John Ging, who was the Director of UNRWA Operations in the Gaza Strip from 2006 to 2011, when asked if Hamas has been using human shields and using United Nations schools and hospitals to store weapons and as a shelter from which to launch missiles into Israel, stated, Yes, the armed groups are firing their rockets into Israel from the vicinity of UN facilities and residential areas. Absolutely. . On September 1, 2015, the nongovernmental organization UN Watch published a report documenting 12 different Facebook accounts operated by UNRWA officials that openly incite anti-Semitism and violence, including Ahmed Fathi Bader, who— identified himself as a Deputy School Principal at UNRWA; and praised the murder of a group of collaborators with the Jews .
On October 16, 2015, UN Watch published a Report on UNRWA Teachers and Other Officials Inciting Violence & Antisemitism identifying an additional 10 UNRWA individuals that openly incite to anti-Semitism and violence, including Hani Al Ramahi, who— identified himself as a Projects Support Assistant at UNRWA ; and posted an image that encouraged Palestinians to stab Zionist dogs . On February 26, 2017, UNRWA announced that it had suspended Suhail al-Hindi, the chairman of the UNRWA Palestinian workers' union in Gaza and the principal of an UNRWA elementary school after receiving substantial information that al-Hindi was elected to Hamas’ politburo in a vote in early February 2017.