Quotes
Fateh al-Sharif was placed on administrative leave without pay in March and the Agency investigation was proceeding despite protests, which included the closing of UNRWA’s Lebanon field office for several months and ongoing threats against UNRWA staff."
In July, the USAID Inspector General identified multiple ‘shortcomings and vulnerabilities in its overnight mechanisms’ for Gaza aid, such as inadequate vetting of local partners, reliance on self-reporting of terrorist ties from partners, reliance on inadequate vetting by U.N. partners."
USAID does not provide any funding to UNRWA, nor did we do so prior to October 7, 2023. In addition to extensive risk mitigation procedures, USAID works closely with the Government of Israel to assist with the coordination of and discuss potential risks to all humanitarian assistance entering Gaza. USAID has not received evidence from the Government of Israel, our partners, or other sources to support the claims in Senator Cotton’s letter."
A USAID spokesperson refuted the allegations against it, claiming in a statement to Fox News Digital It has become very clear that not another dime of American taxpayer money should ever go to UNRWA again. All aid to Gaza should be paused immediately."
The senator told Fox News Digital The United States ceased funding UNRWA in January immediately following knowledge of allegations that some UNRWA staff may have participated in the heinous October 7th attacks."
A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department told Fox News Digital In all likelihood, the Biden-Harris administration has prolonged the Gaza war, allowed aid to flow to Israel’s enemies, and misused taxpayer funds."
While Biden isn’t on the ballot anymore, voters are certainly feeling his presence,
NBC News chief political analyst Chuck Todd writes This man is weak, and he is unfit,
We didn't think it was appropriate to send a letter and just say this has to happen overnight."
Miller denied any election link on the timing, saying We have made clear that we are opposed to the campaign the way we've seen it conducted over the past weeks
in Beirut ... Miller said Israel must urgently do more to facilitate the flow of aid to those in need,
Harris wrote on X, formerly Twitter You have to look no further to understand that than the really horrific results over the weekend,
Failure to demonstrate a sustained commitment to implementing and maintaining these measures may have implications for US policy ... and relevant US law,
It appears to us that they (the Israelis) are taking this seriously,
Kirby said of the letter, without elaborating Because let’s be clear, that’s what this is really all about – whether Hamas survives by controlling humanitarian aid and its distribution,
I’m not sure which is worse to consider, that threatening an ally is a necessary pre-election political theater to pacify radical pro-Hamas leftists or that it’s actually U.S. policy to cut off arms to Israel if Israel doesn’t agree to feed, fuel and fund Hamas,
Richard Goldberg, a senior adviser at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies and former NSC official in the Trump administration, told Fox News Digital What we have seen over the past few months is that the level of humanitarian assistance has not been sustained, ... Ultimately, we did not see our concerns sufficiently addressed, which is why the two secretaries sent the letter they did,
adding, ... Miller warned Since the start of the war, Israel has allowed the international community to bring 54,270 aid trucks into Gaza, carrying 1,064,820 tons of humanitarian aid through various crossings, including 38,746 trucks carrying approximately 824,078 tons of food."
Israel has defended its humanitarian response to the crisis in Gaza in a statement released on Monday by COGAT, the army division that deals with aid to Gaza, stating Such remediation could include actions from refreshing the assurances to suspending any further transfers of defense articles or, as appropriate, defense services,
We are particularly concerned that recent actions by the Israeli government … are contributing to an accelerated deterioration in the conditions in Gaza,