The Biden administration paid $135 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Saturday after an agreement was signed last week that for the first time condemns anti-Israel hatred.
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"The signing of the US-UNRWA Framework and additional support demonstrates we once again have an ongoing partner in the United States that understands the need to provide critical assistance to some of the region's most vulnerable refugees," UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said.
UNRWA announced the news of the US grant and the framework agreement the day after the end of the visit of the US Assistant Secretary of State for Israeli and Palestinian Affairs Hady Amr to Israel and the Palestinian territories, which started on July 11.
American financial assistance to the agency is traditionally accompanied by a framework cooperation agreement, the latest version of which was signed on July 14.
For the first time, the agreement contains a paragraph condemning antisemitism, including stating, "The United States and UNRWA unreservedly condemn all manifestations of religious intolerance, incitement, harassment or violence against persons or communities based on ethnicity or religious belief, including antisemitism."
UNRWA also claimed that it was committed to ensuring that its funds were not transferred to individuals engaged in terrorism or used to support terrorism.
The United States is the largest donor to the organization, which cares for 5.7 million people it claims are Palestinian refugees; in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Gaza, the West Bank, and east Jerusalem.
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Although the UN body has issued this statement, it will be crucial to wait and see if it can follow through with concrete action, particularly regarding incitement against Jews and Israelis that can still be found in its school textbooks.
This article was first published by i24NEWS.
