Editing UNRWA (section)

===Repeated calls for investigation by the United States===
The United States government financed a programme of "Operations Support Officers" whose responsibilities including undertaking random and unannounced inspections of UNRWA facilities to ensure their sanctity from militant operations. In 2004, the U.S. Congress asked the General Accounting Office (GAO) to investigate media claims that government funding given to UNRWA had been used to support individuals involved in militant activities. During its investigation, the GAO discovered several irregularities in its processing and employment history.<ref name="gao">{{cite web|url=http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04276r.pdf|date=17 November 2003|title=GAO-04-276R Department of State (State) and United Nations relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Actions to Implement Section 301(c) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961|access-date=2014-09-14|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20040724093342/http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d04276r.pdf|archive-date=24 July 2004|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In August 2014, several US Senators demanded an impartial investigation into UNRWA's alleged participation in the 2014 Gaza-Israel conflict, accusing UNRWA of being complicit with Hamas.<ref name="jpost">{{cite web |date=13 August 2014 |title=Senators want UNRWA investigated over 'troubling' Gaza role |url=http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Senators-want-UNRWA-investigated-over-troubling-Gaza-role-370897 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815171652/http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Senators-want-UNRWA-investigated-over-troubling-Gaza-role-370897 |archive-date=15 August 2014 |access-date=2014-09-14 |work=The Jerusalem Post}}</ref>

<blockquote>... While the letter does not call on the State Department to cut aid, the senators write that the American taxpayers "deserve to know if UNRWA is fulfilling its mission or taking sides in this tragic conflict."
... Responding to the letter, a [[Spokesperson for the United States Department of State|State Department spokesman]] said that the UN is taking "proactive steps to address this problem," including deploying munitions experts to the strip in search of more weapons caches.
"The international community cannot accept a situation where the United Nations – its facilities, staff, and those it is protecting – are used as shields for militants and terrorist groups," State Department spokesone Edgar Vasquez told ''[[The Jerusalem Post]]''. "We remain in intensive consultations with UN leadership about the UN's response."
...

"There are few good solutions given the exceptionally difficult situation in Gaza," Vasquez continued, "but nonetheless we are in contact with the United Nations, other UNRWA donors, and concerned parties – including Israel – on identifying better options for protecting the neutrality of UN facilities and ensuring that weapons discovered are handled appropriately and do not find their way back to Hamas or other terrorist groups."<ref>{{cite web |date=13 August 2014 |title=Senators want UNRWA investigated over 'troubling' Gaza role |url=http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Senators-want-UNRWA-investigated-over-troubling-Gaza-role-370897 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140815171652/http://www.jpost.com/Arab-Israeli-Conflict/Senators-want-UNRWA-investigated-over-troubling-Gaza-role-370897 |archive-date=15 August 2014 |access-date=16 August 2014}}</ref></blockquote>In 2018, citing a "failure to mobilize adequate and appropriate burden sharing," the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]] stopped funding UNRWA, calling its fundamental business model and fiscal practices "simply unsustainable".<ref>{{cite web |last=Nauert |first=Heather |date=31 August 2018 |title=Press Statement: On U.S. Assistance to UNRWA |url=https://2017-2021.state.gov/on-u-s-assistance-to-unrwa/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240425133120/https://2017-2021.state.gov/on-u-s-assistance-to-unrwa/ |archive-date=25 April 2024 |access-date=2021-04-10 |publisher=[[United States Department of State|US Department of State]]}}</ref> Secretary of State [[Mike Pompeo]] maintained that "most Palestinians under UNRWA's jurisdiction aren't refugees, and UNRWA is a hurdle to peace."<ref>{{cite tweet |number=1349832119829233664 |user=SecPompeo |title=Taxpayers deserve basic truths: most Palestinians under UNRWA’s jurisdiction aren’t refugees, and UNRWA is a hurdle…<!-- full text of tweet that Twitter returned to the bot (excluding links) added by TweetCiteBot. This may be better truncated or may need expanding (TW limits responses to 140 characters) or case changes. --> |date=14 January 2021}}</ref> However, the [[Presidency of Joe Biden|Biden administration]] restarted funding in April 2021<ref>{{Cite news |date=2021-04-07 |title=U.S. restores assistance for Palestinians, to provide $235 million in aid |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-usa-blinken-idUSKBN2BU2XT |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231112200302/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-palestinians-usa-blinken-idUSKBN2BU2XT |archive-date=12 November 2023 |access-date=2023-11-12 |work=Reuters |language=en}}</ref> and as of 2023 has provided over $1 billion to the aid agency.{{citation needed|date=February 2024}}