In a move that could significantly impact international relations, the Trump administration is reportedly deliberating the use of terrorism-related sanctions against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). This consideration comes amid claims from Israeli officials that UNRWA has ties to Hamas, particularly concerning the attack on October 7, 2023.

Two individuals with direct insight into the discussions have informed Reuters that advanced talks are underway regarding the potential sanctioning of UNRWA. This agency plays a crucial role in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria, providing essential services such as education, healthcare, and shelter to millions of Palestinians.

UNRWA has been described by top UN officials and the UN Security Council as a pivotal entity in the humanitarian response within Gaza, especially as the ongoing two-year conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to severe humanitarian challenges.

Despite UNRWA’s humanitarian efforts, the Trump administration has aligned itself with Israel’s accusations, claiming the agency’s involvement with Hamas. As a result, the U.S. ceased its funding to UNRWA in January 2024. This decision followed allegations from Israel that implicated around a dozen UNRWA employees in the October 2023 terror attack.

Further intensifying the situation, President Trump signed an executive order in February, asserting that UNRWA has reportedly been compromised by members of groups identified by the State Department as foreign terrorist organizations. The order also referenced the involvement of UNRWA employees in the attack against Israel.

In February, he also signed an executive order stating that ‘UNRWA has reportedly been infiltrated my members of groups long designated by the Secretary of State as foreign terrorist organizations and UNRWA employees were involved in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.’

When the International Court of Justice in April then demanded Israel work with the organization, the Trump administration once again stood by Israel, saying it was under no obligation to work with the agency and had ‘ample grounds to question UNRWA’s impartiality,’ Fox News reports. 

Secretary of State Marco Rubio then accused the agency in October of this year of becoming a ‘subsidiary of Hamas,’ which the US designated as a terrorist organization in 1997. 

The Trump administration is reportedly weighing whether to leverage terrorism-related sanction on the United Nation’s Palestinian relief agency

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East operates in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, providing aid, schooling, healthcare, social services and shelter to millions of Palestinians

‘UNRWA’s not going to pay any role in it,’ he said when asked whether the agency would assist in delivering much-needed aid to Gaza.

‘The United Nations is here. They’re on the ground. We’re willing to work with them if they can make it work, but not UNRWA.’ 

It is not clear whether the current discussions are focused on sanctioning the entire agency – or just specific UNRWA officials or parts of its operations, and it appears US officials have not settled on the precise type of sanctions they would deploy against the agency. 

Among the possibilities that State Department officials have discussed include designating UNRWA a ‘foreign terrorist organization,’ or FTO, sources said.

Doing so, though, would be highly unusual as the United States is both a member and the host country of the United Nations, which created the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in 1949. 

William Deere, director of the UNRWA office in Washington, said the agency would be ‘disappointed’ if US officials were in fact discussing an FTO designation. He said such a move would be ‘both unprecedented and unwarranted.’  

‘Since January 2024, four independent entities have investigated UNRWA’s neutrality including the US. National Intelligence Council. While occurring at different times and from different perspectives, they have all come to the same conclusion: UNRWA is an indispensable, neutral, humanitarian actor,’ he argued. 

The agency had announced in August 2024 that the Internal Oversight Services investigated 19 employees suspected of being involved in the October 7 attack.

Some have expressed concern about the implications of designating the agency as a foreign terrorist group. A student is pictured cleaning a blackboard after classes resumed in October

Palestinians are seen lining up to receive tent covers from a UNRWA distribution center in the Gaza Strip on November 16

It admitted that nine employees ‘may have been involved’ and were fired from their positions in the organization.

The investigation also found that ‘in one case, no evidence was obtained by OIOS to support the allegations of the staff member’s involvement, while in nine other cases, the evidence obtained by OIOS was insufficient to support the staff member’s involvement.’

A Hamas commander in Lebanon – killed in September by Israel – was also found to have had a UNRWA job. 

The UN has since vowed to investigate all accusations made and has repeatedly asked Israel for evidence, which it says has not been provided. 

If the Trump team now makes a blanket move against the entire organization, its supporters say, it would throw refugee relief efforts into disarray and cripple UNRWA – which is already facing a funding crisis.

Another concern the Trump administration must consider is the fact that dozens of key US allies provide funding to UNRWA – raising questions about whether foreign officials could face sanctions for aiding a group Washington has declared a ‘foreign terrorist organization.’

It now remains unclear whether the Trump administration is seriously considering designating the agency a ‘foreign terrorist organization,’ which is generally reserved for groups who kill civilians, like branches of Islamic State and al-Qaeda.

There are other sanctioning options the State Department and other federal agencies could utilize instead, allowing for asset freezes and travel bans targeted at specific individuals and entities. 

The US State Department has several options to sanction the agency – of which designating it as a foreign terrorist organization is the most extreme. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is pictured meeting with Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Wednesday

The two-year long war between Israel and Hamas unleashed a humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip

A State Department official, though, called UNRWA a ‘corrupt organization with a proven track record of aiding and abetting terrorists.’

‘Everything is on the table,’ the official told Reuters. ‘No final decisions have yet been made.’

Those who are aware of the UNRWA discussions, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to disclose the non-public deliberations, said the push to hit UNRWA with terrorism-related sanctions is being driven by politically-appointed staff at the State Department.

Many career State Department officials – including some lawyers responsible for drafting designations language – have pushed back, those sources added, as they expressed their humanitarian and legal concerns given the organization’s singular role in aiding Palestinians.

Still, one of the sources said, the potential sanctions have been discussed in recent weeks by officials in the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism and members of its Policy Planning Staff, a powerful internal policymaking entity.

Gregory LoGerfo, the nominee for the department’s top counterterrorism post, has recused himself from the UNRWA discussions while he awaits Senate confirmation, that source added.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for years called for UNRWA to be dismantled, accusing it of anti-Israeli incitement

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has for years called for UNRWA to be dismantled, accusing it of anti-Israeli incitement. 

Since January 30, Israel has banned UNRWA’s operation on Israeli land – including East Jerusalem, which Israel annexed in a move not recognized internationally – and contact with Israeli authorities.

Israel and Hamas signed a US-brokered peace deal in October, but apparent ceasefire violations have been routine, and progress toward fulfilling the broader terms of the peace plan has been halting. 

More than 370 UNRWA workers have been killed in Gaza during the war, the UN agency has said.

Daily Mail has reached out to the White House for comment.