Two hawkish senators on Oct. 22 slammed Secretary of State John Kerry’s $156 million pledge to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, foreshadowing a showdown over funding when Congress returns after the midterm elections.
The UN Refugee and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has long been in Republicans’ cross-hairs, in part because it recognizes 5 million descendants of the Palestinians expelled from their lands in 1948 as refugees. During this summer’s fighting in Gaza, the agency caused a bipartisan uproar when it turned over to the local authorities Hamas rockets that it had discovered stored at three of its schools.
