GOP lawmakers introduce legislation to allow US victims of terror to sue UNRWA and similar bodies that support designated terror groups. The bill challenges legal protections long granted to international organizations accused of aiding Hamas and other extremists.
A group of Republican senators has introduced new legislation aimed at holding international organizations accountable for alleged support of terrorist groups, including Hamas, according to a JNS report.
The proposed bill seeks to eliminate legal immunity that currently shields entities such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) from lawsuits filed by American victims of terrorism.
Titled the Limiting Immunity for Assisting Backers of Lethal Extremism (LIABLE) Act, the bill takes direct aim at UNRWA, which has come under scrutiny for its alleged links to Hamas. According to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the legislation would provide victims and their families with a legal path to pursue damages.
“For decades [UNRWA has] knowingly provided support to Hamas terrorists, including salaries and materials,” said Cruz. “That support facilitated Hamas’s terrorist attack on Oct. 7, which was the worst one-day massacre of Jews since the Holocaust and included the murder and kidnapping of dozens of Americans. Those victims and their families deserve the ability to hold UNRWA accountable, and the LIABLE Act would give them that opportunity.”
Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL), a co-sponsor of the legislation, echoed the concern, pointing to what he described as a long history of UNRWA backing radical elements.
“UNRWA has supported Hamas in enabling these terrorists to commit the horrific massacre and mass kidnapping of Israelis and Jewish Americans over 550 days ago, on Oct. 7, and the sick individuals responsible for this terrorism must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law,” Scott stated.
Under current US law, organizations such as UNRWA are shielded from legal action by the International Organizations Immunities Act. Cruz noted that this protection also extends to groups providing material aid to US-designated terrorist entities, including Hezbollah.
The United Nations has maintained that UNRWA operates under the immunity provisions of the 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations. However, a recent filing by the US Department of Justice indicated that the Trump administration holds the view that such immunity may not apply in all cases—particularly when allegations of complicity in terrorism arise.
UNRWA has long been criticized for its cooperation with Hamas. That criticism has increased since Israel revealed a year ago that UNRWA staff participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
It then presented a dossier showing that the UNRWA workers who participated in the Hamas massacre kidnapped a woman, handed out ammunition and actively took part in the massacre at Kibbutz Be’eri, where 97 people were murdered.
Following the Israeli revelations, Guterres announced the creation of a review group, headed by former French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, to look into the Israeli allegations.
The group, which released its report last April, said it found neutrality-related issues” in UNRWA but also claimed that Israel had yet to provide evidence for allegations that a significant number of its staff were members of terrorist organizations.
More recently, Emily Damari, a former Hamas hostage who was freed after 470 days in captivity, said that she was held at an UNRWA facility while in captivity.
Damari, who holds both British and Israeli citizenship, told British Prime Minister Keir Starmer that she was denied adequate medical care while being detained at an UNRWA school.
The UN’s top humanitarian aid official, Tom Fletcher, later denied the claims and stated that he has “not seen a shred of evidence” suggesting the UN was involved in the holding of hostages in Gaza, either through the use of its facilities or by its staff.
