WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday criticized an Israeli bill that would declare the UN agency for Palestinian refugees a terrorist organization, saying that such efforts are “incredibly unhelpful.”
“UNRWA is not a terrorist organization, and we urge the Israeli government and the Knesset to halt the movement of this legislation,” said State Department spokesman Matthew Miller.
He added that “the attacks that the Israeli government has leveled on UNRWA are incredibly unhelpful. They do nothing to advance the cause of getting humanitarian assistance to civilians in Gaza.”
Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill that designates UNRWA a terrorist organization and proposes severing all ties with the humanitarian agency.
After passing its first reading, the legislation will go to a parliamentary committee for further deliberation.
UNRWA, which has more than 30,000 employees serving some 5.9 million Palestinian refugees in the region, has been accused by Israel of employing “more than 400 terrorists” in the Gaza Strip.
The United States suspended its financial contributions to the agency after separate unproven Israeli allegations were made that some UNRWA staff were involved in Hamas’s October 7 attacks.
Since then, US lawmakers have prohibited Washington from releasing funds to the agency.
Several other countries that also withdrew funding for UNRWA have since reinstated their contributions, including Britain, France and the European Union.
US defends UNRWA after Israel moves to deem it terror group
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US defends UNRWA after Israel moves to deem it terror group
- Israel’s parliament, the Knesset, on Monday gave preliminary approval to a bill that designates UNRWA a terrorist organization
FIFA gives President Donald Trump a peace prize in a departure from its traditional focus on sport
- Trump, who has openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Price, had been heavily favored to win the newly created FIFA prize
- “This is your prize, this is your peace prize,” Infantino said
WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump was awarded the new FIFA peace prize on Friday at the 2026 World Cup draw — giving the soccer spectacle to set matchups for the quadrennial tournament even more of a Trumpian flair.
Trump, who has openly campaigned for the Nobel Peace Price, had been heavily favored to win the newly created FIFA prize.
He and FIFA president Gianni Infantino are close allies, and Infantino had made it clear that he thought Trump should have won the Nobel for his efforts to broker a ceasefire in Gaza.
“This is your prize, this is your peace prize,” Infantino said. He has repeatedly spoken about soccer as a unifier for the world, but the prize is a departure from the federation’s traditional focus on sport.
Trump told reporters upon arriving at the Kennedy Center that he didn’t know whether he was going to get the award, and added: “I don’t need prizes. I just want to save lives.”
FIFA has described the prize as one that rewards “individuals who have taken exceptional and extraordinary actions for peace and by doing so have united people across the world.”
It comes during a week where Trump’s administration has been under scrutiny for lethal strikes on alleged drug boats in the Caribbean and as Trump hardens his rhetoric against immigrants.
The Nobel this year was eventually awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who said shortly after receiving the prize that she was dedicating it in part to Trump for “his decisive support of our cause.”
