Republican senators push to strip Unrwa of legal immunity in US

A group of Republican senators, led by Ted Cruz, is pushing forward a bill that targets the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa), aiming to strip it of legal immunity in the United States.

Unrwa provides education, healthcare, and humanitarian aid to millions of Palestinian refugees across the Middle East who have been forecefully displaced by Israel since 1948. 

The legislation, dubbed the “Limiting Immunity for Assisting Backers of Lethal Extremism (LIABLE) Act”, would allow American citizens to file lawsuits against Unrwa in US courts.

Cruz without providing any evidence repeated Israeli propogandand saying that Unrwa “officials have for decades knowingly provided support to Hamas terrorists, including salaries and materials. That support facilitated Hamas's terrorist attack on October 7th, 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."

Right now, Unrwa and similar agencies are shielded by the International Organization Immunities Act (IOIA), which offers protections similar to those granted to foreign states under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA).