Ladies and Gentlemen in Political and Party Institutions Worldwide,
Greetings of respect,
As part of our ongoing engagement with the Israeli war of genocide against the Palestinian people, we address you with this letter concerning the intention of the United States of America to impose sanctions on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and to designate it as a terrorist organization under U.S. law. Given the gravity of this matter, we appeal to you to take all necessary action to prevent this imminent danger, not only to one of the United Nations’ agencies, but also to what such a measure represents as a direct assault on the Palestinian refugee cause and the inalienable right of return.
Esteemed Ladies and Gentlemen,
What has been reported regarding the intention of the U.S. administration to impose sanctions on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), potentially culminating in its designation as a “Foreign Terrorist Organization,” is neither a procedural step nor a passing political dispute. Rather, it constitutes a dangerous and unprecedented escalation in the ongoing war against the international system itself, and against the very core of the Palestinian refugee issue and their non-negotiable right of return.
Targeting UNRWA, an humanitarian institution established by the United Nations General Assembly and operating under a clear international mandate, does not merely strike at the lifeline of millions of Palestinian refugees; it directly undermines the standing of the United Nations, its Charter, and the entire system of international law. UNRWA is not a temporary or incidental body; it is one of the pillars of political, social, and humanitarian stability in the region. Any attack on it is a deliberate attack on that stability.
For years, the United States has waged an open campaign against UNRWA, relying on Israeli allegations and fabrications accusing some UNRWA staff members of involvement in the events of October 7. In response to these claims, the United Nations established internal and independent investigation committees, and UNRWA launched its own investigations. The results of all these inquiries confirmed the falsity of the Israeli allegations, while Israel has, to this day, failed to provide any tangible evidence to substantiate its claims, despite repeated demands to do so.
The exposure of the baselessness of these allegations led most donor countries, except the United States, to resume their funding of UNRWA, affirming that the Agency is among the most transparent international organizations and among those most committed to United Nations values and regulations.
This American conduct is neither exceptional nor isolated; rather, it fits within a recurring pattern of pressure and sanctions. The United States has previously cut its financial contribution to UNRWA’s budget, amounting to approximately USD 360 million—the latest instance occurring after the “Al-Aqsa Flood” battle. It also suspended funding to UNESCO in 2011 following the organization’s vote to admit Palestine as a full member. Washington has further used visas and residency permits as tools against UN experts and special rapporteurs who criticized its policies, in addition to imposing sanctions on the International Criminal Court and its judges.
Such behavior has helped establish a dangerous precedent that encouraged Israel to pursue the same path, culminating in what can only be described as a direct war against the United Nations, its institutions, and its staff operating in Palestine. Over recent years, laws have been enacted and decisions and measures taken in a systematic manner aimed at undermining the legitimacy of the United Nations and crippling its political and humanitarian capacity.
Legislatively, Israel passed in 2017 the “Anti-Boycott Law,” which granted the Ministry of Interior the authority to deny entry or revoke visas of individuals on the grounds of supporting a boycott of Israel or its settlements. This law, or the threat of its application, has been used against UN officials, special rapporteurs, and human rights experts in an attempt to restrict the work of independent international mechanisms.
In parallel, since 2023, parliamentary legislation and measures have escalated that directly target UNRWA, through draft laws and resolutions seeking to classify it as a “hostile entity,” ban its activities within Israel and Jerusalem, and undermine its legal immunities. Although some of these measures have not been fully implemented, they have provided legal cover for the growing on-the-ground restrictions imposed on the Agency, its staff, and its facilities.
Administratively and security-wise, Israel has resorted to denying entry and deporting UN staff and experts, refusing to grant or renew visas, and preventing fact-finding missions from accessing the territory, measures that have proven effective in obstructing international oversight and preventing the documentation of violations. It has also imposed severe restrictions on the movement of UN personnel, particularly to and from the Gaza Strip, and limited their movement between the West Bank and Jerusalem, leading to the disruption of humanitarian programs and weakening emergency response efforts.
These policies have included the closure and storming of UN facilities, including UNRWA schools and offices, the shutdown of educational and health institutions, especially in East Jerusalem, and the confiscation of equipment and documents, in blatant violation of the inviolability of UN premises.
The targeting has not been limited to practical measures, but has been accompanied by official and media incitement and smear campaigns against UN Secretaries-General and special rapporteurs, particularly those concerned with human rights in Palestine. These campaigns employ ready-made accusations of bias, “antisemitism,” or “support for terrorism” with the aim of delegitimizing UN positions and reports.
Israel has also adopted a stance of non-cooperation with UN bodies, including boycotting the Human Rights Council, refusing to cooperate with investigation committees, barring fact-finding missions from entry, and failing to respond to official correspondence. This has been coupled with indirect financial measures, such as obstructing financial transfers and customs facilitation, and preventing the entry of fuel, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid, particularly to the Gaza Strip, thereby exacerbating the humanitarian catastrophe.
Israel justifies these policies with claims of “security” and “counter-terrorism,” by designating the Palestinian territories as “conflict zones” to which host-state obligations allegedly do not apply, and by rejecting the UN’s characterization of the situation as occupation. In contrast, the United Nations affirms that these measures constitute flagrant violations of the conventions on privileges and immunities, serious breaches of international humanitarian law, and deliberate obstruction of internationally protected humanitarian work.
The United States’ approach to international issues, and to the Palestinian cause in particular, entrenches realities that have become evident since the beginning of the Israeli war of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip:
First, a profound American failure in managing global issues, foremost among them the Palestine question, as a cornerstone of regional and international stability.
Second, full American partnership in the war of genocide, not only through military, political, and legal support, but also through adopting the Israeli narrative built on falsehoods.
Third, confirmation that Israel’s continued violations of international law would not have been possible without American cover, which has provided immunity for its leaders despite the issuance of international arrest warrants against them.
The United States’ resort to accusing one of the most important UN institutions, UNRWA, despite the broad international support it has recently received, culminating in the renewal of its mandate by an overwhelming majority of 151 states in the UN General Assembly, represents an extremely dangerous development for the international system as a whole.
This conduct does not merely target a UN agency; it falls within a broader context of attempts to undermine the international system and erode the foundations of UN legitimacy, foremost among them the UN Charter and international law, which are repeatedly violated by the United States through double standards and the politicization of international institutions to serve narrow agendas.
This grave development demands clear and condemnatory positions from all forces, states, and bodies committed to safeguarding the international system, protecting the principles of international justice, and preserving the independence of UN institutions and their humanitarian role, free from political pressure and financial blackmail.
It also calls upon the world, in all its political, legal, and popular frameworks, to rethink existing models of international cooperation and to seek more balanced and just alternatives, more responsive to the pulse of peoples and their legitimate rights, which are subjected to systematic violations by colonial powers seeking to impose a logic of domination and to entrench the law of the jungle as the governing principle of relations between states, instead of adherence to international law and UN legitimacy.