,,ii #aahth ,,congress #b;d ,session ,s4 #echh ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,november #ba1 #bjbd,mr4 ,welch 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,sanders1 ,mr4 ,van ,hollen1 ,ms4 ,klobuchar1 and ,ms4 ,hirono7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,foreign ,relations ,a ,,bill ,to restore funding for the ,united ,nations ,relief and ,works ,agency for ,palestine ,refugees in the ,near ,east 7,,unrwa74 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,,unrwa ,funding ,emergency ,restoration ,act of #bjbd4 #b4 ,findings ,congress finds the following3 7#a7 ,the humanitarian crisis in ,gaza has reached a catastrophic emergency level1 with at least #b1jjj1jjj ,palestinian civilians suffering daily due to a lack of access to basic necessities of life caused by the escalating conflict4 7#b7 ,in ,october #bjbd1 the ,integrated ,food ,security ,phase ,classification's ,famine ,review ,committee concluded-- 7,a7 the entire ,gaza ,strip is in ,,ipc ,phase #d 7,emergency7 acute food insecurity2 and 7,b7 there is a risk of famine for the entire ,gaza ,strip between ,november #bjbd and ,april #bjbe4 7#c7 ,since #aidi1 the ,united ,nations ,relief and ,works ,agency for ,palestine ,refugees in the ,near ,east 7referred to in this ,act as ,,unrwa7 has played a vital and central role in providing shelter1 education1 healthcare1 and financial assistance to millions of ,palestinians living in vulnerable refugee communities in ,gaza1 the ,west ,bank1 ,syria1 ,lebanon1 and ,jordan4 7#d7 ,,unrwa's aid operations are essential to meeting the humanitarian needs of ,palestinian civilians living in ,gaza and elsewhere4 7#e7 ,following allegations of direct involvement by fewer than #bj ,,unrwa employees in the devastating terrorist attacks of ,october #g1 #bjbc1 ,,unrwa ,commissioner-,general ,lazzarini acted swiftly and decisively1 fully cooperating with ,israeli authorities1 publicly disclosing the allegations1 and immediately terminating all the employees who may have been involved4 ,these fewer than #bj employees represent a small percentage of the approximately #ac1jjj ,,unrwa employees in ,gaza and ,,unrwa's total workforce of approximately #cj1jjj4 7#f7 ,united ,nations ,secretary-,general ,antnio ,guterres took additional action1 including-- 7,a7 launching an investigation into the allegations by the ,united ,nation's highest oversight body1 the ,office of ,internal ,oversight ,services2 and 7,b7 creating an ,independent ,review ,group1 led by former ,french ,foreign ,minister ,catherine ,colonna1 to assess whether ,,unrwa is doing everything within its power to ensure neutrality and respond to allegations of serious neutrality breaches4 7#g7 ,in ,april #bjbd1 the ,independent ,review ,group-- 7,a7 concluded that ,,unrwa-- 7i7 has established a significant number of mechanisms and procedures to ensure compliance with humanitarian principles with an emphasis on the principle of neutrality2 7ii7 already possesses a more developed approach to neutrality than other similar ,united ,nations entities or nongovernmental organizations2 and 7iii7 recommended additional steps to strengthen neutrality policies1 all of which ,,unrwa immediately agreed to fully implement4 7#h7 ,,unrwa has implemented a ,high-,level ,action ,plan to implement the ,independent ,review ,group's recommendations4 ,as of ,september #bjbd-- 7,a7 #b recommendations have been fully implemented2 7,b7 #ag recommendations are in progress2 and 7,c7 the timeline for implementing the remaining recommendations is outlined in ,,unrwa's related ,high-,level ,action ,plan1 which articulates specific actions and resource requirements4 7#i7 ,on ,october #bh1 #bjbd1 ,department of ,state spokesperson ,matthew ,miller declared-- 7,a7 ,,unrwa plays an irreplaceable role right now in ,gaza1 where they are on the front lines getting humanitarian assistance to the people that need it4 ,there's nobody that can replace them right now in the middle of the crisis42 and 7,b7 ,,unrwa plays an important role providing services to ,palestinians in the ,west ,bank and throughout the region as well44 7#aj7 ,on ,november #ab1 #bjbd1 ,ambassador ,linda ,thomas-,greenfield1 the ,united ,states ,permanent ,representative to the ,united ,nations1 confirmed1 ,,unrwa's role has been vital as the frontline of this humanitarian response4 ,the ,agency facilitates approximately #hj percent of humanitarian aid in ,gaza44 7#aa7 ,following the decisive actions taken by the ,united ,nations and the commitments made by ,,unrwa toward additional reforms1 major member-state supports of ,,unrwa1 including the ,european ,union1 the ,united ,kingdom1 ,germany1 ,sweden1 ,japan1 ,france1 ,switzerland1 ,canada1 ,the ,netherlands1 ,australia1 ,italy1 ,austria1 ,finland1 ,iceland1 ,romania1 and ,estonia have resumed their funding to ,,unrwa4 7#ab7 ,ireland1 ,portugal1 ,spain1 and ,belgium have since provided resources to ,,unrwa beyond their original commitments4 7#ac7 ,the ,united ,states1 which has historically been the largest funder of ,,unrwa1 plays a pivotal role in supporting ,,unrwa's critical mission4 7#ad7 ,properly vetted funding for ,,unrwa remains in the comprehensive strategic interests of the ,united ,states and its allies4 7#ae7 ,in an ,october #ac1 #bjbd letter to the ,state of ,israel ,minister of ,defense1 ,yoav ,gallant1 and the ,state of ,israel ,minister of ,strategic ,affairs1 ,ron ,dermer1 ,secretary of ,state ,antony ,blinken and ,secretary of ,defense ,lloyd ,austin warned that #b draft bills being considered by the ,knessett would devastate the ,gaza humanitarian response and could have implications under relevant ,u4,s4 law and policy4 7#af7 ,on ,october #ai1 #bjbd1 ,ambassador ,linda ,thomas-,greenfield1 the ,united ,states ,permanent ,representative to the ,united ,nations1 expressed concerns about these #b draft bills at the ,united ,nations ,security ,council ,briefing on the ,middle ,east1 and stated there is no alternative to ,,unrwa when it comes to delivering food and other life-saving aid in ,gaza4 7#ag7 ,on ,october #bh1 #bjbd1 the ,israel ,knesset approved these #b bills1 which bar ,,unrwa from operating in ,israel and will drastically curtail ,,unrwa operations in the ,west ,bank and ,gaza4 7#ah7 ,on ,november #a1 #bjbd1 the world's leading humanitarian coordination forum1 known as the ,inter-,agency ,standing ,committee1 declared that implementation of the ,knesset legislation would be a catastrophe for the humanitarian response in ,gaza1 diametrically opposed to the ,united ,nations ,charter1 with potential dire impacts on the human rights of the millions of ,palestinians depending on ,,unrwa's assistance ''' there is no alternative to ,,unrwa44 7#ai7 ,if ,,unrwa cannot operate in the occupied ,palestinian territory1 the responsibility for providing services to ,palestinians1 and for bearing the cost of these services1 will lie not with the ,united ,nations1 but with ,israel4 #c4 ,statement of policy ,congress-- 7#a7 recognizes that preventing further erosion of civilian conditions in ,gaza remains in the strategic and moral interests of the ,united ,states2 7#b7 supports ,,unrwa's unique and indispensable contribution to immediately addressing urgent humanitarian needs in ,gaza1 especially in mitigating and stopping the spread of famine and disease2 7#c7 reaffirms the imperative of ,,unrwa's continued provision of humanitarian and human development services to ,palestinian refugees in all its current fields of operation1 including ,jordan1 ,lebanon1 ,syria1 ,gaza1 and the ,west ,bank 7including ,east ,jerusalem72 7#d7 urges the ,government of ,israel to assist ,,unrwa in its neutrality efforts by providing names1 information1 and evidence ,,unrwa can use to aggressively pursue allegations related to staff violations of ,,unrwa's neutrality policies2 7#e7 urges the ,president-- 7,a7 to join ,united ,states allies in restoring funding to ,,unrwa in response to the responsible actions taken by the ,united ,nations and the commitments made by ,,unrwa toward additional accountability and transparency2 and 7,b7 to ensure continued funding to ,,unrwa is assessed based on ,,unrwa's ongoing execution of the recommendations of the ,independent ,review ,group1 led by ,catherine ,colonna2 7#f7 recognizes the implementation of some of the ,independent ,review ,group's recommendations will require ,united ,nations member state cooperation1 including additional funding2 7#g7 urges the ,united ,states and ,israel to assist ,,unrwa in its implementation efforts of the ,independent ,review ,group's recommendations2 and 7#h7 supports appropriating critical funds to ,,unrwa for fiscal year #bjbe and beyond4 #d4 ,restoration of funding for ,,unrwa 7a7 ,in general ,beginning on the date of the enactment of this ,act-- 7#a7 title ,,iii of division ,g of the ,further ,consolidated ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbd 7,public ,law #aah-dg7 is hereby repealed2 7#b7 section #cjh of the ,israel ,security ,supplemental ,appropriations ,act1 #bjbd 7division ,a of ,public ,law #aah-ej7 is hereby repealed2 and 7#c7 notwithstanding any other provision of law1 the ,secretary of ,state shall1 as soon as practicable-- 7,a7 rescind the temporary pause in funding for ,,unrwa described in the press statement entitled ,statement on ,,unrwa ,allegations issued on ,january #bf1 #bjbd2 and 7,b7 resume the provision of funding to ,,unrwa under current authorities of the ,department of ,state4 7b7 ,reports ,not later than #ij days after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 and quarterly thereafter through ,december #ca1 #bjbg1 the ,secretary of ,state shall submit a report to the appropriate congressional committees of jurisdiction describing the steps ,,unrwa is taking to implement the recommendations made by the ,independent ,review ,group1 led by ,catherine ,colonna4