Senators push to strip UNRWA of legal immunity, empower terror victims to sue
GOP law makers 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 Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) the legislation would provide victims and their families with a legal path to pursue damages
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“For decades [UNRWA has] knowingly provided support to Hamas terrorists, including salaries and materials,”
“That support facilitated Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 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”
Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) a co-sponsor of the legislation, echoed the concern, pointing to what he described as a long history of UNRWA backing radical elements
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“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 October 7 and the sick individuals responsible for this terrorism must be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law”
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
