Sen. Markwayne Mullin, R-Okla., told Newsmax on Monday the U.S. should no longer fund agencies such as the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), which said earlier in the day it will fire nine staff members with alleged ties to Iranian-backed Hamas' Oct. 7 terrorist attack in Israel.
UNRWA, which said it has nearly 30,000 staff members across the Middle East, including 13,000 in the Gaza Strip, announced earlier Monday that nine of 19 staff members under investigation for their involvement in Hamas' terrorist attack will be fired. It said an internal investigation found no evidence against one staff member and insufficient evidence against nine others regarding their alleged involvement.
The Trump administration discontinued funding UNRWA, but President Joe Biden reversed that decision after he took office. Following reports of the involvement of UNRWA officials in the Oct. 7 attack, the Biden administration suspended funding the organization until March 2025, according to UN Watch.
"There's a huge issue here, and we shouldn't be funding them," Mullin told "The Record With Greta Van Susteren." "And until this is rooted out, we shouldn't be funding these individuals. ... These were crimes. These weren't acts of war. These were crimes in Israel on Oct. 7, and [they] literally did the most heinous crimes and terrorist acts that you can imagine."
Mullin said UNRWA's firing the nine staff members is not good enough.
"They should be brought up on criminal charges," he said. "They should be put away for the rest of their life, just like these other individuals. As part of this terrorist organization, how do you just simply fire them and move on?
"And we shouldn't give them another dime until we can make sure that this problem is rooted out, even if we ever fund them again. And I'm to the point now that we shouldn't fund them anymore.
"During the Trump administration, they did stop funding them. But President Biden took office, and he thought that we should fund them. Of course, now he has stopped funding them," Mullin said.
About NEWSMAX TV:
NEWSMAX is the fastest-growing cable news channel in America!
- Find Newsmax channel in your home via cable and satellite systems – More Info Here
- Watch Newsmax+ on your home TV app or smartphone and watch it anywhere! Try it for FREE -- See More Here: NewsmaxPlus.com
Michael Katz ✉
Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.
© 2024 Newsmax. All rights reserved.