U.S. Representatives Ralph Abraham and Josh Gottheimer have introduced legislation to dissolve the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. The proposed bill aims to shift humanitarian duties to local governments to resolve allegations of systemic instability and violence within the agency .

The Replace UNRWA with Real Humanitarian Assistance Act

The legislation, titled the Replace UNRWA with Real Humanitarian Assistance Act, represents a bipartisan effort to fundamentally restructure how aid reaches Palestinian refugees. according to the report, Republican Representative Ralph Abraham of Louisiana and Democratic Representative Josh Gottheimer of New Jersey are leading the charge to dismantle the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) entirely.

The bill proposes a phased transition rather than an immediate cutoff of services. The goal is to redirect the agency's humanitarian responsibilities to regional authorities, effectively removing the United Nations from the direct administration of refugee services in the Near East. This shift is framed as a move toward greater accountability and stability in a region long plagued by conflict.

Shifting UNRWA schools to the Jordanian Ministry of Education

A central pillar of the proposed legislation is the nationalization of assets and services .. As the report describes, the bill suggests that host countries take over the infrastructure currently managed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees. This would essentially rebrand and integrate UN services under local sovereign authority.

In Jordan, for example, the bill envisions a transition where schools currently operated by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees would be absorbed by the Jordanian Ministry of Education. Under this model, the same teachers and budgets would remain in place, but the overarching mandate of the UNRWA would be stripped away, placing the schools under the direct control of the Jordanian state.

Hillel Neuer and the claim that UNRWA is beyond reform

The push for this legislation is heavily influenced by criticisms from non-governmental organizations, most notably UN Watch. Hillel Neuer, the executive director of UN Watch , has argued that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees is "beyond reform" due to documented reports of staff promoting terrorism and inciting violence.

This legislative effort echoes a broader, multi-year trend of increasing scrutiny regarding the neutrality of UN-led operations in the Middle East. by arguing that the current framework fosters dependency and perpetuates the cycle of conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, proponents of the bill are attempting to break a decades-old internationalist model of aid in favor of a state-led approach.

The Gaza challenge and the role of the Palestinian Authority

The most significant hurdle for the Replace UNRWA with Real Humanitarian Assistance Act is the current state of Gaza, which remains under the control of Hamas. while the bill seeks to transfer operations to regional governments, the lack of a stable, recognized administrative partner in Gaza complicates the phased replacement of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.

Hillel Neuer suggests that the Palestinian Authority could be a preferable entity to oversee these humanitarian functions, despite its own documented flaws. However,several critical questions remain unanswered in the current proposal: how the U.S. would ensure that funds transferred to regional governments do not reach Hamas, what specific legal mechanisms would force host countries to accept these assets, and whether the Palestinian Authority possesses the actual capacity to manage the scale of services currently provided by the UN.