Key facts
- Sens. Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz called for the dismantling of UNRWA.
- They urged President Trump to eliminate UNRWA from the UN budget.
- The senators cited UNRWA's alleged connivance at Islamist terrorism against Israel.
Senators Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz have publicly called for the complete dismantling of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). In a statement reported by the Washington Examiner, the senators urged President Donald Trump to "fully dismantle UNRWA and eliminate it from the U.N. budget." Their reasoning centers on the accusation that UNRWA "has long connived at Islamist terrorism against Israel."