{"id":2229372,"date":"2024-04-24T16:29:02","date_gmt":"2024-04-24T20:29:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israel-tried-to-warn-biden-admin-about-unrwa-a-top-us-official-declined-the-meeting-emails-show\/"},"modified":"2024-04-24T16:32:39","modified_gmt":"2024-04-24T20:32:39","slug":"israel-tried-to-warn-biden-admin-about-unrwa-a-top-us-official-declined-the-meeting-emails-show","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/israel-tried-to-warn-biden-admin-about-unrwa-a-top-us-official-declined-the-meeting-emails-show\/","title":{"rendered":"Israel Attempted to Alert Biden Administration About UNRWA, But Meeting Request Rejected by US Official, Revealed in Emails"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fisrael-tried-to-warn-biden-admin-about-unrwa-a-top-us-official-declined-the-meeting-emails-show%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2229372&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>In\u200d May\u2063 2021, USAID head Samantha Power \u200ddeclined a meeting\u2064 with Israeli ambassador\u2064 Gilad Erdan amid the Hamas conflict. Erdan sought\u2064 to\u2062 discuss US funding for the UN&#8217;s\u200d Palestinian aid agency, linked to Hamas activities. Power\u200b delayed\u200d the meeting until after the conflict ended, reflecting tensions over UNRWA funding and aid oversight concerns. In May 2021, Samantha Power, the head\u2064 of USAID, refused a meeting with \u2064Israeli ambassador\u2064 Gilad Erdan during the Hamas conflict. Erdan wanted to address the US funding for the UN&#8217;s Palestinian aid agency tied\u200c to Hamas. Power postponed the meeting until after the conflict, highlighting issues around UNRWA funding \u2063and aid supervision.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<h2>USAID head Samantha Power declined meeting with Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan during 2021 Hamas conflict<\/h2>\n<figure><figcaption> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tSamantha Power (cropped from Ali Moustafa\/Getty Images)\t\t\t<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div>\n<p>When Israel&#8217;s ambassador was denied a meeting with the Biden administration in May 2021, he was looking to raise concerns about American funding to the United Nations&#8217; Palestinian aid agency, whose employees went on to participate in Hamas&#8217;s Oct. 7 terror strike last year, internal government <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/Samantha-Powers-USAID-production.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">emails<\/a> show.<\/p>\n<p>Samantha Power, the head of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), declined to take a meeting with Gilad Erdan, then the Israeli ambassador to the United States, when the Jewish state was locked in its 2021 conflict with Hamas, the <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/israel\/senior-biden-admin-official-refused-to-meet-with-israeli-ambassador-during-2021-hamas-conflict-internal-emails-show\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><em>Washington Free Beacon<\/em> reported<\/a> in February, citing internal USAID emails.<\/p>\n<p>A new tranche of scheduling memos from that time shows that Power personally declined to meet with Erdan until the war with Hamas was over. The memos also show Power&#8217;s staff warned her that the Israeli ambassador would likely raise concerns about the Biden administration&#8217;s decision to restart funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). The agency has been engulfed in controversy since reports showed that several of its employees helped Hamas kill more than 1,200 Jews.<\/p>\n<p>The memos indicate that Israel was attempting to warn the Biden administration about UNRWA&#8217;s links to Hamas and signal concern with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/top-secret-hamas-intelligence-center-discovered-beneath-u-n-aid-groups-gaza-headquarters-israeli-military-says\/\" title=\"Israeli military uncovers secret Hamas intelligence center beneath U.N. aid group's Gaza headquarters\">aid group&#8217;<\/a>s employment of individuals affiliated with the terror group. The United States restarted millions of dollars in taxpayer funding for UNRWA just weeks before Erdan requested the meeting with Power and the 2021 conflict with Hamas broke out.<\/p>\n<p>In the previously unreported scheduling memo, Power says she wants to defer the meeting until Israel inks a ceasefire with Hamas, a move that increased pressure on the Jewish state to scale back its military operations in the Gaza Strip. The Biden administration has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/big-tech-companies-mobilize-to-disrupt-texas-abortion-law\/\" title=\"Big Tech Companies Mobilize To Disrupt Texas Abortion Law\">employed similar tactics<\/a> in recent months as it again attempts to pressure Israel into ending its war on Hamas and begin pumping millions of aid dollars into the war torn Gaza Strip.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Let&#8217;s revert after Gaza war (not before),&#8221; Power wrote in the margins of the memo prepared by her staff, who had recommended she take the meeting.<\/p>\n<p>The memo informed Power that the Israeli ambassador may &#8220;voice concerns about [U.S. government] support for UNRWA,&#8221; which could have contributed to the USAID leader&#8217;s hesitance to discuss the issue.<\/p>\n<p>Power&#8217;s staffers eventually informed their colleagues in the region that the meeting would not take place.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;The Administrator [Power] would like to take the meeting with the Ambassador but wants to hold until there is a ceasefire or resolution to the currently [sic] escalation of the conflict,&#8221; a scheduler in Power&#8217;s office <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Screen-Shot-2024-02-09-at-1.46.55-PM-1.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">wrote<\/a> in a May 18 email.<\/p>\n<p>That note, as well as the scheduling memo, was produced through a Freedom and Information Act request and provided to the <em>Free Beacon<\/em> by the Center to Advance Security in America (CASA), a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wuhan-lab-kept-nih-funding-despite-trump-crackdown\/\" title=\"Wuhan Lab Kept NIH Funding Despite Trump Crackdown\">government watchdog group<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>CASA director James Fitzpatrick said the memo indicates the Biden administration did not want to address Israel&#8217;s concerns about UNRWA at a time when it was just starting to pour millions into the aid group&#8217;s coffers.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Given that it has since been uncovered that UNWRA employees were involved in the Hamas attack on innocent Israeli citizens, it is extremely disturbing that Ambassador Erdan&#8217;s concerns were not addressed in a timely manner by USAID and Power,&#8221; Fitzpatrick told the <em>Free Beacon<\/em>. &#8220;The administration&#8217;s priority should be meeting and conferring with our allies about their concerns, whenever possible, not putting conditions on meetings when they are responding to terrorist attacks.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>Power played a central role in restarting American funding to UNRWA, which was frozen under the Trump administration because of the aid group&#8217;s anti-Israel bias and suspected links to Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>Israel has been a vocal opponent of this funding, publicly and privately pushing the Biden administration to reconsider its financial support for UNRWA, which has totaled millions in recent years.<\/p>\n<p>The United States froze UNRWA funding earlier this year, after it became clear that around a dozen of the aid group&#8217;s employees participated in the Oct. 7 attacks. Israel estimates that around 10 percent of UNRWA&#8217;s workforce is affiliated with Hamas.<\/p>\n<p>Amid the funding freeze, the State Department <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/biden-admin-coordinates-with-unrwa-after-congress-banned-taxpayer-dollars-state-department-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">has continued<\/a> to work with UNRWA, saying the U.N. agency serves a &#8220;critical role&#8221; delivering aid in the Gaza Strip. Power <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freep.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2024\/02\/08\/pro-palestinian-protesters-rally-biden-aides-visit-michigan\/72525244007\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said<\/a> in February that the Biden administration &#8220;will not be abandoning UNRWA.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>USAID&#8217;s global funding initiatives have also been plagued by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ig-sba-disburses-1-49-billion-in-covid-relief-without-budgets-matching-grant-awards\/\" title=\"IG: SBA Disburses .49 Billion in COVID Relief Without Budgets Matching Grant Awards\">poor oversight<\/a>.\t<\/p>\n<p>The agency funneled nearly $1 million &#8220;to a terror charity in Gaza involved with the son of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh,&#8221; a watchdog group <a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/national-security\/u-s-funneled-nearly-1-million-to-hamas-linked-charity-that-hosted-terror-leaders-son-report-says\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported <\/a>earlier this month.<\/p>\n<p>USAID has faced Republican <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/policy\/foreign-policy\/2865305\/usaid-watchdog-tax-dollars-terrorism-tied-ngo-biden-sent-more-cash\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pressure<\/a> in Congress for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/freedom-of-expression-foggy-bottom-stands-by-10k-grant-to-queer-film-fest\/\" title=\"\u2018Freedom of Expression\u2019: Foggy Bottom Stands by K Grant to Queer Film Fest\">awarding taxpayer funds<\/a> to groups with alleged ties to terrorism. The agency&#8217;s inspector general is reportedly investigating claims that at least $110,000 in funds were sent to a charity tied to Pakistani militant groups.<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Published under:<\/strong> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/biden-administration\/\" title=\"View all posts in Biden Administration\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBiden Administration\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/foreign-aid\/\" title=\"View all posts in Foreign Aid\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tForeign Aid\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/foreign-policy\/\" title=\"View all posts in Foreign Policy\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tForeign Policy\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/gaza\/\" title=\"View all posts in Gaza\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tGaza\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/hamas\/\" title=\"View all posts in Hamas\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHamas\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/israel\/\" title=\"View all posts in Israel\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIsrael\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/palestinians\/\" title=\"View all posts in Palestinians\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPalestinians\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/samantha-power\/\" title=\"View all posts in Samantha Power\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSamantha Power\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/terrorism\/\" title=\"View all posts in Terrorism\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTerrorism\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/united-nations\/\" title=\"View all posts in United Nations\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUnited Nations\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/unrwa\/\" title=\"View all posts in UNRWA\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUNRWA\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t, \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/tag\/usaid\/\" title=\"View all posts in USAID\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUSAID\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>During the 2021 Hamas conflict, USAID head Samantha Power rejected a meeting with Israeli ambassador Gilad Erdan. Erdan aimed to address concerns about US funding for the UN&#8217;s Palestinian aid agency. The denied meeting highlighted tensions over aid distribution<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":117,"featured_media":2229373,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/usaid-officials-arrive-near-egypts-border-with-gaza-amid-foreign-aid-d_736x514.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[544],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2229372","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-free-beacon"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/freebeacon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/usaid-officials-arrive-near-egypts-border-with-gaza-amid-foreign-aid-d_736x514.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229372","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/117"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2229372"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2229372\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2229373"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2229372"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2229372"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2229372"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}