Ricketts on the Senate Floor: “We Must Not Let Our Tax Dollars Go to Support Hamas”
December 7, 2023
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Yesterday on the Senate Floor, U.S. Senator Pete Ricketts (R-NE) expressed his support for Israel and called on his Senate colleagues to pass his Stop Support for Hamas Act. Ricketts called attention to how Hamas has stolen and abused international aid to Gaza to further its mission to annihilate Israel.
“We must stand with Israel until Hamas is destroyed utterly,” said Ricketts. “Humanity will have been done a favor by the state of Israel when Hamas is destroyed. We also must examine the Biden policies that are supporting Hamas… The Biden administration has already given $730 million and wants to add another $260 million to that. There’s this organization called the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine in the Near East. And it has long been documented that they have been infiltrated by Hamas.
Ricketts highlighted some of the examples of UNRWA’s extremism including teachers who preach about killing Jews, textbooks that glorify martyrdom, schools have stored weapons for Hamas. Ricketts also noted a United Nations report that suspected UNRWA schools had been used to launch rocket attacks on Israel. Since October 7th, several UNWRA employees, including 14 teachers, celebrated the attack. There is also a report an UNWRA teacher held one of the hostages in an attic and barely fed the hostage for nearly 50 days.
“This is an organization that has been described as essentially a branch of Hamas,” Ricketts added.“The Trump administration knew this. And so they cut off funds, with President Trump saying the organization, UNWRA, was irredeemable. And inexplicably, the Biden administration resumed funding and wants to continue resuming funding. We must not let our tax dollars go to support Hamas. And that’s why I’ve introduced the Stop Support for Hamas Act.”
Watch the video HERE.
The Stop Support for Hamas Act, introduced by Ricketts in October, would:
- Cut off contributions for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has been described as “effectively a branch of Hamas;”
- Freeze Economic Support Funds (ESF) to Gaza and the West Bank until Israel has verifiably dismantled the terrorist infrastructure of Hamas and other terrorist groups in Gaza;
- Strengthen certification requirements under the Palestinian Anti-Terrorism Act of 2006 to ensure that no ministry, agency or instrumentality of the Palestinian Authority (PA) employs members, agents or affiliates of Hamas;
- Ensure any U.S. assistance to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) operating in Gaza and the West Bank does not benefit Hamas or any other terrorist organization; and
- Strengthen Taylor Force Act provisions to prevent any U.S. funding that directly or indirectly benefits the PA until it ends its “pay for slay” program.
More information about the bill can be found HERE.