President Trump wasted no time defunding the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, but it turns out his administration wasn’t finished.
The Justice Department declared that UNRWA is “not entitled to immunity” from prosecution, reversing the Biden administration’s position and exposing the agency to potentially ruinous damages from a $1 billion lawsuit brought by survivors and families of the victims of the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas massacre.
Under President Biden, the Justice Department said that the agency and its staffers have “absolute immunity” under the International Organizations Immunities Act of 1945, but the Trump administration disagreed.
“Previously, the Government expressed the view that certain immunities shielded UNRWA from having to answer those allegations in American courts,” said the Thursday letter to U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres of the Southern District of New York.
“The Government has since reevaluated that position, and now concludes UNRWA is not immune from this litigation. Nor are the bulk of other defendants,” said the letter, which was signed by U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton and Acting Assistant Attorney General Yaakov Roth.
The letter was submitted in support of the lawsuit filed June 24 on behalf of more than 100 victims and survivors against UNRWA and seven of its current or former leaders, accusing them of helping Hamas build over the last decade “the terror infrastructure and personnel that were necessary to carry out the October 7 Attack.”
“As a result, UNRWA is not subject to the General Convention, and is not immune from suit under that treaty or current U.S. law,” the letter said.
STUNNING REVERSAL: 🇺🇸 U.S. Department of Justice Strips UNRWA of Immunity. “The complaint alleges atrocious conduct on the part of UNRWA. The Government believes they must answer these allegations in American courts. The prior Administration’s view that they do not was wrong.”
🧵 pic.twitter.com/0NWkkulqER
— Hillel Neuer (@HillelNeuer) April 25, 2025
Whether the court agrees remains to be seen, but the letter was viewed as an enormous boost for the victims’ families as they seek to hold the agency accountable in U.S. courts.
Hillel Neuer, UN Watch executive director, described the administration’s action as a “stunning reversal.”
“This is a watershed moment for the victims of October 7th and for all those who seek justice,” said Mr. Neuer in a Friday statement. “UNRWA can no longer hide behind the cloak of diplomatic immunity. They must now answer for their role in enabling Hamas terrorism.”
UNRWA, which oversees aid to Palestinian refugees living in Gaza, the West Bank and elsewhere, has been accused of assisting Hamas by storing weapons in its facilities; employing Hamas terrorists, and using Hamas-approved antisemitic materials in its schools.
The lawsuit alleged that agency employees, including teachers and social workers, personally participated in the Oct. 7 attack.
“Numerous UNRWA staff took part in abductions, killings and torturing during the October 7 Attack in which approximately 1,200 people were killed and over 250 kidnapped and held hostage,” said the June 24 complaint.
The UN fired 10 agency workers last year after an investigation into their involvement in the attack. Two other employees had died.
In a Friday statement, UNRWA spokesperson Juliet Touma that the DOJ filing flew in the face of the “longstanding recognition that UNRWA is a subsidiary body of the General Assembly and an integral part of the United Nations, entitled to immunity from legal process.”
She added that the agency “will consider whether any other action is appropriate with respect to the letter.”
The agency lost its largest funder in February when Mr. Trump signed an executive order saying that “the United States will not fund UNRWA.” The nation has contributed an estimated $7.3 billion to the agency since 1950.
Eugene Kontorovich, professor at George Mason University’s Antonin Scalia School of Law, called the Justice Department’s volte-face a “tremendous development,” while former U.S. Deputy Special Envoy to Combat Antisemitism Ellie Cohanim cheered the letter on X as a “huge victory for Justice & for victims.”
“This ruling sends an unmistakable message: Those who aid and abet terror — even under a UN flag — will be held accountable,” said Mr. Neuer.
This story was based in part on wire service reports.
