Is UNRWA ‘Complicit In Terrorism?’: John Kirby Asked Point Blank By Reporter

4 months ago

During Thursday’s White House press briefing, National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby was asked about UNRWA.

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Transcript

00:00Thank you, Corinne. I've got two questions, but first, can you tell me the back story

00:04behind the nice blanket you've got around your neck over there?

00:07Well, I had a chance to meet with some of the hostages' families myself back in December,

00:15and the father of one gave me this to wear, and I try to wear it as much as I can just

00:21to remember that, again, 293 days they need to be home with their families. And since

00:26they're here at the White House, and this is going to be a prime topic of conversation,

00:29I thought it was appropriate to wear it today.

00:31Does the President have one?

00:32I don't know.

00:33Okay, I've got two questions. Is it or is it not the U.S. Government's position that

00:39UNRWA is complicit in terrorism?

00:42UNRWA does some things that no other agency can do on the ground in Gaza. You and I both

00:46know that. Now, there has been an investigation done to some of their employees, and I understand

00:52that there's been some additional claims or charges against additional employees too

00:58that have been laid out there. But it's clear to us that UNRWA has taken this seriously.

01:02They fully investigated it. They eliminated the employment of those that they believe

01:07were involved in terrorist activities. It's absolutely unacceptable, not just to us, but

01:11it should be, and we believe it is, unacceptable to UNRWA. But UNRWA is still – and yes,

01:18I know we're not providing funding them now because of legislation, but I think it's

01:22important for people to know that there are things that can't get done without UNRWA's

01:25cooperation and support on the ground.

01:27And the Government's position is that those are claims and charges, right?

01:30No.

01:31Claims and charges.

01:32Well, some of them have been verified because they did their own investigation, UNRWA did,

01:36and terminated some of those employees. So clearly, there was something to it.

01:40My second question. Hezbollah has been firing thousands of rockets. At what point does that

01:46violate the President's don't, don't, don't warning?

01:49We are working, as I said in my opening statement, to try to resolve the differences at and

01:55around the blue line. We haven't seen – although there has been firing back and forth across

02:01that blue line, we want to see that stop. We haven't seen it escalate into an all-out

02:06war here, nor do we want that to happen, which is why we're working so hard diplomatically

02:11to try to find a solution.

02:12One of the things that the Prime Minister and the President will talk about today is

02:15what we need to do, what more do we need to do to stabilize the situation on the blue

02:20line so that families, both Lebanese and Israeli, can start to move back to their homes.

02:24All right. Let's let the Admiral go. Go ahead, Jen.

Is UNRWA ‘Complicit In Terrorism?’: John Kirby Asked Point Blank By Reporter

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