The US government has dramatically increased funding for projects in Gaza and the West Bank in 2024. In parallel, it has drastically decreased transparency.

Based on usaspending.gov – an official website that tracks federal spending – USAID and the State Department have allocated or provided approximately $200 million to “miscellaneous foreign awardees” operating in the West Bank and Gaza in 2024.1 For these funds, the organizations receiving this US taxpayer support – or their local partners – are not identified.

This lack of transparency is particularly concerning given the threat of aid diversion by Hamas and other malign actors in Palestinian areas. In particular, as has been clearly documented, funds intended for humanitarian and developmental purposes have, at times, been funneled to terrorist organizations and other violent actors, like Hamas, and by NGOs linked to such groups. 

The June 2022 conviction of Muhammed el-Halabi – head of Gaza operations for the humanitarian organization World Vision – for transferring funds and building materials to Hamas, highlights this issue. Similarly, on December 9, 2024, Bloomberg reported that World Central Kitchen (WCK) fired over 10% of its Gaza workforce, after 60 employees failed to pass Israeli security checks.  This followed a November 30, 2024 IDF strike that killed a WCK employee who had participated in the Hamas-orchestrated October 7th massacre.

Oversight of US allocations in Gaza

Additionally, the absence of transparency hampers Congressional oversight.  The need for effective oversight is highlighted in an August 2024 report from  USAID’s Office of the Inspector-General (OIG) which found that “USAID Did Not Consistently Perform Expected Due Diligence,” when working with “multilateral organizations, including United Nations agencies such as the World Food Programme and UNICEF, and the World Bank.” 

The OIG continues: “by not performing appropriate pre- and post-award due diligence, USAID limits its insight and ability to oversee this PIO [Public International Organizations] funding, potentially leading to serious issues including diversion of funds or goods. Failure to fully understand the organizational capacity of a PIO could create significant reputational risk, particularly in humanitarian assistance programming in Gaza, for which Congress has recently required enhanced oversight due to the potential for diversion to designated terrorist organizations.” (emphasis added)

(For more information on the threat of aid diversion in Gaza, and Hamas infiltration of UN agencies and international NGOs, see testimony provided by NGO Monitor Director of Research, Yona Schiffmiller, to the House Foreign Affairs Committee in May 2024. Regarding terror-linked NGOs and diversion in the context of UN operations in Gaza, see NGO Monitor’s January 2024 and April 2024 analyses.)

US funding to terror-linked Palestinian NGOs

The reduced transparency is also concerning given previous instances of US funding to Palestinian NGOs that partnered with officials from US-designated terrorist organizations and promoted violence against Israelis.

For instance, as NGO Monitor revealed in September 2023, the State Department provided $90,000 that year to the Gaza-based Phoenix Center.  At the same time, and indicating a lack of oversight and monitoring, Phoenix’s website featured articles in which the NGO called for increasing “armed resistance” against Israel and for launching a “third intifada.”  Additionally, the NGO publicized its cooperation and collaboration with senior Palestinian Islamic Jihad officials. 

NGO Monitor published analyses (2021, 2022) of USAID funding that revealed support for Palestinian NGOs that glorified violence against Israelis and whose officials praised US-designated terrorist organizations.

  • For instance, in 2022, USAID provided $78,000 to the Community Development and Continuing Education Institute (CDCE-I).   In 2019, CDCE-I board chair, Imad Al-Zeer, participated in an event celebrating the 52nd anniversary of the founding of the PFLP terrorist organization. 
  • NGO Monitor’s 2021 report, “USAID-funded Palestinian NGOs: Introducing Children to Convicted Terrorists,” includes numerous examples of US-funded NGOs presenting convicted terrorists as role models, praising specific acts of terrorism, and encouraging children to support violence, hostage taking, and incarcerated terrorists.

Recommendations

It is imperative that US taxpayer-funded projects in Gaza and the West Bank are implemented transparently, including publicizing all organizations and agencies involved.

Moreover, when selecting beneficiaries, Federal agencies such as USAID and the State Department must independently review publicly available information to ensure that taxpayer funds are not appropriated to organizations with ties to terror, or to groups that glorify violence, espouse antisemitism, deny Israel’s right to exist, or advocate for BDS.  This includes funding administered by UN bodies.

2024 US funding to “Miscellaneous Foreign Awardees” in the West Bank and Gaza

Name of AgencyName of RecipientFunding AmountDates of AllocationDescription
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$12 millionSeptember 2024 - August 2025Provide vital health, protection, and WASH assistance activities in West Bank Gaza.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$200,000 September 2024 - August 2025Provide humanitarian organizations access to timely, reliable, and high-quality safety services.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$22 millionSeptember 2024 - August 2025Provide multisectoral assistance to conflict-affected populations in Gaza.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$15 millionSeptember 2024 - August 2025Provide urgent food, nutrition, WASH, and HCIMA assistance to conflict-affected populations.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$148,520 September 2024 - September 2025"Teach for Gaza" project providing educational and training opportunities for university students impacted by the war.
Department of StateMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$131,719 September 2024 - January 2026Transform trauma into hope by empowering Palestinian youth towards conflict resolution, nonviolence, and peacebuilding.
Department of StateMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$121,107 September 2024 - January 2026Expand nonviolence labs project in Palestinian schools.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$27 millionNovember 2023 - July 2025Multisectoral response in Gaza.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$1.2 millionOctober 2023 - June 2025Support protection services to vulnerable populations in the West Bank.
Department of StateMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$200,000 September 2023 - September 2025Identify market needs and develop training materials to enhance graduates' employment skills.
Department of StateMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$50,000 September 2023 - October 2025Connect software development businesses and entrepreneurs in Gaza with potential customers worldwide.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$68.1 millionJuly 2023 - June 2025Provide emergency health, protection, nutrition, and DRR support in Gaza.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$20.7 millionMay 2023 - March 2025Deliver emergency food security and livelihoods support to vulnerable households in Gaza.
Department of StateMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$50,000 September 2022 - June 2024Implement nonviolence labs curriculum in West Bank private schools and assess impacts.
Department of StateMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$20,000 September 2022 - March 2023Support women who survived cancer through the cancer survivors club project.
USAIDMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$32 millionApril 2022 - October 2025Provide multi-purpose cash assistance to vulnerable households in Gaza.
Department of StateMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$31,000 September 2022 – May 2024Developing the Palestinian journalists' English language skills, is a 15-month project that will be implemented in cooperation with a local partner, Fares Al Arab for development (FAFD) in Gaza.
Department of StateMiscellaneous Foreign Awardees$28,650 July 2023 – June 2024Implement the academy of women entrepreneurs with 25 Palestinian women in East Jerusalem who are ready to start or recently started a small enterprise. JEST will facilitate group viewings of Dreambuilders webinars plus supplemental activities.