The funding available to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will sustain its work in Gaza until mid-June, UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl told the Security Council on Wednesday
UNITED NATIONS (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 22nd May, 2019) The funding available to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will sustain its work in Gaza until mid-June, UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl told the Security Council on Wednesday."As we speak, UNRWA has only enough money to run its operations until mid-June. Then we will hit negative figures and a funding gap," Krahenbuhl said.
Krahenbuhl said to sustain all UNRWA operations, including food, health, and education assistance to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the agency requires $1.2 billion in 2019, the exact amount that was mobilized in 2018.
"I therefore humbly call on all our partners to repeat their generous support and preserve the successful dynamic created in 2018," he said.
The head of the UNRWA pointed out that the upcoming pledging conference, scheduled to take place in New York on June 25, will represent an opportunity to obtain the necessary funds and continue managing humanitarian operations.
Krahenbuhl noted that in 2018, the UNRWA experienced the most severe funding crisis since the start of its operations in 1950, reducing its expenditures by $92 million and overcoming a deficit of $446 million.
Last August, US President Donald Trump's administration announced that it had cut around $200 million in aid to the Palestinians. In September, Washington halted another $300 million in funding for the UNRWA.
Gaza has been at the center of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, which has raged on for decades. The Palestinians have been seeking diplomatic recognition for their independent state on the territories of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, which are partially occupied by Israel, and the Gaza Strip. In March 2018, the conflict escalated with Palestinians launching weekly protests on the Gaza border, which has led to over 300 Palestinians being killed.
