UN agency for Palestinians launches global funding campaign after US aid cut

UNITED NATIONS, Jan 22 (APP):The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Monday launched a global fund raising campaign after the United States slashed its financial contribution.
UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl said at a press conference in Amman that the campaign “comes following the drastic reduction of the support provided by the United States to UNRWA.”
“We are facing an unprecedented crisis,” Krahenbuhl added. “The U.S. decision is sudden and harmful, but we are determined to continue to contact all donors, including Palestinians abroad to donate for UNRWA.”
Last week the State Department notified UNRWA that the US is withholding $65 million of a planned $125 million funding installment. It also made clear that additional US donations will be contingent on major changes by UNRWA.
Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians either fled or were forced from their homes during the war that led to Israel’s establishment in 1948. Today, there are an estimated 5 million refugees and their descendants, mostly scattered across the region. UNWRA provides them with education, health and welfare services.
The commissioner-general called the decision “abrupt and harmful.”
He said the agency will create new funding alliances and get the UN secretary-general involved in high-level ministerial meetings to generate donations from countries.
The “Dignity is Priceless” campaign aims to raise $500 million to ensure that the agency’s core services are unaffected.
“We cannot accept that this investment in education, in health care, and in dignity and respect would be interrupted in any way. It’s much too risky for the entire Middle East,” Krahenbuhl warned.
The US is UNWRA’s largest donor, supplying nearly 30 percent of its budget. The agency focuses on providing health care, education and social services to Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
In Gaza, more than 1.3 million residents ”half the population” rely on food and other services provided by the agency. On Monday, Gaza businesses went on a partial strike to protest the economic situation.
Notices on the shuttered doors read “we want to live” and “enough of siege,” referring to the blockade imposed by Israel and Egypt after Hamas took over the territory in 2007.