Secretary General of the Arab States’ League, Mr. Ahmad Abuelgheit, urged on Thursday, all donor countries that contribute to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), to promptly fill in current deficit of UNRWA’s budget.
Abuelgheit’s appeal came during a meeting at the latter’s Cairo-based office, between himself and UNRWA Commissioner General, Filip Lazirini, as the two discussed conditions of Palestinian refugee camps, across the occupied Palestinian territories and the Diaspora.
Abuelgheit stressed during the meeting that all donor countries should not ignore the fact that Palestinian refugees are going through some more serious conditions, noting that UNRWA-provided services are quite vital, in a time when 80 % of Gaza’s two million residents rely on humanitarian aid contributed by the agency.
He also pointed out that with the spread of Coronavirus in the Palestinian territories, it is an imperative that Palestinian populations in both Gaza and the West Bank, receive more medical services.
UNRWA is the main service provider for around 6,000,000 Palestinian refugees, since the organization was established in 1949, only one year after the Palestinian people’s Nakba (catastrophe) and the creation of the state of Israel in 1948.
Over the past couple of years, UNRWA’s financial deficit has mounted, especially after Washington began withholding its annual funding to the agency, estimated at one third of UNRWA’s budget.
