Palestinian aid appeal for 2019 slashed to $350m

The UN and the Palestinian Authority yesterday appealed for a vastly reduced sum of US$350 million (Dh1.28bn) in aid for Palestinians next year.

Both groups said more was needed but they were being realistic after a year of funding cuts.

About 500,000 fewer Palestinians will receive assistance under next year’s Humanitarian Response Plan, which focuses on Palestinians most in need of food, health care, shelter, water and sanitation, said Jamie McGoldrick, UN humanitarian co-ordinator in the occupied territories.

“We will be able to assist fewer people this year – 1.4 million people are being targeted as opposed to 1.9 million last year.”

Mr McGoldrick was speaking at the launch of the appeal in Ramallah, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. The Palestinian humanitarian appeal for this year was for $539m.

More than three quarters of the funds sought would go to Gaza, the appeal organisers said, because the densely populated coastal strip faced a “dire humanitarian situation” after years of an Israeli-led blockade, Palestinian political divisions and casualties from demonstrations.

Mr McGoldrick said donations were down in many areas around the world but local aid work was hit particularly hard this year when the US ended funding for the UN agency that helps five million Palestinian refugees.

“Humanitarian actors are faced with record-low funding this year, at the same time we face massive and increasing needs,” he said.

Mr McGoldrick said agencies faced “political forces that are using or tampering with aid”, and attacks on their work by those intent on “delegitimising some of the work of the humanitarian actors”.

Washington promised $365m to the UN agency this year but paid only a first installment of $60m before announcing in August that it would halt all donations.

The agency made up most of the shortfall with donations from other countries including Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Kuwait, which each contributed about $50m, UN spokesman Chris Gunness said last month.

Palestinian Social Development Minister Ibrahim Al Shaer yesterday said: “The position of the Palestinian government is that we will not drop our legitimate rights for aid and money.”