UN Palestinian agency urgently short of funding after Trump aid cut
The U.N. Palestinian agency is seeking urgent funding at a conference in Rome so the agency can only keep schools and medical services in the occupied territories open until May after the U.S. funding cut
GLOBAL powers gather in Rome today to discuss the future of the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, which faces an unprecedented crisis since the U.S. froze tens of millions of dollars in funding. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) only has enough funds to keep schools and medical services open until May, its Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl told AFP.
Today’s conference in Rome, hosted by Sweden, Jordan and Egypt, will be attended by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini. Both of- ficials have called on countries to step in and fill the gap left by the U.S. cuts. A major funding drive launched by UNRWA after the U.S. freeze has raised little new money, and diplomats are not optimistic about getting major pledges in the Italian capital. U.N. officials want European countries to step in to fill part of the gap but are looking at Gulf Arab countries, in particular. Fear is rife about the future of the organization that employs more than 20,000 people across the Middle East, the vast majority Palestinians.
After blackmailing Palestinians with financial aid threat, the Trump administration has frozen funding for Palestin- ian refugees who are in dire need of basic humanitarian services. The U.S. has so far committed only $60 million to the agency this year, down from $360 million in 2017. Trump has frozen two planned payments worth more than $100 million, one for UNRWA’s central budget and one for food aid. The funding cuts were announced in January, one month after Trump sparked outcry across the Middle East by recognizing Jerusalem as Israel’s capital.
The UNRWA was formed in 1949 and supports some 5 million Palestinians in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria, many of whose families fled during the conflict that followed Israel’s declaration of independence in 1948. It offers vital support for these refugees and their descendants in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and the West Bank and Gaza, providing services for more than three million people. This includes education for around half a million students, with nearly 30 percent of its funding coming from the United States.
Due to the lack of an energy supply, people are predominantly relying on gasoline-fueled generators and solar panels to keep their refrigerators cool and to have access to hot water. Considering that oil prices are high due to the blockade, Gazan people are in a dire situation. Thus, hundreds of people engaged in a protest against Israel and the Palestinian Authority as international rights groups warn that there might be a total collapse of basic services. With only three hours of electricity available per day, the U.N. warned that half of Gaza’s population is in need of humanitarian aid. Israel said it would reduce electricity supplies after the Palestinian Authority limited its payments for power. The displaced Gazans who live in refugee camps have been facing the cutting of education and health services that depend on the foreign aid.