Palestinians dread austerity measures by UNRWA
As the organization scrambles to replace withheld US funding, some Palestinians fear the aid cuts could be the beginning of the end for UNRWA.
US State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert announced Jan. 16 that the United States had sent $60 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) but withheld $65 million from the amount expected, calling on other nations to contribute more.
The announcement followed a Jan. 2 threat by US President Donald Trump to stop supporting Palestinians if they do not resume negotiations with Israel.
The United States is the top donor to UNRWA, contributing 24% of its total annual budget. With it, the body provides health care, education and social services for Palestinian refugees in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Amal al-Batsh, the director of the Union of Arab Employees at UNRWA in Gaza, told Al-Monitor, “UNRWA is suffering from a deficit of $146 million, which prompted it to borrow from the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs to pay its employees’ salaries in December.”
