Jordan warns of catastrophic consequences of UNRWA budget crisis

Jordan has warned that a severe cash crisis facing the UN agency for Palestinian refugees could have a “catastrophic” impact on the lives of millions of Palestinian refugees in the region.

According to Press TV, following talks with visiting the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl on Wednesday, Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi said the financial shortfall facing the UN agency could deprive refugees of core education, healthcare and food security service

Such a situation would only “deepen their humanitarian plight,” he said.

“UNRWA faces a dangerous financial deficit that threatens catastrophic consequences on refugees if it is not covered before its financial allocations run out,” Safadi was quoted as saying in a Foreign Ministry statement.

UNRWA has faced a financial shortfall since the United States, traditionally the largest donor to UNRWA, cut its annual grant from $360 million to just $60 million.

The funding crisis came in January after US President Donald Trump alleged that the Palestinian Authority was no longer willing to engage in the so-called peace talks with Israel.

The US-Palestine ties deteriorated last December, when Washington recognized al-Quds as the “capital” of Israel and announced plans to transfer the embassy from Tel Aviv to al-Quds.

The contentious move led President Mahmoud Abbas to formally declare that Palestinians would no longer accept the US as a mediator to resolve the conflict because Washington was  “completely biased” towards Tel Aviv.

The US embassy relocation took place on May 14, the eve of the 70th anniversary of the Nakba Day (the Day of Catastrophe), sparking deadly clashes in Gaza.

According to UNRWA, over 1.5 million Palestinians - almost a third of the registered Palestinian refugees - live in 58 recognized refugee camps in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the besieged Gaza Strip and West Bank.

UNRWA is tasked with providing assistance and protection to a population of some five million registered Palestine refugees.

According to UN officials, the reduction in UNRWA’s funding could even affect the opening of schools at the start of the next academic year.

The Jordanian foreign minister further said that his country, which hosts the largest number of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East outside Palestinian territories, was engaged in intensive lobbying with donors.

ME