The decision of a number of Western countries to cut their funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) threatens to stop aid provided periodically to about 6 million Palestinians spread across several Arab countries.
Over the past two days, 9 countries, including important donors such as the United States, Britain and Germany, decided to suspend their funding to the relief agency in the Gaza Strip after Israel accused 12 of the agency’s employees – who number several thousand – of participating in the Al-Aqsa Flood operation carried out by the Palestinian resistance on 7 Last October against the occupation in response to the continuing attacks.
After the agency announced the dismissal of those employees subject to the alleged accusations, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pledged on Sunday to “hold accountable any employee of the international organization involved in terrorist acts, including criminal prosecution,” but he appealed to governments to continue supporting the agency.
UNRWA, which was established in the wake of the Palestinian Nakba in 1948 pursuant to Resolution No. 302 issued by the United Nations General Assembly, provides assistance to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
The Agency currently contributes to providing the education, health and humanitarian assistance needs of approximately 5.9 million Palestinian refugees.
UNRWA funding sources
The agency obtains the necessary funds for its annual expenses in its five areas of operations, through financial grants provided by members of the United Nations, most notably: the United States, Britain, Germany, Saudi Arabia, the European Union, Sweden, Japan, Qatar, and the UAE.
International financial aid represents 93% of total expenditures, while the remaining percentage is distributed to international relief and humanitarian organizations, according to data published on the agency’s website.
According to UNRWA’s budget for 2023, total expenditures amounted to $1.6 billion, without counting the additional expenditures caused by the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which amounted to $481 million in the last quarter of 2023, which means that the amount exceeds $2 billion.
UNRWA’s expenses are distributed at a rate of 58% on education, 15% on the health sector, 13% on supporting families, 6% on social relief, 4% on improving camp infrastructure, and 4% on emergency situations.
UNRWA operates in 58 Palestine refugee camps, distributed as 19 camps in the West Bank, 8 camps in the Gaza Strip, 10 camps in Jordan, 12 camps in Lebanon, and 9 camps in Syria.
In the field of education, there are 706 schools affiliated with the agency, with an enrollment of 544,000 male and female students. In the health field, there are 140 centers by the end of 2023, recording approximately 7 million visits annually.
