Saudi donates $25m to UNRWA

Saudi Arabia has donated $25 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) through its embassy in Amman, Jordan.

In a statement issued on Monday, the UN agency said the donation is part of a larger commitment pledged by the kingdom to help the agency maintain the important services it provides to a total of 5.6 million Palestine refugees.

The statement quoted UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini as saying that “at a time of regional political turmoil, pandemic and economic and financial crises, Palestine refugees will know that their rights and wellbeing are not being questioned and that Saudi Arabia stands by them”.

READ: UNRWA increases aid works, paused due to COVID-19 in Gaza

For a few years now, the UN agency has been suffering from a suffocating financial crisis as the donations it receives from donor countries do not keep pace with the increasing demand for its services.

In 2018, UNRWA’s financial problems were exacerbated after the United States announced that it was withholding $65 million of a $125 million aid package earmarked for UNRWA.

Palestinians believe the move is part of US efforts to liquidate their just cause and their rights.