UNRWA Commissioner General Pierre Krahenbuhl
The head of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) has hailed Turkey’s "increased solidarity" to support the agency after the U.S. cut off funding.
“I very much value the leadership that Turkey is showing,” Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbühl told to reporters on the sidelines of this week’s TRT World Forum in Istanbul.
“I think it is sending a strong message at the time when the UNWRA is under pressure because we lost money from the United States.”
In August, the Trump administration announced that Washington would no longer commit funding to the main UN program for Palestinian refugees.
The U.S. had been the agency's largest contributor by far, providing it with $350 million annually -- roughly one-quarter of the agency's overall budget.
Praising Turkey showing “strong solidarity” for the Palestinians, Krahenbühl said: “Every time I come to Turkey, there is a very strong feeling, very big concern about Palestinians and about Palestinian refugees, which is very important to me.”
“This year, because of the situation that we’ve faced, there was increased solidarity and increased political engagement to support UNRWA by the Turkish leadership.”
Clashes broke out Friday between stone-throwing Palestinian youths and Israeli troops in different parts of the occupied West Bank.Violent confrontations erupted in the town of Kafr Qaddum west of Nablus, and in the towns of Bilein, Nilein and Ras Karkar west of Ramallah, during which Israeli troops used rubber bullets and teargas to disperse Palestinian demonstrators.Demonstrators threw stones at army troops and blocked roads with flaming tires.Murad Ashtawi, a popular resistance activist in Kafr Qaddum, told Anadolu Agency that Israeli troops had raided the town in a bid to preempt a planned anti-settlement demonstration.Every Friday, Palestinians across the West Bank stage rallies to protest Israel’s longstanding policy of building Jewish settlements on confiscated Palestinian land.According to Israeli and Palestinian estimates, roughly 650,000 Jewish settlers currently live in settlements across the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem.Israel takes aim at UNRWA’s presence in E. Jerusalem: Media
Israeli army, Palestine youth clash in occupied W. Bank
Israel’s Jerusalem municipality has announced plans to remove the UN’s relief agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) from occupied East Jerusalem, the Israeli press has reported. According to Israeli daily Yedioth Ahronoth, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat has accused the agency of operating illegally and promoting anti-Israel “incitement”. “Schools, clinics and sports centers, among other services operated by UNRWA in East Jerusalem, will be transferred to the Israeli authorities,” the newspaper quoted Barkat as saying. The municipality has not provided a timeline for the transfer. But officials say several schools in East Jerusalem -- which cater to 1,800 Palestinian students -- would be closed by the end of the academic year. Lieberman threatens Hamas with post-holiday escalationAccording to Israel’s Channel Two, U.S. President Donald Trump's recent decision to end financial aid to UNRWA encouraged Israel to take the decision. The plan was drafted in coordination with the U.S. administration and will soon be presented to the Israeli government for approval, the broadcaster reported. In September, the U.S. State Department announced that Washington would “no longer commit funding” to UNRWA. The U.S. had been UNRWA's largest contributor by far, providing it with $350 million annually -- roughly one quarter of the agency's overall budget. Established in 1949, UNRWA provides critical aid to Palestinian refugees in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.Israel's Netanyahu questioned again in corruption probeMerkel offers qualified support for 'Jewish state'
Israel takes aim at UNRWA’s presence in E. Jerusalem: Media
Education for a half-million children at risk
Asked whether the agency was affected by the recent U.S. cut, he said: “We have an education system, for example, for 500,000 Palestinian refugee boys and girls in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank, East Jerusalem, and Gaza.
“We have to find the money. It’s not possible to imagine that their schools would close. These young students would no longer be able to get to have their education.”
But the UNRWA head expressed gratitude over the “collective mobilization” of some countries in the Gulf, in Asia, and other countries in Europe.
“We called on all the rest of the international community. There has been a very strong reaction so far. The countries in the Gulf, but also in Asia, Turkey and other countries really stepped up and supported us very strongly.”
In September, the foreign ministers of Jordan, Sweden, Turkey, Japan and Germany, as well as the EU foreign policy chief, held a ministerial meeting in New York in order to mobilize financial and political support for the agency.
“The ministerial meeting raised $122 million, with Kuwait, the European Union, Germany, Norway, France, Belgium, and Ireland announcing additional funding commitments,” according to the agency’s website.
On that event in New York, Krahenbühl said: “I am very encouraged by the very strong and collective mobilization [at the event].”
“Right now, I think we are on a positive path,” he added.
Established in 1949, the UNRWA provides critical aid to Palestinian refugees in the blockaded Gaza Strip, the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.
UNRWA employees staged a general strike in protest of downsizing plans on Tuesday, paralyzing operations of the cash-strapped UN refugee agency in the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA employees strike over downscaling plans