To overcome its recurring difficulties, the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) requested, Tuesday, January 24, 1.6 billion dollars (1.47 billion euros) for 2023.

Of this amount, $848 million is intended to support basic services, such as health and education needs, while $781.6 million is intended to fund emergency operations in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, in Syria and Lebanon.

"UNRWA continues to play an indispensable role in the lives of millions of Palestinian refugees. We strive to maintain the provision of basic services in an incredibly difficult financial and political context," said the organization's commissioner general, Philippe Lazzarini, in a statement.

"Palestinian refugees - one of the most deprived communities in the region - face unprecedented challenges and are increasingly dependent on UNRWA for basic services and, in some cases, to survive."

Under the poverty line

According to UNRWA, most Palestinian refugees now live below the poverty line, and many depend on humanitarian aid from the UN agency.

The emergency appeal requests $311.4 million for Gaza, $32.9 million for the West Bank, $247.2 million for Syria, $160 million for Lebanon and $28.8 million for Jordan.

According to UNRWA, the challenges that have accumulated over the course of 2022 – “underfunding, competing global crises, inflation, disruptions in supply chains, geopolitical dynamics and skyrocketing levels of poverty and unemployment among Palestinian refugees" - put the agency to the test.

"I have just returned from Syria where I witnessed first-hand indescribable suffering and despair. The situation of Palestinian refugees in this country is unfortunately mirrored elsewhere, such as in Lebanon and Gaza, where Palestinian refugees hit rock bottom," commented Philippe Lazzarini.

"Many have told me that all they ask for is to be able to live a dignified life. That's not a lot to ask."

The economic crisis in Lebanon since 2019 – one of the worst in modern times – has dealt a severe blow to vulnerable communities, including Palestinian refugees.

According to UNRWA, the poverty rate of the latter in Lebanon, which stood at nearly 70% at the start of 2022, has now reached 93%.

The UN agency was established in 1949, a year after the creation of Israel, to help the more than 750,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled in the 1948 war, as well as their descendants.

With AFP

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