Baqa'a Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan is the largest outside Palestine (French)

Amman -

A state of instability and deep anxiety has gripped millions of Palestinian refugees in refugee camps in Jordan, as they listen to news circulated by the media about Western countries suspending funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), and the accompanying confirmation by the international agency that it may have to It will stop its services by the end of February.

Palestinian refugees in the Kingdom live in difficult conditions, and they represent the largest percentage of Palestinian refugees in the diaspora, as they face difficult challenges in the areas of housing, education, humanitarian relief, and health and social care, which makes the cessation of funding for UNRWA - which represents the lifeline of millions of them - an additional challenge that puts them in a difficult situation. A vortex of humanitarian and economic conditions that does not stop.

With sadness and anger, Palestinian refugee Faiq Abu Salih speaks of his fears about the decision to stop financial support for UNRWA, warning - in an interview with Al Jazeera Net - of reducing the agency’s services, and the negative effects that the decision will have on a wide segment of the Palestinian people.

Abu Salih called for continuing to provide support to the Palestinian people at all levels, and not stopping it under any circumstances, otherwise the Palestinian refugees in Jordan will face an unknown fate.

UNRWA spokeswoman Tamara Al-Rifai sounded the alarm after some donors stopped funding the agency (Al Jazeera)

Serious consequences

The United Nations had warned of dire consequences for Palestine refugees in Jordan if UNRWA funding was not restored immediately, after 18 donor countries suspended funding following allegations against the agency’s employees in Gaza.

The United Nations said that the decision taken by some of the agency’s major donors to freeze their donations may deprive UNRWA of more than 51% of its expected income for 2024, jeopardizing the critically important humanitarian response in Gaza, health care, education, relief, social services and economic support for the Palestine refugee community in general in the region. Including Jordan, there are severe risks.

UNRWA spokeswoman Tamara Al-Rifai sounded the alarm after a number of Western countries suspended funding for the agency. She said in a statement to Al Jazeera Net that “the freezing of aid to UNRWA, especially by our largest supporters, and therefore the UN agency’s failure to obtain the required financial support threatens the possibility of continuing its humanitarian operations in Gaza Strip, and threatens the continuation of the services it provides in all regions, including Jordan.”

She added, "UNRWA provides permanent services to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, such as health centers and educational schools, in addition to the social and relief support that we provide to refugees, and therefore all of this is threatened with stopping."

Regarding what needs to be done at the current stage, as a priority for UNRWA, the agency’s spokeswoman said, “We are working with our partners in Jordan, such as King Abdullah II and Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, to push major countries to retract their decision to stop supporting UNRWA.”

Al-Rifai added, adding, "It is important to remember that Gulf countries, such as Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the Emirates, and Kuwait, had previously provided the required support to UNRWA, when former US President Donald Trump decided to stop funding UNRWA, and therefore we call on these countries to take action to support us."

Economic risks

Former UNRWA Chief of Staff Kazem Ayesh pointed out that “the decision to freeze support provided to UNRWA will fall on the Jordanian government, in light of the difficult economic conditions the Kingdom is experiencing, and therefore Jordan will be among those most affected by the decision to freeze support to UNRWA.”

Ayesh - who currently heads the Jordanian Association for Return and Refugees - told Al Jazeera Net, "UNRWA must continue its role until a just solution to the Palestinian issue is found and the refugees return to their homes. However, Israel seeks to abolish the agency that has become a witness to the refugee issue and the Palestinian Nakba, and this "A problem whose burden is borne by the international community, which funds UNRWA."

He went on to say, "The Israeli occupation seeks to find an alternative to UNRWA on more than one occasion, and all its previous attempts have failed, and now the Netanyahu government believes that the conditions have become ripe for implementing something like this."

For his part, Palestinian refugee Suhaib Al-Dawaymeh said, "Reducing UNRWA services represents one of the episodes of attacking the steadfast Palestinian people in their land."

He said in an interview with Al Jazeera Net, "Working to end the work of UNRWA will not deter us from our eternal idea of ​​returning to the land of Palestine, but rather it will increase our adherence to this right, which does not lapse by statute of limitations."

Children from Baqaa Palestinian refugee camp in Jordan in a stand in solidarity with Gaza (Al Jazeera)

Israeli incitement

The annual budget for UNRWA's large-scale operations in Jordan is about $145 million, and it employs approximately 7,000 employees. The agency plays a vital role in providing basic services to Palestine refugee communities in Jordan, but all of this is threatened to stop after Israel's allegations that 12 UNRWA employees participated in attacks. Hamas movement on the settlements surrounding the Gaza Strip, while the agency announced that it was conducting an investigation into these allegations.

Since January 26, funding for UNRWA has been suspended by 18 countries: the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Italy, Britain, Finland, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, New Zealand, Iceland, Romania, Estonia, and the European Union, according to the United Nations.

According to UNRWA, stopping its work may cause the operation of 161 schools serving more than 107,000 students in Jordan to cease, and the same applies to 25 health centers that provide more than 1.6 million medical consultations annually, and also provide support with cash assistance to 59,000 of the most vulnerable groups, in addition to Its services include about 20,000 Palestinian refugees who fled Syria, in addition to UNRWA being responsible for waste management in 10 official camps.

Source: Al Jazeera