Palestinians are facing a funding crisis in terms of assistance for providing basic services, emergency food assistance and social support, according to the United Nations.
''Without new funding, World Food Program will suspend cash assistance to some 200,000 Palestinians next week,'' Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Tor Wennesland, told the Security Council.
He said UNRWA – the U.N.'s Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees – will not have the resources to deliver core services in September.
He warned of declining donor support and urged the international community to seek ways to increase support for Palestinians.
''We will face serious humanitarian and, potentially, security challenges. There is no time to spare,'' he said.
The Gaza Strip has been battered for years by the Israeli siege and bombardment, which has pushed much of the population below the poverty line and rendered 63% of its population in need of some form of humanitarian assistance. Some 2.1 million Palestinians, out of 5.3 million, need humanitarian assistance, according to the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO). The EU is the largest donor to the PA with some $1.4 billion spent under the EU joint strategy 2017-2020, and some $886 million in humanitarian assistance since 2000.
The U.N. Relief and Works Agency known as UNRWA was established to provide education, health care, food and other services to the 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were forced from their homes during the war surrounding Israel’s establishment in 1948.
