RAMALLAH: The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)  for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, has requested countries to increase financial contributions, citing a USD100 million financing shortfall.

According to the Xinhua report, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini stated at a press conference held on the occasion of the UNRWA Advisory Commission meeting in Beirut that "we are facing a major financial crisis that has reduced our ability to deal with the Palestinian refugees' crisis."

In light of the agency's massive budget imbalance, Lazzarini said that Palestinian refugees are going through a difficult time, emphasising that Palestinian refugees are the most vulnerable communities in Gaza, the West Bank, Syria, Lebanon, and Jordan.

He went on to say that 80% of Palestinian families are poor, and that 80% of Palestinian children are malnourished. He also mentioned that on June 23, the UN General Assembly will hold a pledge meeting for UNRWA in New York.
By a resolution of the United Nations General Assembly in 1949, the UNRWA was founded as a United Nations organisation to give relief and protection to the approximately 5.6 million Palestine refugees registered with it in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan. The organisation has spent decades assisting displaced Palestinians as one of the UN's oldest humanitarian operations.

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