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UNRWA Says Can’t Afford To Wait For Biden To Restore Aid

This Friday, Jan. 31, 2020 file photo, Palestinians chant slogans as they hold Palestinian flags, during a protest against the White House plan for ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, at Burj al-Barajneh refugee camp, south of Beirut, Lebanon. (AP Photo/Bilal Hussein, File)

The U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees said Monday it needs to raise $70 million by the end of the month or it will not be able to pay the full salaries of thousands of employees through the end of the year.

The U.N. Relief and Works Agency, known as UNRWA, said it has notified its entire workforce of 28,000 that it will be forced to defer their salaries for the rest of the year. The agency said most of the workers affected are refugees themselves and the cuts will impact employees in countries across the Middle East.

“If additional funding is not pledged in the next weeks, UNRWA will be forced to defer partial salaries to all staff,” said the agency’s commissioner-general, Philippe Lazzarini. “I am deeply saddened to know that the earned salaries of our fearless, resilient social, sanitation and health-care workers on the front lines and our teachers working to ensure students’ education continue during this emergency health crisis are at risk.”

The agency said in a statement that its funding had run out on Monday and that the cuts would be “major.” Tamara Alrifai, a spokeswoman, said it was not immediately known how severe the cuts would be.

The agency’s finances have been ravaged by a decision by the Trump administration to slash hundreds of millions of dollars of aid as well as a crisis in confidence after its previous commissioner was accused of abusing his authority. President-elect Joe Biden has said he plans on restoring aid to the Palestinians.

Alrifai said that although the agency was hopeful Biden’s election might lead to a resumption of funding from the U.S., the current crisis required an immediate response.

(AP)



One Response

  1. They are restoring aid to radical Islamic Terrorists. Thanks to the rigged election, a demented retard can now have fake liberal-left nutcases in the American government.

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