GAZA, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees announced Tuesday an emergency fundraising campaign to collect more than 800 million U.S. dollars after the U.S. reduction of funding.
The funds to be raised in the campaign will be divided equally to aid Palestinian refugees in both Syria and the Palestinian territories including the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said in a statement.
The appeal for donations also covers the assistance to 50,000 Palestinian refugees from Syria who fled to Lebanon and Jordan during the war, it said.
The majority of Palestinian refugees living in the occupied Palestinian territories and Syria rely on the agency for the life-saving assistance that includes food, water, housing and medical care, UNRWA Commissioner Pierre Krinbol said in the statement.
He said that the chronic financial crisis that UNRWA is facing "threatens" its services to the refugees.
In Syria, the UNRWA helps more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees through providing cash and other forms of assistance.
The UNRWA said that despite the enormous security challenges, it provides education to more than 47,000 Palestinian refugees through providing regular classes on psychosocial support and safety awareness training.
In Gaza, as employment opportunities have been stifled by a decade of Israeli blockade, there are about 1 million refugees depending on the UNRWA for emergency food assistance.
This is a 10-fold increase over the number of people seeking assistance in the year 2000, which was 100,000, according to the UNRWA statement.
In addition to continued restriction on movement and access and the practice of home demolitions by Israel, Palestinian refugees in the West Bank suffer from a high level of food insecurity.
"Supporting UNRWA's emergency appeal is not a substitute for the political solution that is urgently needed for the underlying conflict, but it is essential to maintain the dignity and resilience of the Palestine refugee community," Krinbol said.
A week ago, in response to an unprecedented financial crisis, the UNRWA launched a global campaign to raise funds under the theme of "dignity for Palestinian refugees."
The move came after the U.S. announced the withholding of 65 million dollars from its 125-million-dollar grant to the UNRWA. Washington also later suspended 45 million dollars in food aid pledged last month to the agency.
Washington threatened to cut financial support to the Palestinians until they agree to return to the peace negotiations with Israel, which have been stalled for four years.
The Palestinians have rejected the U.S. as the mediator in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process after U.S. President Donald Trump announced in December to recognize Jerusalem, the disputed holy city, as Israel's capital.
