Saudi Arabia donates $59m to Palestinian refugees

Saudi Arabia has donated $59 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) as part of a three-way deal.

The money will provide support to shelters, schools and health centres in Gaza, the West Bank and Jordan.

"I am extremely grateful to the government and the people of Saudi Arabia for the sustained support that the Kingdom has extended to UNRWA over the years,” UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl said in London.

Krahenbuhl had just signed the agreements with Yousef al-Bassam, managing director of the Saudi Fund for Development.

"Their contributions have made an enormous difference in the lives of thousands of Palestine refugees. I would like to express particular appreciation for the role played by the Saudi Fund for Development in delivering Saudi assistance. Our partnership with the Fund is deeply rewarding," added Krahenbuhl.

The first agreement, worth $43.5 million, will support ongoing projects in Gaza. This will include maintaining three UNRWA schools and repairing more than 7,500 shelters for those whose homes were damaged during the 2014 conflict with Israel.

Palestinian refugees in Jordan will benefit from the second agreement, which will see $8 million provided to help maintain nine UNRWA schools and ten health centres in the kingdom.

The third agreement of $7.5 million will provide funds to reconstruct, furnish and equip three health centres in the occupied West Bank.

Saudi Arabia is the agency's third-largest donor, and has given more than $500 million to UNRWA.

"UNRWA is playing a vital role in providing basic needs and social services for Palestine refugees," said Bassam.

The government of Saudi Arabia... will continue its support to the Palestinian people

"The government of Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development, will continue its support to the Palestinian people in all fields," he added.

Last summer, combined contributions from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE covered almost half of UNRWA's 2015 deficit, enabling half a million Palestinian children to return to school.

UNRWA had previously announced a US$100 million shortfall that compelled UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, to make an urgent appeal for donors to ensure 700 schools in the region could open in time for the 2015-16 academic year.

Created in 1949, the agency was established to provide direct relief for the 652,000 Palestinians that fled or were expelled from their homes when the state of Israel was created.

A failure to resolve the refugee issue has led to repeated extensions of UNRWA's mandate.

The agency now supports five million Palestinians who were made refugees by the 1948 and 1967 wars and their descendants living in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

It provides education, healthcare and social services and is predominantly funded from voluntary contributions, mainly from donor states.

On 2 June 2015, Ban admitted the agency still existed "because of political failure".

"In the absence of a just and lasting solution to the plight of Palestinian refugees, UNRWA has become more than an agency," he said. "It is a lifeline."