Intel: Amid US funding gap, UN Palestinian refugee agency seeks $93M in coronavirus aid

The Donald Trump administration announced it would halt US funding — some $360 million — to the agency in 2018, labeling UNRWA “an irredeemably flawed operation” that it would no longer support. 

“It has had a corrosive impact on our institutions,” Campbell said of cuts from the United States, once the agency’s biggest donor.   

In mid-April, the administration announced it would be providing $5 million in disaster assistance for the Palestinian territories, far short of the hundreds of millions the Trump administration slashed in 2018 and just 7% of the Palestinian aid Congress appropriated for this fiscal year. 

What’s next: Earlier this week, the Palestinian Authority announced a one-month extension of its partial lockdown intended to curb the spread of the coronavirus. The total number of confirmed cases across the West Bank and Gaza stands at 547, with four recorded deaths. 

Health experts are particularly concerned about the potential for a wider outbreak in Gaza, a besieged territory of some 2 million people, many of whom live in crowded refugee camps. Military conflict with Israel, internal political instability and a 13-year Israeli-Egyptian blockade have left hospitals overburdened and understaffed.  

UNRWA’s coronavirus work in both the West Bank and Gaza ranges from quarantining possible cases to coordinating telemedicine to providing health care workers with personal protective equipment  Without additional funding, the agency could be forced to discontinue those services. 

Know more: Daoud Kuttab takes a look at the praise directed at a potential Mahmoud Abbas successor, Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh, for his response to the coronavirus outbreak. Ahmad Abu Amer describes life in Gaza as restaurants begin opening their doors to fearful citizens.