In an interview with FRANCE 24, Philippe Lazzarini, the commissioner-general of the UN agency in charge of Palestinian refugees, warned that his agency was on the edge of financial collapse. He said he was only able to pay the salaries of his employees in late 2020 thanks to last-minute contributions and borrowing. He held out hope that the Biden administration would resume its funding for UNRWA, which was ended under Donald Trump in 2018.
Lazzarini said public statements by incoming US officials and private contacts had given him indications that US funding would resume. Asked if the US contribution would go back to its total of $360 million (€300 million) annually, he said it would be needed but that one had to be "realistic". He also urged Gulf countries to resume funding for UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East), acknowledging that their contributions had drastically dropped as they renewed ties with Israel.
The UNRWA chief said his interactions with the United Arab Emirates had given him reassurance that some degree of funding would resume.
He said that, in addition to the toll taken by Covid-19 in the Palestinian camps tended by the agency, there was also a "pandemic of abject poverty". And he warned that those advocating that the agency disappear should realise that such a move would unleash not only a humanitarian disaster but also wreak havoc in a region already rocked by numerous crises.
