UNRWA said that its appeal “comes
amid protests against reductions in emergency activities that have already been
caused by severe funding shortfalls, and against the backdrop of events
elsewhere in the Arab world.”
Chris Gunness, UNRWA
spokesman, said in a press statement that UN “programs in Gaza face a critical
funding situation. These programs are separate from the agency’s regular
education, health and relief activities, and are specifically tailored to
address the most urgent humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable refugees in
Gaza.”
“We call on our donors and
other stakeholders to respond to this appeal as an urgent priority,” said
Gunness.
According to the spokesman,
“UNRWA fears that without a substantial injection of cash toward its emergency
work in Gaza, food rations to hundreds of thousands of refugees, including
children in UN schools, may be reduced in the coming months and community
health programs will be threatened, including psycho-social support to 25,000
children.”
Meanwhile, Israeli
authorities on Tuesday demolished two structures in West Bank town of Beit
Ommar, to the north of Hebron, under the pretext they were built without the
needed building permits.
Mohammed Ayyad Awad,
spokesman of Beit Ommar Popular Committee Against the Wall, said that Israeli
bulldozers backed by security forces and Israeli Civil Administration arrived
at the town on early on Tuesday and razed an 80-meter-square home and
200-meter-square garage.
