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    Norway increases support to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees

    Press release | Date: 21/10/2023 | Ministry of Foreign Affairs

    ‘It gives hope that a first convoy of emergency aid has entered Gaza today. It is urgent to get food, water and medicine to civilians. The situation in Gaza is turning into a humanitarian catastrophe. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) does important and lifesaving work in Gaza. We are now expanding Norwegian support by NOK 60 million,’ Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide said.

    En ung palestinsk flyktning drikker vann ved UNRWA Beit Lahiya barneskole for jenter i det nordlige Gaza. Skolen var vertskap for palestinske flyktninger som trengte husly.
    Credit: Mohamed Hinnawi / UNRWA

    Mr Eide shared the news of additional Norwegian support during a high-level meeting in Cairo, where leaders from Middle Eastern and other countries were assembled to discuss critical recent developments in the Middle East, including the fighting between Israel and Hamas and the acute crisis in Gaza. 

    Norway’s new contribution is in addition to the NOK 300 million it has already donated this year to UNRWA. This UN refugee agency operates schools and healthcare clinics and provides social services to large parts of the population in Gaza. Out of a population of 2.3 million, about 1.5 million people are registered refugees. Almost half of Gaza’s population are children. 

    After two weeks of warfare and enormous destruction, UNRWA’s activities in Gaza are on the verge of collapse. Hundreds of thousands of Gazans have sought refuge in the agency’s buildings while supplies such as food, water, fuel and medicines are not coming in. UNRWA was already hard pressed financially before this acute crisis. 

    ‘The combination of Israeli air strikes and closed borders has put the civilian population of Gaza in an impossible situation. They have nowhere to flee to. As we increase our financial support, we are also continuing to work for the admittance of fuel, water, food and medicines into Gaza,’ Mr Eide said. 

    In the wake of Hamas’s brutal terror attack against Israel on 7 October, a number of European donors have signalled their intention to freeze long-term support for Palestine and UNRWA. This is being done at a time when UNRWA’s role is crucial to addressing the enormous humanitarian needs in Gaza and the West Bank.  

    ‘This is the moment to strengthen the UN’s ability to help, not to weaken it. Gaza’s population is dependent on international solidarity. It is good that certain countries have begun responding to UNRWA’s humanitarian appeal. I am deeply worried, however, that some European countries are moving in the opposite direction, and are considering a halt in the long-term effort,’ the Minister of Foreign Affairs said. 

    Norway reiterates its challenge to the international community to continue assisting the Palestinian people financially. This includes support provided to the Palestinian National Authority through the World Bank, continued support to UNRWA, assistance via the UN and international organisations, and support for humanitarian organisations and Palestinian civil society. 

    Facts

    • According to the UN, 1.3 million Palestinians out of a population of 2.3 million need humanitarian support in Gaza and the West Bank.
    • For more than 70 years, UNRWA has provided basic educational, health and social services as well as humanitarian assistance to millions of Palestinian refugees in the Middle East.

     

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