Britain Sunday affirmed its commitment to continue to support the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) following the US decision on Friday to cull all funding to the agency.
British Minister for the Middle East Alistair Burt issued a statement following the United States’ decision to withdraw funding for UNRWA stating that “UNRWA is a necessary humanitarian and stabilizing force in the region providing vital services to millions of Palestinian refugees every day.”
“The UK remains a firmly committed supporter of UNRWA and Palestinian refugees across the Middle East and we will do everything we can to maintain continuity of essential services at this time” concluded the statement.
On Friday the United States said it decided to end all funding for the UN’s Palestinian refugee agency.
The US State Department described the organization as “irredeemably flawed”.
The US administration has “carefully reviewed” the issue and “will not make additional contributions to Unrwa” spokeswoman Heather Nauert said.
UNRWA was originally set up to take care of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the 1948 Israeli war.
The agency says it currently supports more than five million Palestinians in Gaza the West Bank Jordan Syria and Lebanon including providing health care education and social services.
The US has been the largest single donor to Unrwa providing $368m (£284m) in 2016 and funding almost 30% of its operations in the region.
