UN'S PALESTINIAN SCHOOLS FUNDINGS

Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), residents of the besieged
Yarmouk refugee

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees [UNRWA] was formed to support 750,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of Israel.

With their descendants, they now number more than five million across the Middle East. The US has sought to use its aid to pressure the Palestinian government into resuming dealing with it after a nearly nine-month rupture.

The Palestinians have boycotted the US administration since it recognised Jerusalem as Israel's capital last December............   

TENS OF THOUSANDS of Palestinian children returned to  United Nations run schools on Wednesday after the summer holidays, though major US cuts have thrown their funding into jeopardy beyond next month.

Children wearing chequered uniforms and backpacks thronged schools across the Palestinian territories for the classes of the new school year, AFP correspondents reported.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees [UNRWA]  said  all  711  schools it runs for 526,000 pupils in Gaza and West Bank, Jordan and Lebanon and Syria would reopen in the next few days despite the $100 million US funding cut.

Fears raised by UN chief Antonio Guterres that the school might not be able to reopen at all have failed to materialise, but UNRWA warned it might still be forced to close them again in a month if additional new funding is not  found.

''At he moment, we do have enough money to keep the schools open after the end of September,'' said UNRWA spokesman Chris Guinness.

''At the end of September, UNRWA will be running on empty for all its services, including schools and medical facilities.

In 2017, the United States, which is traditionally the largest single donor to UNRWA, contributed more than $360 million. But so fat this year, it has given just $60 million following President Trump's decision to withhold aid to the Palestinians. [AFP]