The United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary James Cleverly today visited Jalazone refugee camp near Ramallah where he announced additional funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) and met with UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini. UNRWA briefed the Foreign Secretary, who is on his first official visit to the occupied Palestinian territory, on key protection issues Palestine Refugees face in the camp, other parts of the West Bank and the Agency’s work, including on key services like education and health. The minister met with girls and boys – members of the UNRWA Student Parliament – where students spoke about their role in schools and with local communities. ‘On my visit to Jalazone refugee camp today, I have seen first-hand the impact of UNRWA’s work supporting Palestinian refugees in the West Bank. UK funding is helping to support millions of Palestinian refugees across the region with vital health,’ said the Foreign Secretary. Last month, UNRWA received GBP 10 million (US$12.74 million) from the United Kingdom toward the Agency’s ‘Program Budget’, critical to the delivery of basic services and salaries for frontline workers and staff. The UK also confirmed that it will respond to the Agency’s urgent financial challenges with an additional GBP 10 million (US$12.74 million), to be made available in the run-up to the high-level week of the United Nations General Assembly in New York. UNRWA Commissioner-General Lazzarini said, ‘I am grateful for the additional funding that the UK is providing,’ reemphasizing the decades-long close partnership between the UK and UNRWA. ‘The Agency’s services, including the delivery of education to over half a million children, are more critical than ever given the unprecedented challenges Palestine Refugees are facing,’ he said.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA