The staff union of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) in the occupied West Bank ended today its strike which lasted for four consecutive months. Since the West Bank local staff union declared a strike on March 4, critical services to nearly 900,000 Palestinian refugees across the West Bank have been suspended, with children excluded from schools, patients prevented from accessing basic health services and medicines in the Agency’s health centers. Hundreds of tons of solid waste have also piled up in refugee camps, causing serious risks to the public and to the environmental health of the communities in the camps and surrounding areas. According to the UNRWA, years of chronic underfunding have depleted the Agency’s resources and led to the deterioration of the quality of its services. The UNRWA senior management has long warned the international community of the impact of underfunding on the wellbeing of Palestinian refugees and the Agency’s personnel. Earlier this month, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, warned that UNRWA was on the brink of financial collapse, calling on donor countries to assume their responsibilities and support the Agency to fulfill its mandate towards Palestine refugees.

Source: En – Palestine news & Information Agency – WAFA