EU to provide financial support to Unrwa, PA

The European Commission will allocate $233m to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) and the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian news agency Wafa said.

The funds come as part of a three-year package worth around $1.8bn that it had announced last April.

The commission said that $173m has been allocated to support the Palestinian Authority in ensuring the delivery of key public services, including the payment of salaries of teachers, civil servants and healthcare workers.

The PA has been accused by critics of corruption and bad governance.

Unrwa received a contribution of $60m to support education, primary healthcare and relief assistance to Palestinian refugees across the Gaza Strip, occupied West Bank and hosting countries such as Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.

EU commissioner for the Mediterranean, Dubravka Suica, said: “We reaffirm our unwavering political and financial commitment. This is part of a broader EU package of assistance, underscoring our continued backing of Unrwa's role as both humanitarian and development actor.”

He added: “The EU is deeply concerned about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the worsening conditions in the West Bank. We remain firmly committed to a just and lasting peace, grounded in a negotiated two-state solution.”