Unrwa chief on Gulf deals with Trump: ‘I wish a trickle of those trillions went to Palestinians’
The head of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (Unrwa) has urged Gulf states to give a fraction of the money mentioned in US President Donald Trump’s ‘mega deals’ to Palestinian refugees struggling to survive in the occupied Palestinian territories and neighbouring countries.
Philippe Lazzarini told Middle East Eye that Unrwa, the largest humanitarian provider for approximately six million Palestinian refugees, is currently operating with a “negative cash flow,” and the shortage of funds may force him to take “a difficult decision” as US funding remains suspended.
“We are confronted with a very severe financial crisis, which, if it persists in the near future, will force me to take a difficult and painful decision,” he told MEE’s upcoming episode of Expert Witness podcast.
“Because if we have no resources, we cannot pay the staff. We might be confronted with a situation where the money is not available any more, even to process our salaries. And if that is the case, the agency will be forced to look at what services among the critical services are more critical than others.”
Unrwa, whose staff members are mostly Palestinian refugees, has been at the receiving end of Israeli attacks since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza in October 2023. At least 310 of its employees have been killed by the Israeli army over the past 19 months and over 80 percent of its premises have been destroyed.
