UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) is facing a budget deficit of $100 million and is close to collapse.
Guterres called on UN member states to provide immediate financial support to UNRWA, stressing that the severe funding shortfall poses a serious threat to humanitarian operations and regional stability.
The UN Secretary-General also described the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories as deteriorating, saying that the Israeli regime’s attacks on the Gaza Strip have led to the martyrdom of more than 1,000 Palestinians since the ceasefire was announced in October last year.
In another part of his speech, Guterres warned against the settlement project known as “E1,” calling it “an existential threat to the Palestinians; a plan that, according to him, aims to divide the West Bank into two separate parts and seriously endangers the prospect of establishing an independent Palestinian state.”
