RAMALLAH, Palestine, Oct 2 (NNN-WAFA) – The Palestinian Authority (PA), lauded the European Parliament, for vetoing a proposal to stop European funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).
PA Foreign Minister, Reyad al-Malki, said, “The decision of the European Parliament to keep funding UNRWA is a new victory to the Palestinian diplomacy.”
“The parliament’s vote, in favour of keeping the European funding and providing additional financial aid to UNRWA, reiterates the European Union’s stable positions in supporting the Palestinian,” said al-Malki.
Earlier on Tuesday, the European Parliament’s Budget Committee, foiled a proposal presented by the Christian Democrats, to suspend the European Union’s (EU) funding to UNRWA, due to alleged “corruption and mismanagement” of the agency’s international aid.
Palestinian Ambassador to the EU, Abdel Rahim al-Farra, said, the committee usually discusses EU budget items, while recommendations are made to the European Parliament’s plenary, to convene on Oct 23.
He said, the bid to stop the EU funding to UNRWA wasn’t approved, as members of the parliament’s budget committee opposed it.
Established by the UN General Assembly in 1949, UNRWA serves around five million Palestinian refugees, who have registered in its five areas, including Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, and the Palestinian territories of West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA services include providing education, health care, aid relief, social services, infrastructure, camp improvement and micro-credit for Palestinian refugees.– NNN-WAFA