JERUSALEM, February 7, 2009 (WAFA)- The European Commission (EC) provided, Saturday, a contribution of €66 million to the General Fund of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA),  to enable UNRWA to maintain delivery of essential services to Palestine refugees.

The European Commission Representative in Jerusalem Christian Berger, signed the agreement along with, UNRWA's Deputy Commissioner General Filippo Grandi, in the main UNRWA warehouse in Jerusalem. Both expressed serious concerns regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza, noting that the situation cannot be adequately addressed until all crossings into the beleaguered Gaza Strip are opened to meet the basic needs of the people there.

The €66 million contribution from the European Union will go to UNRWA's core budget, the General Fund, helping to pay salaries for UNRWA’s teachers, doctors and social workers and enabling UNRWA to maintain delivery of essential services to Palestine refugees throughout Gaza, West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Grandi expressed his gratitude for the EU’s funding, highlighting that, in addition to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza, “refugees in the West Bank are being subjected to yet another year of debilitating closures, and over 20,000 refugees remain homeless in northern Lebanon as a consequence of the destruction of Nahr El Bared Camp in 2008”.

Regarding the blockade on Gaza that has been in place for over 20 months, Berger said that it is vitally important for crossings into Gaza to be fully opened.