JERUSALEM, September 1, 2016 (WAFA) – Italy has contributed 6.6 million euros ($7.35 million) to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in support of the Agency‘s core programs and services, an UNRWA press release said on Thursday.

This year‘s amount represents a 61 per cent increase over the Italian contribution to the UNRWA program budget in 2015 and is the first part of a total 10 million euro commitment by the Italian government to the Agency in 2016.

This commitment was announced during the Commissioner-General‘s two-day mission to Italy in May, during which he met with several senior government officials, as well as members of the academic, non-profit and media sectors.

"We express our sincere appreciation to the government and people of Italy, who have been a consistent and reliable supporter of UNRWA and of Palestine refugees," said UNRWA Commissioner-General Pierre Krähenbühl.

"This timely contribution is very important to UNRWA‘s ability to deliver core services to Palestine refugees throughout the region, including education, health care, relief and social services, and camp improvement," he said.

In 2015, Italy contributed 8.75 million euros ($9.56 million) to UNRWA, including 4.1 million euros ($4.36 million) for the Agency‘s core programs and services, 1 million euros ($1.09 million) in support of the Agency‘s humanitarian response to the emergency in Yarmouk, Syria and 2.18 million euros ($2.39 million) for food assistance in Gaza.

In addition to the above-mentioned core contribution, the remainder of the 10-million-euro commitment from the Italian Development Cooperation will fund further humanitarian initiatives that will be implemented by UNRWA in the occupied Palestinian territory and in response to the Syria regional crisis, said the press release.

M.A.