PARIS, September 4, 2018 (WAFA) - France said on Monday that it deeply regrets the United States decision to stop contributing to the funding of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).

A statement by the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs reiterated France’s “commitment to UNRWA, whose services to more than five million Palestinian refugees are essential to local and regional stability.”

It recalled that “the issue of Palestinian refugees and their right to return is a final-status matter and can be determined only in the framework of negotiations between the parties.”

France urged the international community to help UNRWA continue with its mission.

“It is essential for the international community to remain mobilized to allow UNRWA to complete its missions in the long term and continue its reform. France has increased its contribution this year and is considering new possibilities for financial support, in particular for educational activities,” concluded the statement.

M.K.