WASHINGTON, Friday, May 24, 2019 (WAFA) – The Turkish embassy in Washington hosted yesterday a Ramadan iftar, or in other words a fast-breaking dinner, event for the benefit of the UNRWA, the UN agency that has taken care of the Palestinian refugees for more than seven decades.
Deputy Foreign Minister Yavuz Selim K?ran, who spoke at the event, reiterated that Turkey will keep supporting Palestinians and the UNRWA. He said Ankara will also continue its efforts for the Palestinian cause on the international arena.
The iftar was organized in cooperation with the UNRWA office in Washington and US-based non-profit UNRWA USA. The event, held for the second time this year, was attended by nearly 100 people.
Last August, the White House announced it was cutting US funding for the agency. The US reduced its $360 million annual contribution to the UNRWA in 2017 to just $60 million in 2018, and to nothing this year.
In January, the UNRWA Commissioner-General called for a total of $1.2 billion to fund the Agency’s vital core services and life-saving humanitarian aid for 5.4 million Palestine refugees across the Middle East. It was the amount needed to keep UNRWA operations at the same level as in 2018.
UNRWA has been confronted with an increased demand for services resulting from a growth in the number of registered Palestine refugees, the extent of their vulnerability and their deepening poverty.
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