Saudi Arabia reaffirms support for UN agency for Palestinian refugees, urges donors to continue funding

By Abdel-Jabbar Abu Ras

ISTANBUL (AA) – The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia reaffirmed its support for the UN agency for Palestinian refugee (UNRWA) on Thursday, urging donors to continue funding it because it plays an important role in providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinians who are currently in desperate need due to Israel's siege and bombardment of Gaza.

UNRWA received Saudi support during its Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini's meeting with Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan in Riyadh, according to an official statement.

During their meeting, the Saudi Foreign Ministry said in the statement that they "reviewed cooperation between Saudi Arabia and UNRWA and ways to further enhance it."

The Saudi top diplomat urged UNRWA's donor countries to allow the agency for Palestinian refugees to carry out its humanitarian mission to mitigate "the effects of the humanitarian crisis taking place in the occupied Palestinian territories."

Since Jan. 26, several countries have suspended UNRWA funding after Tel Aviv alleged that some of the agency's employees were involved in the cross-border attack on Israel on Oct. 7.

UNRWA said it terminated contracts with several employees following the Israeli allegations.

Israel has launched a deadly offensive on Gaza following an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, killing at least 27,840 Palestinians and injuring 67,317 others, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The Israeli offensive has left 85% of Gaza’s population internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave’s infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar