UN agency for Palestine refugees resumes services in West Bank

Ramallah, June 17 (IANS) The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) has resumed services in the West Bank, a senior official announced.

In a statement, UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini said: "We are relieved that UNRWA is now able to restart providing services to the refugee communities across the West Bank," reports Xinhua news agency

Palestinian refugees have been severely impacted by a union strike since March 4.

On Thursday, the UNRWA staff union in the West Bank ended its strike, which lasted for four consecutive months.

"Our top priority right now is to reopen 90 UNRWA schools so that more than 40,000 children who were on the verge of losing a whole school year and are at risk of dropping out will be able to catch up on education losses," he said.

Critical services to nearly 900,000 Palestinian refugees across the West Bank have been suspended due to the union strike. Children were excluded from schools and patients were not able to access essential health services.

According to the UN agency, chronic underfunding had depleted the agency's resources and led to the deterioration of its service quality.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that the UNRWA was on the brink of financial collapse, calling on donor countries to assume their responsibilities and support the agency to fulfil its mandate towards Palestinian refugees.

The UNRWA helps refugees realize their full potential in human development through its services in education, health care, relief, social services, protection, and camp infrastructure and improvement.