The United States Government’s Contribution to UNRWA 2007 Emergency Appeal for West Bank and Gaza

Department of State
Office of the Spokesman
Washington, DC
June 21, 2007


The United States announces its intent to contribute an additional $40 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) 2007 Emergency Appeal for West Bank and Gaza. This contribution will ensure that Palestinian refugees, who comprise 70 percent of the population in Gaza and 30 percent in the West Bank, will receive urgently needed food, medicines, and other critical emergency assistance.

United States support for UNRWA will enable it to continue providing emergency food assistance to up to 791,000 refugees in Gaza and 612,000 refugees in the West Bank and support the creation of temporary jobs for an estimated 56,000 refugees in Gaza and 42,400 refugees in the West Bank. Through this appeal, UNRWA also will provide emergency health services to Palestinian refugees in both areas. Our contribution also will support the Agency’s Operations Support Officer program, which helps to safeguard the neutrality of UNRWA’s programs and installations.

The 2007 UNRWA Emergency Appeal seeks $246.15 million to meet the critical humanitarian needs of over 1 million refugees in Gaza and approximately 700,000 in the West Bank.

The United States is UNRWA’s largest bilateral donor. In February 2007, the United States made an initial contribution of $50 million to UNRWA’s 2007 General Fund to support education, health, and social programs in UNRWA’s five fields of operation (Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the West Bank, and the Gaza Strip). The United States has made an initial contribution of $10 million earmarked for food assistance to UNRWA’s 2007 Emergency Appeal for West Bank and Gaza. In 2006, the United States contributed $84.15 million to UNRWA’s General Fund and another $52.85 million to its emergency appeals in Lebanon, West Bank and Gaza.

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