Camp committees: UNRWA reduced aid by 70%

West Bank refugee camp committees have accused UNRWA of reducing food aid to Palestinian refugees by 70 percent.

Following an emergency session of Nablus and northern West Bank refugee camp committees, Nablus-area refugee camp coordinator Ibrahim Saqr said UNRWA had not adhered to its duties laid out in previous agreements.

"After two months, the emergency support program failed to cope with the demands of needy families in refugee camps and has several shortcomings which were reported to more than one UN official on several occasions," said Saqr.

As a result of the 70 percent reduction in food packages distributed by UNRWA, Palestinian refugees would refuse receipt of the aid in protest, said Saqr, who called on the UN agency to improve its support program or bring an end to hope that a "real partnership between the camp committees and UNRWA will be established to help refugees."

An urgent meeting is required between the agency and committee officials to resolve the matter, the official added.

According to Saqr, the emergency support program has provided few job opportunities, largely to janitors in UN schools and refugee camps but only for a one-month period. The official demanded that the UN extend the contract to three months, particularly as there are no permanent cleaning workers in refugee camps.

UNRWA, which provides assistance, protection and advocacy for some 4.7 million registered Palestine refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and the occupied Palestinian territories, estimates that the poverty rates among West Bank refugees are especially high, with 26 percent falling below the deep poverty line. "Refugees are more likely to be unemployed, with the rate particularly high among young people," the agency reports.