UNRWA asks Gulf to fund education for Palestine children

By Busra Selvi Ogutcen

ANKARA

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) on Tuesday requested $80 million in aid from Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait to cover the enrollment of some 500,000 Palestinian children in the upcoming academic year.

UNRWA head Pierre Krahenbuhl told reporters that he hoped the Gulf countries would show their generosity this year as they did in 2015, when they helped the agency meet a $101-million budget shortfall.

Krahenbuhl went on to assert that education was vital for Palestinian refugees as it gave them hope for the future.

UNRWA operates 700 schools for Palestinian children in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, the blockaded Gaza Strip, Jordan and Syria.