United Nations: The United Nations extended the work of its Palestinian refugee agency for another three years on Friday, despite fierce opposition from the United States and Israel.
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The current mandate was due to run out in June 2020 but 169 countries approved a renewal up to 2023 at the UN General Assembly, with the Americans and Israelis voting against and nine countries abstaining.
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The resolution approved on Friday “all donors to continue to strengthen their efforts to meet the anticipated needs of the agency” amid deteriorating socio-economic conditions in the Occupied Territories.
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US President Donald Trump’s administration, along with Israel, accuses UNRWA of perpetuating the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
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The agency disputes that and says the services it provides would otherwise not be available to Palestinians.
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The head of the troubled organisation resigned in November amid an internal probe into alleged mismanagement and ethical abuses.
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An internal ethics report has alleged mismanagement and abuses of authority at the highest levels of the agency, which has also faced a financial crisis after the United States suspended and later cut all its funding in 2018.
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UNRWA was set up after more than 700,000 Palestinians were expelled or fled their lands during the 1948 war surrounding the creation of Israel.
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It provides schooling and medical services to millions of impoverished refugees in Jordan, Lebanon and Syria as well as the Palestinian territories, and employs around 30,000 people, mostly Palestinians.
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