UN refugee agency to renew activity in Gaza Strip after protest

The main UN agency dealing with Palestinian refugees is to resume its activities in the Gaza Strip Tuesday, days after suspending operations there after demonstrators stormed its headquarters to protest cutbacks in financial aid, DPA reported.
The agency had received assurances from all parties in charge of the Gaza Strip regarding the safety of its employees and installations, said Adnan Abu Hasna, UN Relief and Works Agency spokesman.

Thousands of Palestinians rallied at the agency's Gaza City offices Thursday against the cuts and the replacement of the aid with a job-creation scheme.

The aid cuts were prompted by a 69-million-dollar budget shortfall and could be resumed if the agency receives the money from donor countries, Abu Hasna said.

The agency assists an estimated 5 million Palestinians registered as refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the Israeli-occupied West Bank. Two-thirds of Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants are registered with the agency.

The organization is financed almost entirely by donations from UN member states.


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