US provides 50 million dollars in aid for Palestinians

Fri Jul 14, 12:27 PM ET

JERUSALEM (AFP) - Washington said it had contributed 50 million dollars to a United Nations emergency relief fund for Palestinian refugees in the
West Bank and Gaza.

US Assistant Secretary for Near East Affairs David Welch announced the contribution following talks with Palestinian leader Mahmud Abbas, a US consulate statement said.

The United Nations -- which has received less than a third of the funds it needs to deal with a humanitarian crisis in Palestinian areas -- called on the international community Friday to help fill the 385-million-dollar shortfall.

"Never before have the Palestinians needed our compassion and solidarity more," said UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Affairs Jan Egeland.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) will use the 50.8-million-dollar US contribution to help provide food, employment and health services to some 1.8 million Palestinian refugees, the US consulate said.

UNRWA Commissioner General Karen Koning AbuZayd said in a statement the contribution arrived "at a time of severe deprivations among Palestine refugees in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip."

The European Commission also announced on Friday plans to release an additional 63 million dollars in humanitarian aid for the Palestinians.

Israeli military strikes unleashed following the snatching of an Israeli soldier have paralysed electricity and water supplies in the Gaza Strip, where food and medical supplies are running short and disease rates are climbing.

The violence has compounded the impact of a freeze by donors on funding for the Palestinian Authority following the election victory of the militant Islamic movement Hamas.

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