By Laila Azzeh

DEAD SEA – The Kingdom on Monday called on the international community to increase support for UNRWA, in order to alleviate the burden on host countries in light of the agency’s worsening financial situation.

Speaking on behalf of Prime Minister Awn Khasawneh at the opening ceremony of the UNRWA Advisory Commission meetings, which started yesterday at the Dead Sea, Minister of Industry and Trade Sami Gammoh stressed that the agency’s financial allocations should be in line with the increasing demand on its services.

“Jordan has gone out of its way to support UNRWA financially, but this should not be perceived as the Kingdom’s approval of scaling down the agency’s services or as an excuse not to increase UNRWA’s financial allocations in Jordan, which stand at 20 per cent of the agency’s budget,” Gammoh underlined.

The minister reaffirmed that Jordan, which is chairing the commission’s current session, maintains its stance urging Palestinians and Israelis to return to the negotiating table, and stressed the need for Israel to halt its unilateral measures in the occupied territories.

UNRWA Commissioner General Filippo Grandi said the agency remains concerned about the future financing of its general fund, especially now that the fund includes food aid.

read more on JORDAN TIMES
http://jordantimes.com/?news=43773

NOTE BY THE EDITOR: More support for UNRWA? Sounds good? Actually NOT! What the world community should work for is to make UNWRA unnecessary! There is only a need for UNRWA because of continued Israeli oppression!!! I would say: close down UNWRA so that the oppression will become so obvious that the sleeping International community will realize that Israeli oppression and Apartheid needs to stop right now.