News
Latest News
news bulletin
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Other News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Beirut
30
o
Mount Lebanon
31
o
Metn
30
o
Keserwan
30
o
North
31
o
South
32
o
Bekaa
24
o
Live
Video
Audio
Schedule
shows
العربية
watching now
Daily Exercises
SUBSCRIBE
Home
Notification
Live
Video
Audio
shows
Beirut
30
o
Mount Lebanon
31
o
Metn
30
o
Keserwan
30
o
North
31
o
South
32
o
Bekaa
24
o
News
Programs
The News
Breaking Headlines
Israel-Gaza War Updates
Variety and Tech
Sports News
Middle East News
World News
Lebanon News
Press Highlights
Lebanon Economy
News Bulletin Reports
Programs
Documentaries
Lebanon’s Centennial
News Bulletin
The Untold History
Talk Show
Series
Sports
Variety
Other
Comedy
Oldies
Breaking News
Latest News
Highlighted News
Most Read
Videos
العربية
Watch the latest programs and the latest developments on your favorite screen
Shows
Join millions of followers
Who We Are
Contact Us
Advertise With Us
Careers
Channel frequencies
Privacy Policy
Terms and Conditions
Palestinians wary as UN may not open schools in time
Breaking Headlines
2018-08-15 | 09:36
High views
Share
Share
Palestinians wary as UN may not open schools in time
Watch now
More details about online video viewing packages
4
min
Palestinians wary as UN may not open schools in time
The United Nations agency dealing with Palestinian refugees may not be able to open schools for half a million children because it has run out of money since the United States cut its funding, U.N. officials say.
UNRWA already faces what it described as a “very tense” situation in Gaza after job cuts drew protests by its own employees, leaving some senior staff unable to work in their offices.
Some fear for the survival of the agency, which this month must decide whether it can open its network of schools across Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon for the coming academic year.
U.N. officials say that aid cuts by the United States, the single largest donor to UNRWA, were a major cause of the crisis.
In January, U.S. President Donald Trump said he would scale back aid to the Palestinians unless they cooperate with his plans to revive peacemaking with Israel. Those peace efforts stalled in 2014.
“The actions that we are now seeing are consequences of the decision by the Trump administration to withhold $305 million for UNRWA this year, so whether it is political or not it has catastrophic implications and consequences for us on the ground,” said UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness, who described the situation as “catastrophic” and unprecedented.
Palestinian families, children and teachers said they were worried about whether schools will open at the end of August.
In the Israeli occupied West Bank, Reem Nakhla's children attend an UNRWA school in Jalazone refugee camp. In June staff and pupils were thrilled to be visited by Britain's Prince William during his tour of Israel and the West Bank. But now there is confusion outside the school gates.
“Of course I am worried, I think about where should I send them,” said Nakhla. “The UNRWA school is a big help to people,” she added. “Our situation in the camp is very difficult.”
UNRWA was founded in 1949 in the aftermath of the first Arab-Israel war.
That conflict saw 700,000 Palestinians forced to leave their homes or flee. UNRWA now helps around 5 million Palestinian refugees, who include descendants of those displaced by the fighting nearly 70 years ago.
Funded almost entirely by voluntary contributions from U.N. member states, the United States has long been its largest donor. But officials say that after the Trump administration slashed its contribution, UNRWA now needs more than $200 million from other donors to cover its deficit.
In January Trump tweeted “we pay the Palestinians HUNDRED OF MILLIONS OF DOLLARS a year and get no appreciation or respect. They don't even want to negotiate a long overdue peace treaty with Israel.”
The U.S. State Department has said the agency needed to make unspecified reforms.
Israel has accused UNRWA of favoring Palestinians, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Trump's decision to cut funding. “This is how to rid the world of UNRWA and deal with genuine refugee problems, to the extent that such remain,” he said in January.
In Gaza, Amal Al-Batsh, deputy chairman of the union of Palestinian employees at UNRWA, feared that the United States was targeting UNRWA's existence “not as an institution but as a symbol and a witness to the issue of Palestinian refugees.”
President Mahmoud Abbas's Western-backed Fatah faction said the Palestinian leader would seek donations for UNRWA at the upcoming U.N. General Assembly meeting in September.
REUTERS
To watch the full report, please click on the video above.
Breaking Headlines
Palestine
UNRWA
Schools
Students
Next
Grand Mufti Derian travels to Saudi Arabia for Hajj
Recommended For You
d-none hideMe
0
Middle East News
02:10
Over 430 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on third day of Passover holiday: Al Jazeera reports
Middle East News
02:10
Over 430 settlers storm Al-Aqsa Mosque on third day of Passover holiday: Al Jazeera reports
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-23
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
Lebanon News
2024-04-23
Hezbollah announces launching 'dozens of rockets' at Israel in response to civilian deaths
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Breaking: Israeli airstrike hits Naqoura, reports NNA
0
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Lebanon News
2024-04-21
Shelling from Lebanon hits Western Galilee: Israeli Channel 12 reports
Subscribe to our VOD
SUBSCRIBE
Our visitors readings
d-none hideMe
0
News Bulletin Reports
12:30
Securing Lebanon: Opposition Summit Calls for Government Action on International Resolutions
News Bulletin Reports
12:30
Securing Lebanon: Opposition Summit Calls for Government Action on International Resolutions
0
Lebanon News
09:28
Israeli Defense Minister claims: Half of Hezbollah's leaders in southern Lebanon killed
Lebanon News
09:28
Israeli Defense Minister claims: Half of Hezbollah's leaders in southern Lebanon killed
0
Middle East News
2023-10-31
Egypt's Prime Minister from Sinai: We are ready to sacrifice millions of lives to defend our territory
Middle East News
2023-10-31
Egypt's Prime Minister from Sinai: We are ready to sacrifice millions of lives to defend our territory
0
World News
00:15
US Central Command responds to maritime 'threat' in Yemen: Latest update
World News
00:15
US Central Command responds to maritime 'threat' in Yemen: Latest update
Videos
d-none hideMe
0
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
Lebanon News
2023-12-11
Breaking: Israel launches raid north of Litani on Monday (Video)
0
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
Lebanon News
2023-11-02
Exclusive to LBCI: U.S. State Department's Wooster Stresses Lebanon Must Avoid War, Sees Renewed Push for Two-State Solution
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
Lebanon News
2023-10-18
Protests Erupt near US Embassy in Awkar Against Israeli Attacks on Al-Maamadani Hospital in Gaza
0
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
Lebanon News
2023-10-05
ATFL's Ambassador Edward Gabriel on Navigating Through Economic, Political, and Refugee Crises
0
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
Sports News
2023-08-31
Amir Saoud Powers Lebanon to Victory Over Cote d'Ivoire: A Deep Dive Into The Numbers
0
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
Sports News
2023-08-29
France Edges Past Lebanon in a Nail-Biter at FIBA World Cup 2023: A Statistical Deep Dive
0
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Lebanon News
2019-02-28
Pierre el-Daher, the man who defeated the Lebanese Forces
Most read
d-none hideMe
24 hours
7 days
Month
1
Lebanon News
09:38
Military operation underway in South Lebanon, claims Israeli Defense Minister
Lebanon News
09:38
Military operation underway in South Lebanon, claims Israeli Defense Minister
2
Lebanon News
09:28
Israeli Defense Minister claims: Half of Hezbollah's leaders in southern Lebanon killed
Lebanon News
09:28
Israeli Defense Minister claims: Half of Hezbollah's leaders in southern Lebanon killed
3
Lebanon News
08:59
Israeli army strikes 40 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
Lebanon News
08:59
Israeli army strikes 40 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
4
Lebanon News
03:39
MEA cancels flight amidst strike at Paris CDG airport
Lebanon News
03:39
MEA cancels flight amidst strike at Paris CDG airport
5
News Bulletin Reports
12:30
Investigation insights: Here are the key suspects involved in Pascal Sleiman's case
News Bulletin Reports
12:30
Investigation insights: Here are the key suspects involved in Pascal Sleiman's case
6
Lebanon News
12:57
US Asst. Sec. Barbara Leaf highlights acute escalation risks and prospects for de-escalation in Lebanon-Israel conflict
Lebanon News
12:57
US Asst. Sec. Barbara Leaf highlights acute escalation risks and prospects for de-escalation in Lebanon-Israel conflict
7
Lebanon News
06:24
Middle East Airlines to resume Paris flight despite strike
Lebanon News
06:24
Middle East Airlines to resume Paris flight despite strike
8
Lebanon News
04:59
Souaid to LBCI: Only Hezbollah can disrupt the 'Quintet' and the presidential election process
Lebanon News
04:59
Souaid to LBCI: Only Hezbollah can disrupt the 'Quintet' and the presidential election process
Download now the LBCI mobile app
To see the latest news, the latest daily programs in Lebanon and the world
Google Play
App Store
We use
cookies
We use
cookies
to make
your experience on this
website better.
Accept
Learn More