UNRWA chief urges Europe to step up efforts to resolve Palestine question

BRUSSELS, March 2 (KUNA) -- Commissioner General of UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), Pierre Krahenbuhl, Monday expressed deep concern at deteriorating situation in the region and called on Europe to boost political engagement to address Palestine question.
"I come here at a time of extreme worry. The region is deeply in trouble characterised by ongoing threats of occupation, blockades in Gaza, conflict in Syria and its impact on neighbouring countries," he told the European Parliament's foreign affairs committee this evening.
"At the heart of it from my perspective is the lack of a political solution to the conflicts of the region," he said.
"There is nothing more important today for Palestinian refugees and for the region to have political engagement to address the underlying causes that are at the heart of the circumstance," said the UNRWA chief and called on the EU to engage in dialogue with all parties on the ground to take this political process further.
He emphasized that the people of Gaza following the Israeli military onslaught last summer, are "facing a moment of existential crisis" due to years of blockade, lack of jobs and no freedom of movement.
"I consider it a statistical shame that 860,000 people out of 1.8 million people in Gaza are dependent on food assistance from UNRWA," he said.
He said the Palestine refugee communities throughout the Near East are facing a major protection crisis, referring to the situation in Syria.
"They feel deeply disillusioned and abandoned and are blocked from the wider developments that we see in the world," he stated.
He noted that USD 720 million were pledged at the Cairo pledging conference for Gaza last October but only USD 175 million have been paid till now out of which USD 100 million have already been spent.
"Lack of engagement in the political terms or financial terms would have immediate implications for the people," he warned and urged the EU to continue its financial support to UNRWA.
Krahenbuhl noted that after the US and the EU, Saudi Arabia was the biggest contributor to the agency. (end) nk.bs