Jad Fakih wrote in “An-Nahar”:
The Special Representative of Palestinian President Yasser Abbas and the Ambassador of the State of Palestine to Lebanon, Muhammad Al-Asaad, discussed with the Director of Affairs of the United Nations Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees “UNRWA” in Lebanon, Dorothy Klaus, ways to improve living and economic conditions in the camps. But is the available funding sufficient to meet the needs of the camps? Are services really suffering from a growing shortage? If UNRWA is forced to reduce its services due to the financial deficit, who can provide an alternative?
The Director General of the 302nd Commission for Defending Refugee Rights, an expert in UNRWA affairs, Ali Huwaidi, explained to An-Nahar that “there is a clear lack of services. And coinciding with the start of the school year, there is a process of closing schools in which refugees learn, including Al-Bireh School in Beirut and Rafah School in Tripoli, and this is an indication of the lack of services and European funding for UNRWA.”
According to Huwaidi, “A large deficit in UNRWA’s budget threatens its work, in light of the Palestinians’ failure to obtain their social and economic rights in Lebanon, which threatens a social and security explosion. Therefore, we call on the Lebanese-Palestinian Dialogue Committee to approach the issue from a human rights perspective, because any explosion will be borne by both parties.”
It is true that some civil associations work inside the camps, but their work is not enough to cover what the refugees are asking for, according to Huwaidi. He adds: “The poverty rate among Palestinians in Lebanon is 80%, and the unemployment rate is close to 45%. There is a massive population crowding of 400% in the camps, and indicators indicate that there is no improvement in these services, because UNRWA funding is declining, and for this there is a political reason, which is targeting the Palestinians and their right to return from the American administration and the Israeli occupation.”
After October 7, 2023, UNRWA’s funding entered a more difficult phase, after several countries suspended their contributions following Israeli allegations of the participation of employees in the Hamas attack, before some countries resumed their funding. With the changing balance of power and international positions, especially within the Security Council, regarding the Palestinian issue, and the decline in international aid in general, the agency today faces a large funding gap amounting to about $100 million for its basic budget for the year 2026.
