Palestinian refugees slam UNRWA aid cuts. (Photo: Internet)

Gaza City, October 23 (RHC)-- Palestinian refugees demonstrated in the Gaza Strip against the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestine refugees.  They slammed the agency’s cuts to vital services, aid and employment amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The UN agency provides education, health and welfare services to millions of Palestinian refugees in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.  

Around 1.3 million Palestinian refugees live in the Gaza Strip.  The crisis of Palestinian refugees began in 1948 upon the emergence of the Israeli regime in the occupied Palestinian lands.  

UNRWA is already suffering from a huge budget deficit that has forced it to scale back services to Palestinian refugees in recent years including the provision of urgent relief in emergencies.  The crisis worsened after the United States suspended its funding to UNRWA in 2018.

Most Palestinian refugees live under the poverty line and lack the safety net needed to absorb the financial and medical shocks created by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

According to the international law, refugees have the right to return to their homes of origin, receive real property restitution, and compensation for losses and damages.  Palestinian refugees say that UNRWA cuts will only deepen their suffering amid the coronavirus pandemic.