This was expressed by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on his Twitter account, after making an appeal at the General Assembly on Thursday to guarantee resources for that agency.

According to him, it is urgent that UNRWA has a lasting financial basis in order to help millions of Palestinian refugees in different places.

Commenting about this issue, he called on UN member States to make a twofold appeal to end the long-standing underfunding UNRWA is facing.

First, he urged key donors to make pledges to achieve the budget needed to ensure vital services to Palestine refugees until the end of this year and bring UNRWA’s current shortfall down to zero.

Second, the Portuguese diplomat said, we must put UNRWA on a durable financial footing and this requires a long-term plan to stabilize the financing of the Agency and reach sufficient, predictable and sustainable funding.

Currently, according to UN data, more than five million Palestinians have registered with that Agency as refugees in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan.

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