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UNRWA Appeals for $1.6 Bln in Funding

FILE - Palestinian employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts by UNRWA, in Gaza City, Sept. 19, 2018. Reuters
FILE - Palestinian employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts by UNRWA, in Gaza City, Sept. 19, 2018. Reuters
    Asharq A-Awsat
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UNRWA Appeals for $1.6 Bln in Funding

FILE - Palestinian employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts by UNRWA, in Gaza City, Sept. 19, 2018. Reuters
FILE - Palestinian employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) take part in a protest against job cuts by UNRWA, in Gaza City, Sept. 19, 2018. Reuters

The UN agency that delivers basic services to millions of Palestinian refugees appealed on Tuesday for $1.6 billion in funding after its head warned it was struggling to fulfill its mandate due to spiraling costs and shrinking resources.

Established in 1949 following the first Arab-Israeli war, UNRWA provides public services including schools, primary healthcare and humanitarian aid in Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

"Compounding challenges over the last year including underfunding, competing global crises, inflation, disruption in the supply chain, geopolitical dynamics and skyrocketing levels of poverty and unemployment among Palestine refugees have put immense strain on UNRWA," the agency said in a statement.

UNRWA Commissioner-General Philippe Lazzarini told Reuters in November that the agency's financial woes could result in it no longer being able to fulfill its mandate, which last month was renewed by the UN for another three years.

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Israeli Settlers Set Fire to Mosque in West Bank in Latest Violent Attack on Palestinian Villages

Palestinians inspect the damage done to a mosque, after a reported attack by Israeli settlers, in the town of Marda near the West Bank city of Salfit on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage done to a mosque, after a reported attack by Israeli settlers, in the town of Marda near the West Bank city of Salfit on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
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Israeli Settlers Set Fire to Mosque in West Bank in Latest Violent Attack on Palestinian Villages

Palestinians inspect the damage done to a mosque, after a reported attack by Israeli settlers, in the town of Marda near the West Bank city of Salfit on December 20, 2024. (AFP)
Palestinians inspect the damage done to a mosque, after a reported attack by Israeli settlers, in the town of Marda near the West Bank city of Salfit on December 20, 2024. (AFP)

Israeli settlers set fire to a mosque and vandalized property in the northern occupied West Bank on Friday, the head of the Palestinian village council said, as Israeli police pledged to investigate the episode.

The West Bank has seen a surge in violence by Jewish settlers during the war in Gaza, and rights groups say the Israeli army often turns a blind eye.

Nasfat al-Khafash, the head of the council in Marda where the attack occurred, said a group of settlers arrived early in the morning, setting the mosque on fire and scrawling hateful messages on it.

Associated Press video showed spray-painted stars of David and the words in Hebrew, “the mosque will burn, the temple will be built,” an apparent reference to the ultranationalist desire to establish a Third Temple for Jews in Jerusalem at the holiest and most contested site in the Holy Land.

“These slogans reflect their upbringing and hatred towards Palestinians and Arabs,” said al-Khafash, adding that the settlers received “full support” from the government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu — the furthest-right government in Israel’s history.

Israel’s police, military and Shin Bet internal security agency said they were investigating the episode. “We view the incident seriously and will act with determination to bring those responsible to justice,” they said in a statement.

The UN’s humanitarian office said settler attacks on Palestinian farmers during this fall's olive harvest season “at least tripled” in 2024 compared to the each of the last three years.

In the West Bank and east Jerusalem, more than 700,000 Jewish settlers have Israeli citizenship, while the 3 million Palestinians in the territory live under Israeli military law.