The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nikolay Mladenov, said in a statement yesterday that the besieged Gaza Strip is on the verge of total economic and social collapse.
Mladenov: 'Gaza is on the verge of total collapse'https://t.co/7uKsRpkOxo pic.twitter.com/y5kmgkXl8t
— Ma'an News Agency (@MaanNewsAgency) July 26, 2018
Mladenov stressed that half of Gaza’s population is unemployed and that basic services are severely overstretched.
The UN envoy welcomed a recommendation by the World Bank’s Board to allocate $90 million, an increase of $55 million from last year, in response to the economic situation in the occupied Palestinian territories, specifically in the Gaza Strip.
UN Special Coordinator for ME Peace Process, Nikolay Mladenov, said on Wednesday that the besieged #Gaza Strip is on the verge of total economic and social collapse. #Hamas, however, is busy threatening retaliation and cursing “deal of century” https://t.co/R4HKXknlzt
— Nervana Mahmoud (@Nervana_1) July 26, 2018
Mladenov stated:
“This significant increase in funding comes at a critical time when urgent interventions are required to prevent renewed conflict and to boost Palestinian economic opportunities and livelihoods.”
Today #UNRWA layd off 1000 employees in #Gaza following the US aid cuts, more expected to follow.Cases of fainting among the employees in the headquarters in Gaza City as they received the dismissing letter! pic.twitter.com/uopkXm8cnk
— Asmaa (@AsmaaAbdalla_) July 25, 2018
He added that this allocation will be used in partnership with the Palestinian Authority (PA)
“to support key interventions, including job creation through emergency cash-for-work and labor-intensive infrastructure rehabilitation.”
UNRWA needs $217 million to maintain its work this year, he explained, describing the situation as a “serious concern”.
Clinics across Gaza begin to close, as the U.S. aid cuts to UNRWA cause mass layoffs https://t.co/2rkSyKY1cA pic.twitter.com/aqjh0t9Gc8
— The IMEU (@theIMEU) July 26, 2018
Earlier this week UNRWA suspended the work contracts of nearly 1,000 employees, transferring many to temporary employment which comes to an end at the end of the year.
(MEMO, PC, Social Media)
