UN, Palestinian Authority Launch $350Mln Aid Appeal for 1.4Mln Refugees

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United Nations has launched a 2019 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) for needy Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, according to a joint press release by UN Coordinator for the Palestinian Territories Jamie McGoldrick and Palestinian Social Development Minister Ibrahim Al-Shaer on Monday.

"The 2019 HRP appeals for $350 million to provide basic food, protection, health care, shelter, water and sanitation to 1.4 million Palestinians, who have been identified as most in need of humanitarian interventions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem," the release stated.

The 2019 plan encompasses 203 projects that will be implemented by 88 organizations, including 38 national, 37 international non-governmental organizations, and 13 United Nations agencies, the release said. A little over two-thirds of the requested funds target the Gaza Strip.

The humanitarian situation has been aggravated since March 30 by a massive rise in Palestinian casualties in the context of demonstrations in the Gaza Strip.

The Trump administration has suspended United States’ aid to the Palestinians, arguing that the UN Relief Works Agency — the primary vehicle to distribute aid — is hopelessly flawed and had done little to promote Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts.

READ MORE: UN Agency for Palestinian Refugees Asks for Support Amid US Funding Cut