Seham al-Laham is expecting her first child.
But what a happy time to have taken over by an anxious wait for the United Nations agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) to pay its costs to give birth at a government-run hospital in Amman, Jordan.
The 20-year-old Palestinian refugee has been desperate to make it all the way at the medical service centers in Camp Jabal el-Hussein, where she lives, but “the clinics that the run by UNRWA on suffering a medical shortage, and a laboratory. equipment ”, said al-Laham.
“We have been hearing about the financial difficulties facing UNRWA, and it has left me worried about my delivery and the medical services provided to me and my newborn,” she told Al Jazeera .
UNRWA provides life-saving services, including essential primary health care, through 25 health clinics across refugee camps in Jordan.
But an unprecedented financial crisis has jeopardized UNRWA’s emergency health care services – and even US President Joe Biden’s recent pledge to support Palestinians will not solve the problem in the long run -time, experts say.
The U.S. has long been the largest single donor to the organization, accounting for about 30 percent (nearly $ 365m) of UNRWA’s annual budget, making it particularly vulnerable to the political whims of various U.S. administrations. SA.
In 2018, the Trump administration stopped funding for UNRWA, pushing the agency into financial instability. Washington saw the cut as necessary for anonymous reforms because it was pushing Palestinians to renew peace talks with Israel.
“The biggest challenge facing the institution is that it is financially unsustainable without an international mandate to provide long-term funding,” said Tareq Baconi, the group’s senior analyst. international crisis on Palestine and Israel.
“The Trump administration has shown that not only is this something that can be used punitively in a political way, but also that the group has become overly dependent on the U.S..”
‘Very difficult’
UNRWA needs more than $ 1bn a year to manage its regular, emergency and life-saving services to some 5.7 million Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.
While there have been some positive signs that the Biden administration may suspend funding from Washington in 2018, this will not be enough to cover the agency ‘s $ 200m budget deficit for 2021.
On Feb. 2, the U.S. Department of State quoted Ned Price as saying that the Trump administration’s decision to cut support to Palestinians was unreliable, adding that the new leadership would withdraw financial support.
“Support for the Palestinian people has not prevented political progress, or in obtaining concessions from the Palestinian presidency. It did no harm to innocent Palestinians, “Price said at a news conference.
U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration said this month that he would return aid to Palestinians [File: Tom Brenner/Reuters]
“The U.S. will renew our humanitarian leadership and work to inspire the international community to fulfill their humanitarian responsibilities, including the Palestinian people. This is something we are working quickly to bring back, ”he said.
UNRWA spokesman Tamara al-Rifai said she welcomed the news, but that the organisation’s financial situation will be “very difficult” this year. “We expect a funding crisis to emerge in March this year, and on a larger scale, the expected deficit this year could lead to the organisation’s financial collapse,” she said.
“We are mindful of the opportunity to join the new U.S. administration, so we expect revenue to be slightly better than it was in 2020, but it will not be possible. to cover this small increase in revenue to cover the organisation’s significant responsibilities. “
The subject of refugees
Founded in 1949 after the Nakba – or catastrophe – that led to about 700,000 Palestinians, UNRWA today provides education, health and social services to Palestinian refugees.
Palestinian officials believe the U.S. decision to cut funding to UNRWA was an attempt to prevent any future final status talks on the right of return for Palestinian refugees. This is one of the key points of reconciliation, along with Jerusalem and future state borders.
The real idea of Palestinians as refugees was what prompted the diplomatic attack from the White House, wrote Hady Amr who was an expert at the Brookings Institution in 2018; In particular, the ability of stateless persons to grant refugee status to future generations under international law.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long been pushing for the abolition of UNRWA and demanding that his responsibilities be handed over to the UN refugee organization (UNHCR).
“There is a major operational challenge facing the organization, and as the political reality of the Palestinian issue becomes more marginalized and challenged, the more difficult it becomes for UNRWA to work. to do, “Baconi said.
Uncertain future
While the group has been badly hurt by years of budget cuts, it has remained intact – despite the best efforts of top Trump administration officials, such as former DA Ambassador Nikki Haley and Jared Kushner , Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser.
In 2018, Haley said UNRWA was increasing the number of Palestinian refugees and said the group needed to make reforms. “You’re looking at the fact that there are, yes, an endless number of refugees who continue to receive support, but more importantly, the Palestinians are still dying for America,” she said at the time.
The Kushner family foundation has donated to Israeli settlements and has a longstanding relationship with Netanyahu. Foreign policy said in 2018, in an effort to undermine UNRWA’s work, Kushner tried to pressure Jordan to remove two million Palestinians living there from their refugee status.
The United Arab Emirates, which last year signed a normalization deal with the U.S. breach with Israel, significantly reduced funding for UNRWA – from $ 51.8m in 2019 to $ 1m in 2020. Israeli Channel 12 reported that Bahrain also lost support for the group, but did not provide definitive figures.
UNRWA provides support and services to approximately 5.7 million Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon [File: Mohamad Torokman/Reuters]
An Emirati government official told Reuters news agency this week that the UAE does not intend to return funding until steps are taken to regulate it more effectively. “We are in contact with UNRWA leadership on how we can improve aid effectiveness,” said Reem al-Hashimy’s Minister of State for International Cooperation.
“The question is whether the Gulf will try to dismantle UNRWA, and whether the US will go ahead. [with it], ”Zaha Hassan, a human rights lawyer and senior legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team, said during Palestine’s bid for DA membership in 2010-12.
Whether Washington will support Palestinians back remains to be seen, Hassan told Al Jazeera.
“The Biden administration has not backed UNRWA again and has not mentioned the organization by name. The money can go to other international NGOs or UNHCR. “