UNRWA: emergency appeal

Emergency Relief

In addition to UNRWA’s core operations, such as education, health, relief and social services, micro-finance and camp improvement, the Agency has, in the last 10 years, launched over 20 Emergency Appeals to respond to regional crises, starting with the outbreak of the second intifada in late 2000 and an initial Flash Appeal for US$ 39 million. Since then, the total amount of funds requested to address the rapidly deteriorating political, socio-economic and security situation in the West Bank and Gaza (oPt), as well as in Lebanon, has been in excess of US$ 2 billion.

The crises have included repeated Israeli military operations in the West Bank and Gaza that destroyed civic infrastructure and entire neighbourhoods (e.g. Jenin Camp, Rafah, Beit Hanoun) and led to hundreds of dead and injured; the construction of the West Bank Barrier and its associated closure regime that still strangles the West Bank economy; the Gaza siege following the Hamas take-over in June 2007 and, most recently, the Israeli attack on Gaza during Operation Cast Lead in late December 2008 that led to our most expensive Emergency Appeal of some US$ 345 million.

In Lebanon, UNRWA was called into action following Israel’s war on Lebanon in July 2006 and then, in the summer of 2007, following the total destruction of Nahr el Bared Camp in northern Lebanon resulting from the conflict between the Lebanese Armed Forces and the extremist Fatah Al-Islam group.

Current Emergency Appeals:

Occupied Palestinian Territories (oPt)

Current Appeals

Previous Appeals: [PDF files]