PALESTINIAN REFUGEES TODAY
The fragmentation and national dislocation of 1948 continues to this day. The number of Palestinian refugees and their descendants today stands at around 6 million, still dispersed across historic Palestine, the surrounding region, and elsewhere in the world. Having continued to have their right of return denied, Palestinian refugees live in a state of uncertainty, insecurity and vulnerability in their various locations, their ongoing displacement a necessary prerequisite for the maintenance and expansion of the Israeli state and its Jewish supremacist society. Palestinian refugees face a range of serious challenges even at the level of subsistence, depending on where they are. And essential services such as schools, clinics and social support are also under threat as UNRWA has struggled financially for a few years, particularly since the first Trump administration.
January 2018 Trump cuts $65 million of a planned $125 million UNRWA package June 2018 UNRWA is forced to reduce its Syria emergency cash assistance due to severe funding shortfalls. August 2018 The Trump administration announces it will end all US funding to UNRWA April 2021 The Biden administration restores US contributions to UNRWA January 2022 UNRWA cautions that chronic budget shortfalls threaten its ability to maintain vital services
January 2024 The Biden administration pauses
US funding to UNRWA (reinstated in April 2024)
December 2025 The Swedish government declares it will cease all UNRWA funding in 2025 May 2025 UNRWA fears US funding cuts unless it joins the new US led Gaza aid distribution plan
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