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Foreign Minister Westerwelle: 11 million euro in support of Palestinian refugees
In 2012 Germany will provide a total of 11 million euro to support Palestinian refugees.
Commenting on this, Federal Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle issued the following statement in Ramallah today (1 February):
“We are offering financial assistance to UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, to continue to help improve the difficult living conditions of Palestinian refugees.
However, comprehensive peace negotiations are essential if the Palestinian refugees’ situation is to be permanently solved.
This is why the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians which was launched in Amman must be driven forward, and I will keep campaigning for this during my visit to the region.”
Of these 11 million euro, UNRWA will receive 8 million as a voluntary contribution to its core budget, which is primarily used for projects in the areas of education, health and basic social care.
Furthermore, the German Government is supporting a school-feeding programme for more than 80,000 pupils at UNRWA schools in the Gaza Strip to the tune of 3 million euro.
Within the framework of its mandate, UNRWA is assisting almost 5 million registered refugees.
