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GAZA. — The United Nations for Relief and Work Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) suffers from a serious financial deficit that exceeds $300 million, UNRWA official announced yesterday.

“This deficit is a real threat to the presence of the humanitarian organisation,” Adnan Abu Hasna, Gaza spokesman of the international agency told Xinhua in a telephone conversation.

“The agency is racing time and intensifying its moves to fill the deficit,” he said, noting that the focus “is now on expanding the circle of donors.”

In January 22, the agency launched a global campaign entitled “No price values dignity” to raise funds for its budget and avoid the risk of disruption of services it provides to the Palestinian refugees.

Abu Hasna said that the campaign targeted private sector institutions and charities in Arab and Islamic countries, including countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, Malaysia and Brunei to work to expand the circle of donors to the agency.

He added that UNRWA plans to intensify its global campaign to raise funds, especially in Arab and Islamic countries, in the upcoming month of Ramadan in the hope of overcoming the fiscal deficit in the agency’s budget.

Since the launch of its campaign of donations, UNRWA has received $150 million from Rome International Conference, which convened last month, besides $50 million from Saudi Arabia, according to Abu Hasna.

The United States, the main donor to UNRWA announced earlier this year that it withheld $65 million of the total grant of $125 million that was planned for UNRWA.

Washington later suspended its $45 million of the food aid it had pledged to the agency. The US move was made to pressure on the Palestinians to resume the Middle East peace negotiations with Israel. – Xinhua