GAZA CITY, Palestinian Territories: Tens of thousands of Palestinian children returned to United Nations-run schools after the summer holidays on Wednesday, though major US cuts have thrown their funding into jeopardy beyond next month.
Children wearing chequered uniforms and backpacks thronged schools across the Palestinian territories for the first classes of the new school year, AFP correspondents reported.
The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) said all 711 schools it runs for 526,000 pupils in Gaza and the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon and Syria would reopen in the next few days despite the $300 million US funding cut.
Fears raised by UN chief Antonio Guterres that the schools might not be able to reopen at all failed to materialize but UNRWA warned it might still be forced to close them again in a month if addition new funding is not found.
“At the moment, we do not have enough money to keep the schools open after the end of September,” UNRWA spokesman Chris Gunness told AFP.
“At the end of September, UNRWA will be running on empty for all its services, including schools and medical facilities.”
In 2017, the United States, which is traditionally the largest single donor to UNRWA, contributed more than $350 million.
But so far this year, it has given just $65 million following President Donald Trump’s decision to withhold aid to the Palestinians.
Parents expressed deep concern about the uncertainty hanging over their children’s education.
“We are afraid of the schools closing,” Soha Abu Hasara told AFP in Gaza City as she dropped her children off for their first day back at school.
“There is fear and the situation is not stable, and there is tension within UNRWA,” she said.
UNRWA was formed to support the more than 700,000 Palestinians who fled or were expelled from their homes during the 1948 war that accompanied the creation of Israel.
With their descendants, they now number more than three million across the Middle East.
The United States has sought to use its aid to pressure the Palestinian government into resuming dealings with it after a nearly nine-month rupture.
The Palestinians have boycotted the US administration since it recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital last December.
Last week, Trump canceled a further $200 million in aid projects for Palestinians not funded through UNRWA.
Senior Palestinian official Hanan Ashrawi accused the US president of resorting to “cheap blackmail as a political tool.”
UN schools for Palestinians reopen despite US funding cut
UN schools for Palestinians reopen despite US funding cut
- UNRWA said all 711 schools it runs for 526,000 pupils would reopen in the next few days
- Last week, Trump canceled a further $200 million in aid projects for Palestinians not funded through UNRWA
STC announces dissolution
RIYADH: The Yemeni separatist group Southern Transitional Council (STC) has announced it will dissolve following talks in Saudi Arabia. Several STC members are in Riyadh for discussions on ending unrest in southern Yemen. The group praised Saudi Arabia’s efforts, while former STC leader Aidarous al-Zubaidi, now wanted by the Presidential Council for high treason, has fled Yemen and has not participated in the talks.
A Yemeni source told Arab News: “this announcement and ease shown in the televised video statement shows that in fact Al Zubaidi was the obstacle, and that most southerners are open to resolving their matter via dialogue and discussion”
The members of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) in Yemen spoke during the Riyadh Southern Dialogue Conference on Friday.
During the meeting, the Council said military operations in Hadramout and Mahra harmed the Southern cause in Yemen.
The Council said they did not participate in the decision for the military operations in Hadramout and Mahra.
"We hope to reach a vision and concept for resolving the Southern issue at the Riyadh Conference,” said the Council.
The Council thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting the dialogue conference in Riyadh.
- Below is a full translation of the STC announcement as reported by the Arabic language Yemeni news agency (SABA):
Announcement of the Dissolution of the Southern Transitional Council
The Presidency of the Southern Transitional Council, the Supreme Executive Leadership, the General Secretariat, and the other affiliated bodies convened a meeting to assess the recent unfortunate events in the governorates of Hadramout and Al-Mahrah, and the subsequent rejection of all efforts toward de-escalation and resolution. These developments have led to serious and painful consequences. Referring to the statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia regarding its sponsorship of a southern dialogue to resolve the southern issue—and in order to safeguard the future of the southern cause and the right of the southern people to restore their state according to their will and aspirations, and to preserve peace and social security in the South and the broader region—we make the following declaration:
The Southern Transitional Council was established to carry the cause of the southern people, represent them, and lead them toward achieving their aspirations and restoring their state. We founded it with the belief that the goal was to achieve this mission—not to cling to it as a means of gaining power, monopolizing decision-making, or excluding others.
Since we were not involved in the decision to launch the military operation in Hadramout and Al-Mahrah—an operation that harmed southern unity and damaged relations with the coalition led by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, which has made and continues to make great sacrifices and provide ongoing political, economic, and military support—the continued existence of the Council no longer serves the purpose for which it was created. In light of this and our historical responsibility toward the southern cause, we hereby announce the dissolution of the Southern Transitional Council, the disbanding of all its main and subsidiary bodies, and the closure of all its offices inside and outside the country. We will instead work to achieve our just southern goal by preparing for and participating in the comprehensive southern conference under the Kingdom’s sponsorship.
We commend the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for its clear and explicit commitments and the sincere concern it has shown for our cause in seeking solutions that meet the aspirations and will of the southern people.
We call on all active southern figures and leaders to engage in the path of the comprehensive southern dialogue conference, hoping that the participants will reach a vision and framework to resolve the southern issue and fulfill the people’s aspirations through their free will, and to establish an inclusive southern framework.
From this platform, we call on the people of the South, our colleagues in the capital Aden, and all the governorates of our beloved South to recognize the gravity of this moment, the sensitivity of the current phase, and the importance of uniting efforts to preserve our gains and protect the South from chaos or instability.
We reaffirm our continued commitment to serving the just and legitimate cause of the southern people and achieving their aspirations according to their will. We also extend our gratitude to the leadership and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for hosting the comprehensive southern dialogue conference and for their support of the South, its cause, and its people across all fields and stages.
