Dozens of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) employees organized a protest at the Irbid Refugee Camp on Saturday, to protest the Agency’s recent decision to control expenditures, following funding cuts by the US.

Dozens of UNRWA employees and camp residents took part in the protest, and threatened a series of protests if their demands were not met and more cuts were made.

The protest came following UNRWA’s surprising decision to dismiss 15 binmen, who were employed by the NGO. The protestors considered the decision as a reduction of the services provided for the camp and a violation of workers’ rights.

Following the US cut, UNRWA warned that cutting services will affect the living conditions of more than 5.3 million Palestinian refugee in five countries, 2.3 million of whom are in Jordan. The funding cut has already negatively impacted the health and education of refugees in Jordan, as the UN agency announced in January that they will lay off 100 employees in an attempt to cut costs.

The financial crisis facing UNRWA began in January, when the US administration announced it would withhold more than half of its planned funding for the NGO. The cut was preceded by the widely condemned US decision to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.