The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), which was affected by the suspension of US funding, announced Monday that it lacks the necessary funds to pay the salaries of its employees for the months of November and December. 

"The agency has never recovered from the funding cutoff imposed by President Donald Trump in 2018," agency spokeswoman Tamara Al-Rifai told AFP, noting that the annual support provided by the United States to the agency amounts to $365 million, representing about a third of its annual budget of 1.24 billion dollars.

This affects the lives of millions of Palestinian refugees who depend on the Agency's services in the occupied West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

Rifai explained that "the shortfall was filled in 2019 with additional support from several Arab countries, including Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait," noting that "the European Union and European countries also helped bridge the gap, especially Germany."

But it realized that "financial support this year has diminished" and the spread of the coronavirus "did not help," as the main donors faced increasing financial pressure.

"The lack of funding affects 28,000 employees spread across Jordan, Lebanon, the occupied West Bank, East Jerusalem and Gaza," the agency’s commissioner general, Philip Lazzarini, announced in a statement Monday, adding that the agency “needs to secure $ 70 million in order to be able to pay the full salaries for the months of November / November and December. "

"What saddens me most greatly is my knowledge that the salaries of health care and environmental health workers who work on the front lines with courage and fortitude, and that the salaries of our teachers who work to ensure the continuity of students' education during the health crisis are at risk," he added.

UNRWA has come under constant criticism from the Israeli occupation, arguing that its presence is no longer necessary after decades of conflict that followed the establishment of the occupying State of Israel in 1948, and caused the displacement of more than 760,000 Palestinian refugees.

After President Donald Trump took office, the positions of the US administration intersected with the Israeli position, leading to cutting US funding from the agency at the end of August 2018.

Regarding the possible impact of Democrat Joe Biden's victory in the US presidential elections in terms of resuming funding, Al-Rifai said that UNRWA is "very optimistic that the United States will resume its support."

In response to a question about whether the agency has received specific commitments from the new administration, she said, "We have dealt closely with the Biden campaign team and they are aware of UNRWA's role in achieving stability in the region."

The Biden campaign website said 2020 that it would provide "humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people," but did not directly mention UNRWA.

Founded in 1949, UNRWA is responsible for providing assistance, education and protection to Palestinian refugees, as well as health services for an estimated 5.7 million Palestine refugees.