UNITED NATIONS: The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is formally launching an international funding campaign on Monday in a bid to make up for the US cut aid to the agency, officials said.
The campaign named 'Dignity is Priceless' aims to attract new donors to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.
In a statement, the agency said the UNRWA could "face serious difficulties in upholding its mandate and preserving key services such as education and health care for Palestine refugees with the dramatic reduction of the US contribution for 2018."
"Millions of Palestine refugees face a devastating humanitarian crisis," the statement read, also urging people to use hashtags #DignityIsPriceless and #FundUNRWA to support the campaign.
The US State Department announced on Tuesday it was withholding $65 million in aid to UNRWA.
The agency provides services to 5.3 million Palestinian refugees in the Palestinian territories, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. The total US contribution to UNRWA in 2017 was above $350 million.
On December 6, US President Donald Trump officially recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and ordered the relocation of the US embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy city.
The US policy shift triggered outcry in the Arab and Muslim world and a wave of protests in the Palestinian lands that left at least 16 people dead.
Jerusalem remains at the heart of the Israel-Palestine conflict, with Palestinians hoping that East Jerusalem -- occupied by Israel since 1967 -- might eventually serve as the capital of an independent Palestinian state.
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