The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia granted, through the Saudi Fund for Development, $59 Million to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to carry out projects in Gaza, West Bank and Jordan. A statement issued by UNRWA said that this donation has been confirmed by three agreements signed in London on Thursday by Eng. Yousef Al-Bassam, the Vice President and Managing Director of the Saudi Fund for Development and UNRWA Commissioner Pierre Krenpol. Al-Bassam said that the UNRWA plays a vital role in providing basic needs and social services to Palestine refugees, stressing that the Kingdom, through the Saudi Development Fund, will continue to support the Palestinian people in all fields. According the statement of UNRWA, the first agreement, worth $ 43.5 million, will be used to support the ongoing projects in Gaza, including repairing more than 7500 homes for Palestinians whose homes were damaged during the aggression of 2014, as well as the maintenance of three schools affiliated to UNRWA. While the second agreement, worth $ 8 million, will be used for urgent maintenance works for UNRWA's nine schools and 10 health centers in Jordan. The third agreement, worth $ 5.7 million, will be used for reconstruction, equipping and furnishing three health centers in the West Bank. UNRWA Commissioner expressed his appreciation of this generous donation which comes at the right time, saying, "I am extremely grateful to the Government and people of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for their continued support for UNRWA over the years." The Commissioner said that the Saudi donations have made great difference in the lives of thousands of Palestine refugees, praising the role played by the Saudi Fund for Development in the delivery of the Saudi aid to the refugees. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia donated more than $ 500 million to UNRWA so far, and over the past three years, the kingdom has become the third largest donor to UNRWA. Since 2005, the kingdom has become an important member of UNRWA's Advisory Commission.
