Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al-Nahyan of the UAE ordered the donation of 2.5 million dollars to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, marking the donation for Palestine refugees in the Near East, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported Thursday.

In his statement accompanying the donation, Al-Nahyan said it represented his government's unwavering and continuous support to the Palestinian people.

The gift comes only days after UNRWA officials announced they would face a "zero budget" by the new year, and that services and the payment of salaries for employees would likely be affected. It also came on the heels of the UAE announcement to the UN that it had paid its one million-dollar share of the UNRWA budget, according to WAM.