Experts Outline Challenges, Propose Solutions for Gaza at ATFP-UNRWA Briefing
Media Mention of Ghaith al-Omari In - May 19, 2014 - 12:00am

A group of prominent experts identified a number of key challenges facing the Gaza Strip and its Palestinian residents, and ways to address them, at a briefing jointly hosted by the American Task Force on Palestine (

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Palestinian refugees’ hardships intensify
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Daily Star
by Annie Slemrod - February 13, 2013 - 1:00am

The war in Syria has compounded what was already an emergency situation for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, UNRWA’s top official in the country said Tuesday. Veteran diplomat Ann Dismorr took up the position of director of UNRWA affairs last October, when only a few thousand Palestinian refugees had fled Syria for Lebanon. Since then, as violence hit the area in and around Damascus and broke into Yarmouk – Syria’s largest camp – the number of Palestinians crossing the border has soared.

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Protesters shut down UNRWA offices after layoffs
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
December 11, 2012 - 1:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- Labor leaders at Palestinian refugee camps on Tuesday shut down all UNRWA sub-offices in the West Bank in protest of the dismissal of 130 employees and reductions of services. Munthir Amira, director of the youth center of Aida refugee camp, told Ma'an that "it is time that UNRWA's administration realize that the plight of Palestinian refugees can't be a political trade or an opportunity for Western employees to seek livelihood."

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The forgotten refugees of Gaza
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
by Siraj Davis, Yasmin Omar Lulu - (Analysis) October 30, 2012 - 12:00am

The Gaza camp in Jordan, near the northwestern historical ruins of Jerrash where the Greco Roman Empire once flourished, was set up by the UN as an em

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UNRWA responds to Israel TV's Gaza war claims
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
(Analysis) October 29, 2012 - 12:00am

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees issued a response this week to an Israeli TV channel's claim that Palestinian militants had used UNRWA facilities to fire rockets at Israel during its war on Gaza. During a recent interview, a reporter from Israel's Channel Two News claimed that during Operation Cast Lead in 2008-9, Hamas militants had been operating from inside UNRWA installations and attempting to fire rockets at Israel. The popular Israeli news channel did not provide any evidence to substantiate the claims made by its reporter.

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UNRWA staff to strike over cuts
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
October 22, 2012 - 12:00am

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- UNRWA staff employed in schools, clinics and offices in refugee camps across the West Bank will strike on Tuesday in protest over cutbacks in services. UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, is cutting health services and other emergency programs, and firing 130 employees, a spokesman for refugee camps in the West Bank said Monday. Imad Abu Ismail said in a statement that medical operations had been canceled due to a financial crisis in the UN agency.

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West Bank cash crisis as donors fail to pay
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The Independent
by Matthew Kalman - October 10, 2012 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority, facing a major cash crisis, has warned 150,000 employees it does not know when they will receive their September salaries.

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Gaza's children in an 'unliveable' siege cannot wait for 2020
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The National
by Julia C Hurley - (Opinion) September 4, 2012 - 12:00am

Last week, the United Nations released a report questioning whether or not Gaza will be liveable by 2020, with the conclusion that if the siege continues, then living there will become literally impossible. Gaza's development has been thrown off track, and "de-development" has set in, leaving the UN saying that "even if the political situation were to improve dramatically over the next years, the issues identified in this study would still need to be addressed as a matter of urgency".

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UN agency: Gaza won't be viable by 2020 due to population growth
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
August 28, 2012 - 12:00am

The United Nations agency that is responsible for Palestinian refugees warned Monday that the Gaza Strip will not be viable if population growth continues under closure. Robert Turner, operations director of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), said at a news conference here that the population in Gaza will increase to over two million by 2020. The Gaza Strip's current population is 1.6 million.

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UN: Gaza not 'liveable' by 2020 barring urgent action
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Nidal al-Mughrabi - August 28, 2012 - 12:00am

Gaza will no longer be "liveable" by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to improve water supply, power, health, and schooling, the United Nations' most comprehensive report on the Palestinian enclave said on Monday. "Action needs to be taken now if Gaza is to be a liveable place in 2020 and it is already difficult now," UN humanitarian coordinator Maxwell Gaylard told journalists when the report was released on Monday.

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American Task Force on Palestine - 1634 Eye St. NW, Suite 725, Washington DC 20006 - Telephone: 202-262-0017