PLO rejects plans to lay off UNRWA staff, calls for urgent funding

The Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee on Sunday firmly rejected any plans to lay off large numbers of staff at the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), calling on donor countries to provide adequate and sustainable funding. The committee discussed the issue at a meeting in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, following remarks on Friday by Riyad Zeighan, head of the General Conference of Local Staff Unions at UNRWA, who said the agency planned to lay off large numbers of employees across its areas of operation due to a lack of funding. The committee called for urgent international action to provide about $70 million to cover immediate funding needs and ensure UNRWA staff receive their salaries in November […]