US adds $10 million to UNRWA contributions- To date in 2012, the US has pledged $65 billion & is UNRWA’s largest bilateral donor

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Children attending UNRWA’s Gaza summer camp attempt to gain a world record
on basketball bouncing. (MaanImages/Stringer, File)

BETHLEHEM (Ma'an) -- The United States added a further $10 million to its contributions to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, a press statement from the agency said.

Ronan Farrow, Special Adviser on Global Youth to US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, announced the additional contribution during UNRWA's youth conference in Belgium last week, the release said on Monday.

The UN agency pledged to put more focus on youth in reforms of its education and health work, and cooperate more with international and UN youth initiatives at the end of the two-day summit.

To date in 2012, the US has pledged $65 billion to the refugee agency and is UNRWA’s largest bilateral donor, the release said.

The US partially lifted a hold on development funds to Palestine last week, after assistance was held back as President Mahmoud Abbas applied for full membership of the United Nations.

In August, Republican lawmakers put a hold on $147 million in US donation, arguing that Palestinian statehood should be achieved through peace talks with Israel.

On Friday, US Representative Kay Granger announced she was ready for the entire sum to go to the Palestinians. But the other representative who had a hold on the funds, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, limited the release to $88.6 million.

PA Prime Minister Salam Fayyad said he hoped that the whole amount, meant to support development projects, would be released.

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