11countries agree to help UNRWA

Almost a dozen countries have agreed to advance their annual contributions to the UN agency for Palestinian refugees to help it plug a major shortfall after a partial cut-off of US funding, its chief said on Tuesday.

The move by the Trump administration appears linked to a United Nations vote rejecting Washington's recognition of Jerusalem as Israel's capital, said Pierre Kraehenbuehl, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA).

The United States said this month it would withhold $65 million of $125 million it had planned to send to UNRWA, which runs schools and clinics for 5.3 million Palestinians across the Middle East, including in Gaza and the West Bank.

Eleven countries have agreed to advance their donations to finance UNRWA programmes in coming months, Kraehenbuehl said after meeting donor representatives, adding: "There a sense of coming together."

Seven countries - Switzerland, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Germany and Russia - had already transferred early funds while four - Belgium, Kuwait, the Netherlands and Ireland - had pledged to do so soon, he said.