Occupied Palestinian Territories

In 2021, Luxembourg renewed its strategic partnership with UNRWA by formalising a new multiannual strategic partnership framework covering the 2022-2024 period, with a budget of EUR 12.3 million. The partnership framework focuses on health and education as a priority. UNRWA remains Luxembourg’s main partner in the Middle East and continues to play a leading role in the stabilisation of the region. In addition to the new strategic partnership framework, emergency assistance of EUR 500 000 was made available to UNRWA to meet health, education and sanitation needs in the Gaza Strip following the resumption of violence in May 2021. In addition, a new multiannual capacity-building project for the health system has been formalised with UNRWA.

In terms of assistance to Palestinian civil society, Luxembourg has renewed its support to the Palestinian Agricultural Relief Committees (PARC) in the agriculture, subsistence and sustainable development sectors. Luxembourg has also continued its support to civil society actors through multiannual partnership agreements with the Palestinian Medical Relief Society (PMRS) in the sector of reproductive health for women, with the Teacher Creativity Center (TCC) NGO, which works in the area of training in psychosocial support for teachers in Palestinian schools, as well as the Coalition for Accountability and Integrity (AMAN) NGO, working in the area of transparency and inclusive governance.

As regards humanitarian aid, Luxembourg has continued to support the operations of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the West Bank Consortium (co-financed with the European Commission’s Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (DG ECHO), Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Ireland, Italy, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom). This strategic partnership aims to prevent the forcible transfer of vulnerable Palestinians to the West Bank and East Jerusalem through a humanitarian response based on protection.

Finally, implementation of the project to construct a seawater desalination plant in Gaza, funded by Luxembourg since 2019, continued throughout 2021.