AhlulBayt News Agency - The popular committees of the Palestinian refugee camps have continued to close their offices in the West Bank for the second consecutive day in protest at UNRWA's decision to cancel its food distribution system.
Palestinian employees of UNRWA working in refugee camps across the occupied West Bank launched a three-day strike on Monday to protest the agency’s recent decision to alter a long-standing food distribution program for refugees.
The UN agency for Palestinian refugees has recently decided to halt its food distribution program in the camps and replace it with a cash card system.
Senior official of the committees Ibrahim Saqer also noted that the UNRWA social affairs offices, which are located at the same headquarters of the popular committees, were also closed for three days.
He said that the UNRWA decided to replace the food ration it` distributes to the extremely poor families with a specified amount of cash taken through ATM cards.
Husni Odah, a spokesman for refugee camps in the northern West Bank, said that UNRWA’s decision to give 36,120 aid recipients $130 on cash cards would jeopardize the jobs of 300 to 400 employees who work at UNRWA distribution centers.
“We started the strike today for three days, and if we do not receive an answer from UNRWA, we will escalate the strike beginning next month,” Odah added. However, sources gave Ma'an contradictory statements on Tuesday regarding whether the strike was indeed taking place.
“We do not refuse the decision itself, but the way it was imposed on us,”Odah added. “We know it is for the good of the refugees, but we still need answers from UNRWA.”
The committees fear that the agency’s decision to give aid recipients cash cards would jeopardize the jobs of dozens of employees who work at its distribution centers.
There are also fears that the UNRWA might not raise the purchasing value of these cash cards whenever there are commodity price hikes.
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