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A regulation approving the establishment of an office for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees In the Near East (UNRWA) was published in Türkiye’s Official Gazette on Saturday.
It is the latest step for Türkiye’s goal of getting more assistance to Palestinians, at a time of massacres targeting Palestinians in Gaza.
The Sabah newspaper reported that the deal with UNRWA will make Türkiye the main supply center for aid to Palestinian refugees and a hub of coordination for assistance between the Caucasus, Middle Eastern and other regional countries.
Türkiye has been part of the UNRWA Advisory Commission since it was founded in 1949. UNRWA has provided essential services – including primary health care, education and emergency assistance – to the Palestinian refugees in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Syria and Jordan for decades.
An office will be set up for UNRWA in Ankara. Türkiye currently chairs the Working Group on the Financing of UNRWA, according to the Sabah report. It is also a major contributor. In 2023 alone, it provided $10 million to the agency. Since the new round of the conflict began between Israel and Hamas, Türkiye provided an additional contribution of $1 million. In 2024, with contributions from volunteers and the Disaster and Emergency Management Authority (AFAD), this figure reached $15 million. This year’s contribution was $10 million.
Türkiye is a major supporter of Palestinians who are deprived of aid amid the inaction of most of the international community. Along with the government, charities in the country regularly deliver aid to alleviate the suffering of Palestinians, ranging from food and clothes to medicine and hygiene kits.
Food aid makes up the majority of the aid since Israel’s attacks began in October 2023.
