GAZA — Thanks to generous support from Saudi Arabia, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) will embark on largescale maintenance projects, it said in a statement.

This will ensure that 268 schools and health centers in Syria, Jordan, Gaza, Lebanon and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have sound construction and are accessible to all visitors, UNRWA said.

Saudi Arabia agreed to pay $23 million in aid to UNRWA. The fund was said to have been provided by the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD).

Hailing the Saudi government, the UN organization noted that its plan to improve UNRWA’s various facilities in the occupied territories wouldn’t have been “possible” without Riyadh’s donations. — Agencies

UNRWA’s Commissioner-General Pierre Krahenbuhl said he was “extremely grateful that the SFD has made this support available,” explaining that “many of our [UNRWA] structures needed maintenance.”

Going into a well-kept school or health center can make a huge difference in terms of respect and morale, and that is exactly what we want people to feel: we care about your dignity, Krahenbuhl added.

Saudi Arabia is UNRWA’s third-largest donor, having contributed more than $800 million since 1994, a move described by the humanitarian organization as a “clear sign of support to Palestine refugees and to their dignity and wellbeing.” — Agencies