The Islamic Resistance Movement Hamas has urged the United Nations Relief and Works Agency “UNRWA” to retract the cuts it has made between 2015 and 2016 in services provided to Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and stressed that fiscal deficit does not justify the serious cutbacks made by the agency.

“UNRWA’s service cuts which involved its educational, health, aid, works and infrastructure sectors have exacerbated the economic distress of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon and made it more difficult,” Hamas office for refugee affairs underlined in a press statement on the 67^th anniversary of UNRWA’s inception.

The Movement said that the impact of the cuts has also affected Palestinian refugees in Syria, and called for a comprehensive revision and the reversal of UNRWA’s decisions.

 The statement urged donor countries to fulfill their financial obligations towards the organization in order to help maintain the services it offers to Palestinian refugees.

“UNRWA remains a reminder of the Nakba and a demonstration of the expulsion perpetrated against our people by the Zionist occupation, and the Agency’s important role must continue until Palestinian refugees return to their lands,” the statement concluded.