Jakarta. Indonesia is considering increasing its funding to UNRWA – the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees – this year, as the Southeast Asian country grows increasingly concerned about what is happening in Gaza.
UNRWA data shows that Indonesia significantly increased its donations to the agency in 2023, the same year that the armed conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas escalated. Indonesia pledged a total of $2.6 million in donations to UNRWA throughout 2023. About $2 million went to the Gaza flash appeal. Indonesia became UNRWA’s 35th largest donor, with the United States becoming the largest contributor by donating $422 million that year.
“We have tripled our contribution in 2023. This year, we plan to double what we tripled last year,” Arrmanatha C Nasir, Indonesia’s permanent representative to the UN, said at a press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday.
Indonesia’s pledges last year are indeed much higher than those in 2022, when Indonesia donated $200,000. UNRWA also reported receiving $200,000 in pledges from Indonesia in 2021. UNRWA relies primarily on voluntary contributions from governments around the world.
The funding for UNRWA is part of the Indonesian government’s support for the Palestinians. Indonesia has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza, while lobbying other countries to recognize the Palestinian state. Earlier this year, Indonesia sent humanitarian aid – including medicine and medical equipment – worth 30 billion rupiah ($1.8 million) to both Gaza and conflict-torn Sudan.
Gaza’s health ministry said Monday that at least 37,900 people had been killed since the conflict between Hamas and Israel escalated last October.
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