Jayanty Nada Shofa, Jakarta – Indonesia is planning to ramp up its funding to the UNRWA – the UN's relief agency for Palestinian refugees – this year as the Southeast Asian country grows increasingly concerned with what is happening in Gaza.

UNRWA data showed that Indonesia dramatically 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 the UNRWA throughout 2023. About $2 million went to the Gaza flash appeal. Indonesia became the 35th largest UNRWA donor with the US becoming the top contributor by donating $422 million that year.

"We have tripled our contribution in 2023. This year, we are expecting to double what we tripled last year," Arrmanatha C Nasir, the Indonesian permanent representative to the UN, said in a press briefing in Jakarta on Thursday.

What Indonesia pledged last year was indeed much higher compared to 2022, during which Indonesia donated $200,000. The UNRWA also reported it also received $200,000 in donation pledges from Indonesia in 2021. The UNRWA mainly relies on voluntary contributions from governments across the globe.

The UNRWA funding was one of the series of the Indonesian government's support to the Palestinians. Indonesia has sent humanitarian aid to Gaza, while also helping nudge other countries into recognizing Palestinian statehood. Earlier this year, Indonesia dispatched humanitarian assistance –consisting of medicines and medical equipment– worth Rp 30 billion ($1.8 million) to both Gaza as well as conflict-torn Sudan.

The Gaza health ministry announced Monday that at least 37,900 people had been killed since the Hamas-Israel conflict intensified last October.

Source: https://jakartaglobe.id/news/indonesia-to-ramp-up-funding-to-uns-palestine-refugee-agency