Belgium is allocating an additional €2 million for educational programmes for Palestinian children displaced by the ongoing conflict, the Minister for International Development Frank Vandenbroucke announced on Friday.
This aid will be implemented by UNRWA, the United Nations agency responsible for supporting Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Syria. The funds will primarily be used to purchase school supplies, secure school buildings, provide transportation to schools, and offer psychological support. Approximately 150,000 children are expected to benefit.
"The situation in Gaza is currently the most severe," explained the minister. "Since the war began nearly a year ago, children have had very limited access to education. Of UNRWA’s 183 school buildings in Gaza, 156 have been damaged or destroyed. It is impossible to hold classes in nearly 90% of the schools."
The problems extend beyond Gaza. In the West Bank, parents are increasingly fearful of sending their children to school due to escalating violent intimidation by Israeli settlers. The minister noted that a primary school near Jericho was recently attacked. Young men assaulted children and teachers with clubs and damaged the building.
In refugee camps in Lebanon, Syria, and Jordan, education remains a significant issue. Without education, there is no prospect for progress and a better future, the minister remarked. "And where there is no hope or perspective, extremism easily takes hold."
