Amman_(dpa) _ The Jordanian government on Wednesday rejected plans by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) to reduce the services it extends to about 1.9 million Palestinian refugees in the country.
The rejection came from the Director of the Palestinian Affairs Department Wajih Azayzeh during a meeting with UNRWA's Deputy Commissioner General Filippo Grandi, an official statement said.
Azayzeh praised the "important role being carried out by UNRWA at refugee camps, but (the Jordnanian government) rejects any contraction of these basic services."
He also expressed Amman's "deep concern" over a gap seen in the UNRWA 2010 budget, and urged donor countries to raise their support to the UN agency to enable it preserve the current level of services it extends to about 4.9 million Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
UNRWA has reported a gap of 30 million dollars in its budget for the coming year, currently running at about 500 million dollars.
Jordan spends about 500 million dollars annually to support UNRWA's services to Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Azayzeh said.
For his part, Grandi said that UNRWA understood Amman's position and promised a thorough study of the situation, hoping that the donor countries would move to meet the projected deficit in the agency's 2010 budget.
Chairpersons and members of the services committees at Palestinian refugee camps in Jordan met earlier this week and agreed to reject plans by UNRWA to cut educational and health services to refugees. dpa ajm ds
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