Mr. John Whyte:

I thank the Deputy for those good questions. I am sorry if I was not clear in my response to Deputy Brennan, We have a shortfall of €150 million in what we need to get to the end of the year. Of course, we cannot sugarcoat it. The allegations that were made against UNRWA by Israel had a devastating impact initially. Many funders cut their ties with UNRWA or suspended their funding immediately. As I mentioned earlier, these allegations were fully investigated by the Office of Internal Oversight Services, OIOS, in New York. When the allegations were found in whole or in part to be unsubstantiated, many countries and member states agreed to reinstate their funding to the agency. Of course, this has created a lasting slur, if you like, against the agency. Of course, it did not stop there. The Israeli propaganda machine is formidable. Israel has gone to huge expense and exorbitant lengths to try to vilify UNRWA. It is the witness to the plight of the Palestinians, as well as a provider of services. It is also a source of hope to the people. I found when I visited different areas that people would say that as long as UNRWA was present, they had hope. I think Israel wants to remove that hope