Switzerland pledges additional funds for Middle East

Switzerland has announced an additional 15 million Swiss francs (about 12.1 million U.S. dollars) to help victims of the conflicts in Lebanon and the Palestinian territories.

The funds are intended to allow emergency relief work to continue in Lebanon, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, Swiss Radio International quoted the Swiss Foreign Ministry as saying on Wednesday.

The additional funds approved by cabinet take the total Swiss contribution to just over 20 million Swiss francs (about 16 million U.S. dollars).

The government gave the Swiss-led International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) 5.2 million Swiss francs (about 4.2 U.S. dollars) in July for relief work in Lebanon.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry's announcement came one week after a donor conference in Stockholm, which raised more than 940 million U.S. dollars for Lebanon, almost twice as much as expected.

With thousands of displaced people heading back to their homes in Lebanon and many others homeless, there are huge needs, in particular in terms of housing and shelter, the ministry said.

The additional Swiss money will be split between the ICRC, UN agencies and bilateral projects carried out by non-governmental organizations. One-third of the funds are for Palestinian refugees in the Israeli-occupied territories.

The Swiss Foreign Ministry's Agency for Development and Cooperation has shifted much of its humanitarian aid effort to southern Lebanon to assist returning refugees.

Besides, the ICRC said it aimed to supply at least 200,000 internally displaced people and vulnerable residents in Lebanon with food and other items by the end of the year.

Source: Xinhua