Irish Aid’s assistance to the people of Palestine is poverty focused with an emphasis on humanitarian and development assistance.  It aims to help the Palestinian people build their institutions and infrastructure in a difficult economic and political environment and strives to ensure that assistance to Palestine helps those who are most in need.  As part of its commitment to assist the people of Palestine, Ireland opened a Representative Office in Ramallah in 2000.

In 2007, over €7.5 million was provided by Irish Aid to meet the humanitarian and development needs of the Palestinian people.  This represented a 70% increase on the amount provided in 2005 and included support for the delivery of basic services, humanitarian assistance in the form of core funding for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), as well as support for human rights and democratisation initiatives, rural development and micro-projects focused on social regeneration. 

At a pledging conference for the Palestinian State on 17 December 2007, Minister of State for Overseas Development, Michael Kitt T.D., pledged additional assistance of €40 million to the Palestinian people to assist in recovery, reconstruction and development efforts, in the context of political agreement.  This sum will include significant support for the Palestinian Authority as it builds the institutions of democratic statehood, encourages sustainable economic development and provides vital social services to the Palestinian people, prioritising the poorest sections of society. 

The Irish Government is committed to addressing the grave humanitarian situation facing the particularly vulnerable Palestinian refugee population.  Irish Aid funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was increased in 2007 to €3.8 million and a commitment was made to maintain the same level of funding in 2008 and 2009.  UNRWA is responsible for the delivery of basic services, including education, health and social services, to over 4.4 million Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria.