Ammon News - AMMONNEWS - Britain has said it would provide GBP 15.5 million (USD 25 million) to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to deliver support to Palestinian refugees inside Syria and those who fled to neighbouring countries as a result of the conflict in that country.

The support described as "lifesaving" will include food for over 155,000 people and cash assistance so a similar number can pay for essential supplies including clothes, food and bills for themselves and their families.

The donation was announced by International Development Minister Alan Duncan after his meeting with UNRAWA Commissioner General, Filippo Grandi on Monday.

Of more than half a million Palestinian refugees whose families have sought safety in Syria over previous decades, more than 50 percent have now been driven out of their homes by the fighting. This includes approximately 235,000 displaced inside Syria, as well as 47,000 who have moved into Lebanon and 9, 000 into Jordan.

"Having fled once to seek safety in Syria, tens of thousands of Palestinians now find that they must again leave behind everything they know as a result of conflict, abandoning the new lives that they have struggled to build," said Duncan.

"Palestinians are increasingly caught in the middle of the fighting in Syria. Shelling and clashes are taking place around and even inside refugee camps and at least 44,000 refugees' homes have been damaged or destroyed," he added.

"The double tragedy these refugees face must not become a forgotten footnote to this war. The support the UK has announced will help to save lives amongst some of the most vulnerable.

At the same time, I hope it will send a clear message to Palestinian refugees caught up in the Syria crisis that the world has not forgotten their plight." Meanwhile, Grandi said that "UNRWA is grateful for DFID's (Britain's Department for International Development) long-standing support to Palestine refugees and in particular for its most recent contribution of GBP 15.5 million. This contribution is critical to the (UNRWA) agency's ongoing response to the Syria Crisis.

"Funds will provide emergency assistance to Palestine refugees who remain in Syria and those who have fled to neighbouring countries," he concluded.