Ireland will allocate €42 million in support for Palestine in 2026, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade, Helen McEntee, has confirmed.
Of this amount, €20 million will be provided as core funding to UNRWA, enabling the agency to continue delivering essential services to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, the West Bank, and elsewhere in the region.
The overall funding package marks an increase on 2025 levels, when Ireland contributed €36 million. With this latest commitment, Ireland’s total assistance to Palestine since January 2023 will reach €144 million.
Alongside the UNRWA contribution, the funding announcement includes €2 million earmarked for the Egyptian Red Crescent Society and the Palestinian Red Crescent Society. The balance of the funding will be distributed over the course of 2026 in line with emerging humanitarian requirements.
The announcement was made during Minister McEntee’s visit to the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza. She arrived in Egypt earlier this week and is scheduled to travel to Jordan tomorrow, where her programme includes political meetings and visits to partner organisations supporting Palestinian and Syrian refugees, as well as host communities.
“The humanitarian and human rights situation across Gaza and the West Bank remains incredibly stark,” McEntee said.
“This funding from Ireland will help to provide food, shelter, water, sanitation, health and education for people across Palestine. It will be primarily delivered through our UN partners, particularly UNRWA.”
She pointed to “unacceptable risks” to daily life in areas like the West Bank, including “house demolitions, military incursions, settler violence and restrictions on movement”.
“The situation in the West Bank is critical and requires an urgent political and humanitarian response,” she said.
“The funding announced today demonstrates Ireland’s continued support for the people of Palestine and our commitment to supporting UN partners providing vital aid and assistance.
“I am particularly pleased to announce a significant funding package for UNRWA. Ireland’s support for UNRWA remains unwavering and this announcement is a demonstration of our support for the UN system at a challenging time.
“In the face of enormous outside pressure, UNRWA continues to provide a life-line to Palestinians not just in Gaza and the West Bank but across the region. UNRWA must be central to any effort to respond to the urgent needs of the Palestinian people.”
Meanwhile, Minister of State for International Development and Diaspora, Neale Richmond, said that the situation in Gaza “requires an urgent and ongoing response”.
“Through our support for UNRWA and the wider UN system, Ireland will fund vital services, including healthcare and education, for the Palestinian people,” he said.
“It is vital that other international donors step-up and provide support that is so desperately needed.”
The news comes just two weeks after the Government announced €100 million in funding to ten NGOs to carry out development work overseas, including in areas like “gender equality”, “climate action”, and more.