A senior UN refugee official urged Israel to open the border crossings and end the siege imposed on the 1.5 million Palestinian people, state media reported.

Israel has prevented the rebuilding of the destroyed Gaza Strip by keeping the border crossings closed, said Karen Abu Zayd, Commissioner General of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), according the Syrian Arab News Agency.

The entry of the basic foodstuffs provided to the Palestinian refugees has also been affected due to the Israeli blockade, she said.

On the occasion of the World Refugee Day, she called for donor countries to fulfill their obligations, adding that the agency is in need of US$32 million to push forward the educational and health projects and to pay the staff salaries, the report said.

She said the UNRWA will continue helping Palestinian refugees until an appropriate solution is found to their cause, noting the UN agency will not reduce its presence despite lack of funding.

According to the UNRWA data, the number of the Palestinian refugees had exceeded 4.6 million by the end of 2008 and they scatter in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, the West Bank, Gaza Strip and other places.

(Xinhua News Agency June 23, 2009)