These projects are distributed among the social assistance programme (31%), the arts, heritage and cultural industries sector (19%), the children, youth and sports sector (18%), and support for emerging Palestinian entrepreneurial projects through the innovation project incubator (14%), according to the Agency's annual report for 2024, presented on Wednesday in Rabat at a press conference.
These achievements also relate to projects in the education sector (5%), human development projects (4%), and prevention and medication programmes within the budget allocated to the health sector (1%).
Furthermore, the agency has allocated an exceptional budget of approximately $400,000 (9% of this year's achievements) to support the educational system in the Gaza Strip, in accordance with the high instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who ordered the allocation of urgent humanitarian aid for this devastated area.
This budget has benefited Al-Azhar University in Gaza, with the granting of scholarships to 318 students enrolled in the Faculty of Hassan II of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences at the university, the issuance of diplomas for 40 graduates of the faculty, as well as the provision of 2 cloud servers for data storage and a distance learning platform.
The Agency also granted scholarships to 8 students from Gaza, admitted to the Hassan II Institute of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine in Rabat, to continue their studies in the specialities of veterinary medicine and animal production.
Moreover, the large-scale humanitarian operation ordered by His Majesty King Mohammed VI for the benefit of the Palestinian inhabitants of Gaza and Al Quds during the month of Ramadan 1446 AH constituted another milestone, demonstrating Morocco's deep and permanent solidarity with its Palestinian brothers. This allowed aid to be delivered to beneficiaries, hand-in-hand, through unprecedented land routes.
The Agency supervised this operation in Al Quds, distributing 2,200 food baskets to some 3,000 families in Al Quds, as well as 30,000 meals, i.e. 1,000 meals per day for beneficiaries of the Al Aqsa Mosque, as well as for the inhabitants of the old Medina neighbourhoods, reception centres, and hospitals. This aid also reached the camps of Shuafat and Qalandia, as well as the Takayas of villages in the Al-Quds region, such as Al-Issawiya and Nabi Samuel.
In establishing its priorities, in accordance with its mandates, competencies, and resources, the Agency relies on reports from the “Arribat” Observatory affiliated with the Agency (inaugurated in Al Quds in November 2021), prepared by researchers and experts, the report emphasises.
During 2024, the Observatory published 17 reports on monitoring the exceptional situation in the Al Aqsa Mosque and the city of Al Quds, and its repercussions on the security situation, the movement of people and goods, and the psychological state of Palestinian inhabitants affected by the direct and indirect repercussions of the war in Gaza and the clashes in the West Bank.
Regarding the economic and social situation, the Observatory's indicators remain generally worrying in 2024 as in 2023, due to conditions linked in particular to the cost of living and housing, the increase in unemployment and poverty rates, as well as other indicators implying a loss of hope among Palestinian generations.
