\n<\/p>\n
United Nations: Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s right-wing Israeli government is squeezing the UN\u2019s agency for Palestinian refugees ahead of elections in Israel in an effort to boost its appeal to voters, the agency\u2019s leader said.<\/strong><\/p>\n UNRWA\u2019s acting Commissioner-General Christian Saunders said Israel was being \u201cextremely difficult\u201d about letting in vital supplies like engine oil to Gaza for relief operations while permitting luxury commercial products.<\/p>\n \u201cAbout 30 percent of what\u2019s coming in is humanitarian aid \u2014 the rest is commercial\u2026 I would consider some of the stuff coming in to be luxury goods. I mean, you do not need Nutella to survive,\u201d he told AFP late Tuesday.<\/p>\n Speaking at the UN\u2019s signature New York diplomatic gathering, Saunders also warned he would be forced to cut long-term services to refugees if his agency could not begin to bridge a $100 million shortfall in the next two months.<\/p>\n \u201cWe implemented a number of austerity measures, including putting the staff on an 80 percent work week with a 20 percent reduction in salary\u2026 although you cannot keep people on an 80 percent work week and a 20 percent reduction in salary forever,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Saunders said he believes Israel\u2019s October 27 elections are contributing to UNRWA\u2019s challenges because \u201cthe current government is pushing to implement as much of their program before the elections as they can.\u201d<\/p>\n Prime Minister Netanyahu, who heads the most right-wing government in Israeli history, is locked in a tight election race and is focussing his campaign on security concerns ahead of next month\u2019s vote. UNRWA has long attracted Netanyahu\u2019s ire.<\/p>\n \u201cI think they\u2019re trying to show the Israeli public why they should re-elect them,\u201d Saunders added.<\/p>\n Last month, Israeli forces took control of a vocational training center run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees in an east Jerusalem suburb.<\/p>\n The raid drew condemnation from UN chief Antonio Guterres, and followed warnings by UNRWA that Israeli authorities were threatening its Qalandia training center, located between the east Jerusalem neighborhood of Kafr Aqab and the Qalandia refugee camp.<\/p>\n The center was established in 1952 and offers vocational training to around 340 Palestinians from the occupied West Bank every year, according to UNRWA.<\/p>\n