October 21, 2010

For the third consecutive year the Humanitarian Response Index (HRI) team undertook a mission to the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt) from 7-17 March to analyse international donor response to the protracted crisis.

Magda Ninaber van Eyben, former Chief OCHA’s Donor Relations Section in Geneva, headed the DARA team which met with ten government donors and ECHO, and representatives of 31 international and local NGOs, five Red Cross/Red Crescent Movement agencies, nine UN agencies, and three local authorities. Ross Mountain, DARA’s Director General, participated on 16 March in the debriefing to humanitarian agencies and donors in oPt on the HRI’s initial findings regarding the Palestinian crisis.

A manufactured crisis

The oPt crisis can be classified as totally unique. The most important reason for this is its completely artificial and manmade political nature, compounded by the duration, generosity in response, size of the aid package, and high engagement of the international community.

It is not a traditional humanitarian crisis, rather a political situation with humanitarian consequences. It is a crisis of protracted and constant violations of human dignity, international humanitarian law and the population’s human rights. Gaza is isolated through the complete blockade, whereas the situation in East Jerusalem and the West Bank is a protracted crisis where mobility and humanitarian space are becoming increasingly limited.

Humanitarian needs in Gaza remain high more than a year after the Israeli Operation Cast Lead due to the ongoing blockade and successive military incursions. Some 1.5 million Palestinians remain trapped in Gaza, extremely vulnerable and dependent on heavily restricted aid flows for basic necessities. Additionally, food insecurity is still high due to widespread poverty and lack of purchasing power.

Challenges

In spite of the abundant funding, the oPt is a perfect example of a de-development process. There has been hardly any improvement beyond meeting the initial basic humanitarian needs and no significant reconstruction plans have materialized. Access to and protection of the population in need is a critical challenge. The lifting of the blockade remains the key requirement for the recovery of the Gaza economy, the decrease in poverty and unemployment, and reduced humanitarian dependency. Another key challenge is the respect for the norms and principles of international humanitarian law as well as monitoring of the effectiveness of the multitude of actors.

More attention should also be given to the psychological trauma and the mental health situation in Gaza.

The response

The response has been remarkably generous, with the highest per capita assistance package in the world. However, only a limited share of the $ 4.5 billion pledged for humanitarian and reconstruction needs in Gaza has been transferred. The application of the “no contact” policy with Hamas and anti-terrorism clause by a number of key donors to humanitarian programmes in the oPt have affected aid delivery and violate the basic humanitarian principles of neutrality, impartiality and independence.