September 28, 2011

Source: Alertnet

By Astrid Zweynert

LONDON (AlertNet) – As the United Nations considers the Palestinian application for statehood, a hard-hitting report describes the humanitarian response in the Palestinian Territories as akin to a “sticking plaster” and says parts of the population suffer from abject poverty.

Palestinians continue to depend on foreign aid and smuggled goods, while lack of access hampers aid delivery and prevents much-needed reconstruction from taking place, advocacy group DARA International said in its report “Occupied Palestinian Territories – Few Improvements, Failing Hopes”.

The Palestinian Territories (PT) are one of the most complex aid environments for humanitarian agencies due to restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on the population and aid workers. Despite an easing of the Israeli blockade in 2010 restrictions are still in place on the movement of goods and people between zones and the bureaucratic procedures they entail, as well as the no-contact policy with the Islamist Hamas movement stipulated by key donors.

As a result, the humanitarian response is more akin to a “sticking plaster” approach than a proper strategy, even though more than $7.2billion in aid has been given to the PT between 2000 and 2009, according to the Global Humanitarian Assistance Report 2011.

“At a time when many donor governments are looking to maximise the results and value of their funding, the situation in Palestine shows just how far the response is from achieving efficiency, much less impact, “ the report, published last week, said.

As one interviewee in the report said, the no-contact policy with Hamas “undermines the whole humanitarian response: creating parallel networks, wasting money, in addition to not using available services and resources”.

Palestinians, whose movements are restricted by a barrier built by Israeli and numerous road closures also face the arbitrary opening and closing of checkpoints, as well as the random acceptance of different passes and permits. Due to the expansion of Israeli settlement they are also subject to forced evictions and demolitions, the report said.

HUNGER AND POVERTY

With one of the highest unemployment rates in the world at 45 percent, only one in five Gazan households has enough food to eat, and housing needs as well as access to basic services, such as healthcare, remain unmet, the report said.

Abject poverty in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has quadrupled since 1999, according to the report. Despite some recent improvements in the West Bank’s economy, severe restrictions on movement, forced displacement and access to social services and jobs persist.

Despite these restrictions, many of the humanitarian organisations DARA met complained of donor passiveness in advocating for access.

Instead donors are accepting additional operational costs – when at the same time they agree that the Israeli blockade and occupation were the main obstacles to restoring a minimal level of livelihood and human dignity to the Palestinians, the report said.

Another example of the multiple restrictions are the procedures demanded by Israel for the delivery of food supplies to Gaza, which cost the World Food Programme and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) $4 million per year, DARA said.