The occupied Palestinian territories at a glance

A Political Crisis with Humanitarian Consequences

The international donor response in the Occupied Palestinian Territories cannot be understood without reference to the complex political nature of the conflict, including in 2007 the inter-Palestinian violence which followed Hamas’ 2006 electoral victory. The collapse of the economy is pushing many Palestinians to the brink of a humanitarian disaster, exacerbated by the polarisation of aid. However, the conflict does not constitute a humanitarian crisis but instead can be defined as a political crisis with eventual humanitarian consequences. Nevertheless, the situation is deteriorating and violations of humanitarian law by all sides are regularly reported.
Donors have been criticised for failing to sufficiently address protection and humanitarian access issues, and of letting political positions determine aid allocation. However, humanitarian funding levels have been increasing and were high in 2007, with new funding mechanisms introduced to ensure the flow of funds despite the boycott of the Hamas administration. The 2007 Consolidated Appeal was the third largest in terms of total funds and per beneficiary. Despite numerous coordination bodies, conditionality, political agendas, confused mandates and unclear accountability impair coordination efforts.

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14 Apr 2004, Erez Checkpoint, Gaza Strip --- Palestinian employees squat on a road behind razor wire outside the Israeli industrial zone. Palestinian employees held a three-day strike to protest delays caused by security checks of Israeli authorities. --- Image by © Mohammed Saber/epa/Corbis