1 day ago
UN Halves West Bank Food Aid as Funding Shortages Deepen
The United Nations World Food Programme gives food, vouchers and money to people in need.
It currently helps about 400,000 people in the West Bank.
Because it does not have enough money, it will help only about 200,000 people from September.
The agency says many families are struggling because they cannot freely reach land or jobs.
It also says violence, demolitions and displacement are making the problem worse.
Donor countries have provided less foreign aid than before.
The WFP says it needs more money to keep helping people in the West Bank and Gaza.
Without more funding, aid to Gaza could also be cut.
The World Food Programme will reduce assistance in the West Bank from 400,000 to 200,000 people this month.
The agency says funding shortages are forcing cuts while settler violence and Israeli military operations increase humanitarian needs.
Movement restrictions, demolitions and displacement have weakened Palestinian livelihoods and worsened food insecurity, according to the WFP.
Major Western foreign-aid contributions, including from the United States, have fallen sharply since last year.
The WFP also warned that further cuts to aid for 1.5 million people in Gaza may be unavoidable without new funding.
- Who
- The World Food Programme, Palestinian communities, Western donors, Israeli authorities and settler groups are central to the report.
- What
- The World Food Programme is halving food assistance in the West Bank because of funding shortages and warning of possible further cuts in Gaza.
- Where
- The assistance concerns the occupied West Bank, including rural areas and the south, while additional warnings concern Gaza.
- When
- The reduction is scheduled to begin in September, according to the report dated September 1.
- Why
- The WFP says funding has fallen while movement restrictions, demolitions, displacement, settler violence and Israeli military operations have increased humanitarian needs.
International and U.N. Position
Israeli Position
Status of West Bank settlements
International and U.N. Position
U.N. bodies and most countries regard the settlements as illegal under international law concerning military occupations.
Israeli Position
Israel rejects that position and considers the West Bank disputed rather than occupied.
Key facts
- Current West Bank reach
- About 400,000 people receive WFP food, vouchers or cash assistance.
- Planned West Bank reach
- Assistance will be reduced to about 200,000 people this month.
- Gaza assistance
- The WFP supports 1.5 million people in Gaza.
- Main funding problem
- Foreign-aid contributions from major Western donors, including the United States, have fallen sharply since last year.
- Reported pressures
- The WFP cited movement restrictions, demolitions, widespread displacement, settler violence and Israeli military operations.
- Israeli response
- COGAT referred a Reuters request for comment to the Israeli military, which had not immediately responded.
Quotes
Shaun Hughes
WFP Country Director for Palestine
“They now find themselves in a chokehold, unable to move freely to access land or jobs, and so unable to afford food for their families. They face incredible injustice and hardship”
theprint.in
“Severe movement restrictions, demolitions, and widespread displacement in the West Bank have eroded Palestinian livelihoods and contributed to increased food insecurity”
theprint.in
Sources
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