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Checkpoints and RoadblocksSpecial Focus : Shrinking Space : Urban Contraction and Rural Fragmentation of Bethlehem Governorate | May 2009
This report examines how Israeli measures, such as the Barrier, settlements and closures have impacted Palestinian livelihoods, development and residential expansion in the Bethlehem governorate. Only 13% of Bethlehem land is available for Palestinian use out of 660 sq. kilometres and much of it is fragmented. However, actions like freezing construction of the Barrier inside the West Bank, and opening closed military areas and nature reserves for Palestinian development, could restore parts of the lost space to the governorate.
Special Focus : The Planning Crisis in East Jerusalem | April 2009
This OCHA Special Focus addresses the phenomenon of "illegal" Palestinian construction in East Jerusalem resulting from the failure of the Israeli authorities to provide adequate planning for Palestinian neighbourhoods. This Special Focus provides a statistical overview of Israel?s demolition of unauthorized structures since 2000, provides background on some of the key difficulties facing Palestinian residents of East Jerusalem in their efforts to build, and identifies a number of at-risk communities. In addition, it provides an overview of various NGO and community initiatives that aim to challenge and eventually overcome obstacles in the current municipal planning process.
The Humanitarian Impact on Palestinians of Israeli Settlements and Other Infrastructure in the West Bank | July 2007
The report examines the humanitarian impact on Palestinians from the ongoing settlements in the West Bank and other Israeli infrastructure, such as the Barrier and the roads that accompany them. The analysis shows that more than 38% of the West Bank is now taken up by Israeli infrastructure. Roads linking settlements and other infrastructure to Israel ? in conjunction with an extensive system of checkpoints and roadblocks ? have fragmented the West Bank into a series of enclaves separating Palestinian communities from each other. The socio-economic impact has been profound.
Protection of Civilians Weekly Report | 23 - 29 June 2010
Three Palestinians killed in Gaza and at least 36 Palestinians injured in clashes in East Jerusalem. In the West Bank, the number of settler-related incidents declined. Demolition and issuance of eviction and demolition orders continue. In Gaza, various new items continue to enter the Strip. Tunnel-related incidents. A second attack on UNRWA summer games locations. Fuel crisis further deepened with long power cuts of 16 hours a day. Protection of Civilians Weekly Report
The Humanitarian Monitor | May 2010
Palestinian casualties decrease in May with an increasing trend in Israeli settler violence; After three years of blockade, the Gaza Strip continues to suffer from a severe human dignity crisis characterized by high food insecurity rates, high dependency on foreign aid, a 'locked in' civilian population, and 'de-development'. The treatment of patients suffering from bleeding disorders, certain types of cancers, kidney failure, and some infant allergies, is expected to be severely affected by a depletion of essential drugs to the lowest levels seen since June 2007. In the West Bank, the Israeli authorities announced a number of additional measures that may ease movement of Palestinian traffic between West Bank towns and cities. Access to education has been undermined for hundreds of thousands of Palestinian students by widespread classroom shortages throughout the oPt. Humanitarian monitoring reports
West Bank Movement and Access Update | June 2010
The present report provides data and analysis on the main trends concerning the system of West Bank movement and access restrictions implemented by the Israeli authorities between April 2009 and the end of March 2010; due to a number of Israeli measures, movement and access of Palestinians between most urban centers, particularly in the north of the West Bank, has improved during this reporting period; at the same time no significant improvement took place in the access of Palestinians to lands and resources behind the Barrier and in the Jordan Valley, around or within settlements, including access to East Jerusalem. Settlements form the single major factor in determining the configuration of closure obstacles. Special Focus
Statement of John Holmes, USG for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator on the 'Free Gaza' Flotilla Crisis
(New York, 31 May 2010): The ERC condemned the dreadful waste of life over a humanitarian issue, stating that such an incident should never have happened; the ERC said thar the blockade of Gaza by Israel has been unacceptable, unnecessary and counterproductive from its beginning in 2007; it has worsened conditions of life for Palestinians, deepened poverty and food insecurity, prevented reconstruction, and increased aid dependence by destroying livelihoods and economic activity. The ERC called for lifting the collective punishment of the people of Gaza once and for all. UN statements and Press Releases
Impeding Assistance: Challenges to Meeting the Humanitarian Needs of Palestinians
This Special Focus draws attention to the range of measures currently impeding the humanitarian community's ability to provide assistance to vulnerable Palestinians. The delivery of principled humanitarian assistance requires an operating environment that is conducive to the regular and continued deployment of staff and supplies, and managed in accordance with the principles of impartiality, neutrality and independence. In the occupied Palestinian territory, however, the humanitarian community is facing a number of obstacles to the movement of staff and goods and other restrictions impacting day-to-day operations that limit its ability to efficiently and effectively respond to existing needs. Special Focus
Farming without Land, Fishing without Water: Gaza Agriculture Sector Struggles to Survive
Livelihoods and lives of people living in the Gaza Strip have been devastated by over 1000 days of near complete blockade. However, with the investment of simple inputs and increased access to land, the Agriculture Sector has the potential to make substantial improvements to the quality of life, food security and nutrition of an estimated 1.5 million Palestinian people. Other Organizations Report
UN HUMANITARIAN COORDINATOR: GAZA BLOCKADE SUFFOCATING AGRICULTURE SECTOR, CREATING FOOD INSECURITY
Humanitarian aid agencies call upon the Government of Israel for full and unfettered access into and out of the Gaza Strip for materials and exports necessary for the revival of the agriculture and fishing sectors and for the lifting of restrictions imposed on Palestinian access to farm land and fishing areas. UN statements and Press Releases
The Humanitarian Monitor | April 2010
April's developments highlight a range of concerns, including the potential for the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians because of new military orders, an escalation in Israeli settler violence, and increasing indicators to poverty in Gaza. Demolitions resulted in 7 people displaced. In East Jerusalem, four Palestinian families (including 21 children) living in the Beit Safafa were evicted from their homes in the context of a dispute over ownership with Israeli settlers, and two new Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood were served with civil eviction proceedings by a settler organization. Conflict-related incidents resulted in the killing of five Palestinians, and the injury of 119 others in the West Bank and Gaza The Humanitarian Monitor
Fact Sheet: Gaza's Electricity Crisis | May 2010
Since January 2010, there has been a serious deterioration in the supply of electricity in the Gaza Strip; the Gaza Power Plant (GPP) has most days produced half the electricity it used to in 2009 due to lack of funds to purchase the industrial fuel required to operate the plant. This fact sheet describes the humanitarian impact of the chronic power shortfall, including people killed and injured due to reliance on mobile back-up generators. Special Reports
UN HUMANITARIAN CHIEF URGES CHANGE OF POLICIES IN THE OCCUPIED PALESTINIAN TERRITORY | 4 March 2010
Jerusalem/New York, 4 March 2010): On the fourth day of his mission in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory, United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes visited vulnerable Palestinian communities in East Jerusalem and Area C of the West Bank. UN statements and Press Releases