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Palestinians protesting Israeli occuptation
Recent months have seen increased tensions between Israelis and Palestinians in the form of violence and unrest and the largest land grab by Israel in the West Bank since 2014.
The United Nations said that some 1.8 million Palestinians in the occupied territory need protection; 1.6 million are moderately to severely food insecure; 92,000 remain displaced from the 2014 fighting in Gaza; thousands are at risk of forced transfer or have received demolition orders and require legal assistance; and many more have restricted access to basic services.
“Forty-eight years of occupation of the Palestinian territory by the State of Israel has left many Palestinians highly vulnerable,” said Robert Piper, the UN coordinator for humanitarian aid and development activities in the occupied territory.
“After such a prolonged period of stress, and many cycles of shocks – particularly for the residents of Gaza – the coping capacity of many Palestinian households is at the point of exhaustion.”
The appeal encompasses funds for 206 projects by 79 organisations. The majority – $323m – is sought to enhance food security while $112m will go towards shelters for vulnerable Palestinians. At least 65% of the funds will target needs in Gaza.
Shukry Bishara, Palestine’s minister of finance and planning, said that the situation has been deteriorating since last October.
“So far, the number of Palestinians killed during this period has reached approximately 200 people, many of whom are children, as well as around 16,000 injured,” he said.
Piper noted that while protecting the rights of Palestinians in the occupied territory remains the humanitarian community’s main obligation and priority in the meantime, “addressing the root causes of the crisis through a political solution is vital to moving forward”.
