Situation in the OPT/Closures – UNRWA Commissioner statement – Press release

UNRWA COMMISSIONER-GENERAL VOICES CONCERN OVER WEST BANK,

GAZA CLOSURES

VIENNA, 26 March (UNRWA) — At the conclusion of a five day fact-finding visit to  the Gaza  Strip and West Bank, the  Commissioner-General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Peter Hansen, today voiced  serious concern over the negative impact of the closures on the socio-economic condition  of the Palestine refugees in the area.

"I am deeply concerned at the current and potential consequences of this closure on the health and well-being of the Palestine refugees in the territories" the Commissioner- General said.  "Inevitably the poorest segments of the Palestinian economy are those immediately and severely affected, and it is these groups  of  needy Palestinians  which  are our priority concern."

At a meeting with the press held in Jerusalem today, Mr. Hansen said that the Agency's operations had been disrupted  by restrictions on the  movement of staff and supplies and construction  projects — schools, health  centresand refugee shelters — had been at a  standstill for three weeks. West Bank staff  were still unable to  reach their workplace.   Essential stocks, such as  medical, food and  construction supplies,  were winding  down.  Refugees accounted for 78 per cent of the population in Gaza, and  38 per cent in the West Bank.

   "The most serious shortage is that of buying  power", Mr. Hansen  stated,
pointing out that the proscription on  Palestinian labourers from working in
Israel  meant a  stoppage  of  daily wages.    The tight  control  over  the
quantity  and  type of  supplies  entering  Gaza  in  particular meant  that
affected  business enterprises could  not operate,  and the  farmers faced a
price collapse  in  agricultural produce  that  they  were able  to  export.
Workers in  the  commercial and  agricultural  sectors  had been  laid  off,
adding to the already  high unemployment.  The inability to import  building
materials had  caused  a slump  in  the  construction industry,  leading  to
additional layoffs.   In  the  West Bank,  the general  decline in  economic
activity and the loss  of jobs in Israel  has led  to a visible decrease  in
income and available cash.

   Mr. Hansen went on  to say  that the current closures,  implemented on 25
February,  had  succeeded   a  number  of  previous  ones.    As  a  result,
Palestinians  had had little  opportunity to  build savings  over the recent
past.   That  compounded the  effects  of  the  present cash  shortage,  and
compromised the  ability  of  needy  Palestinians  to  acquire  their  daily
minimum necessities.  The poor,  both refugees  and non-refugees, were using

up  meagre  savings and selling off or pawning such things as gold bracelets

and wedding rings.   In addition, local entrepreneurs could no longer obtain

the  30-day  credit, which  was a  mainstay of the local formal and informal

economy.

   The  Commissioner-General  said  he  had   been  impressed    "…by  the
Palestinian  community's  strength  and  determination  in weathering  these
crises. For  example, when Agency teachers  could not get  to their schools,
they held  informal classes within  the camps and  towns to  which they were
restricted. Furthermore, some of the schools  continued to function with the
assistance of  volunteers from the community.   These  were mainly community
elders or senior students."

   In  response to  an  immediate  concern,  UNRWA  made  an  emergency food
distribution  in Fawwar  camp in  the West  Bank,  which  was under  a tight
curfew and remained sealed.  Residents of other camps, both in Gaza and  the
West  Bank,  were  also  demanding  jobs  and  food.    On  22  March,   the
CommissionerGeneral toured Jericho, while on 24  March he visited West  Bank
areas most affected by the closure.

   During his visit to Gaza, Mr. Hansen met with Yasser Arafat,  head of the
Palestinian Authority  and President of the  elected Council,  to review the
situation.   The  Commissioner-General  also urgently  contacted  donors  to
discuss mechanisms for a rapid job-creation  programme to be implemented  by
UNRWA in the  Gaza Strip.   In  addition, Mr. Hansen  is scheduled to  visit
Brussels on 28  March  to  urge  the  European  Commission  to replenish the

Agency's  food stocks and enable it to meet emerging needs.

   In Jerusalem, the Commissioner-General appealed  in writing and in person
to the  Israeli authorities  at the  highest levels,  for an  easing of  the
closure and permission for Agency staff movement.  Mr. Hansen emphasized  in
his discussions  with Israeli officials that  the restrictions had  crippled
UNRWA  operations, which support  the peace  process by  providing a certain
amount of social and economic stability.

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