Assistance to the Palestinian people – Emergency report on OPT – WFP report (excerpts)

World Food Programme Emergency Report 2006

Issued Weekly by the United Nations World Food Programme

Report No. 9 / 2006 – Date 03 March 2006

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(B) Middle East,Central Asia and Eastern Europe: (1) Occupied Palestinian Territories (2) Pakistan (3) Russian Federation (Caucasus)

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(1) Occupied Palestinian Territories

(a) There are clear signs of mounting violence in oPt. This month has seen a significant increase in hostilities in the West Bank, Gaza Strip and Israel, and internal violence in oPt. Security threats of kidnapping against foreigners and national staff of International organisations have increased in Gaza and the West Bank. Karni Crossing was closed from the 1st-5th and from the 21st-28th of February owing to security concerns. As a result, the Gaza mills have run out of wheat grain directly impacting WFP operations, and prices of basic commodities showed an increase by 10-15 percent. Erez Terminal, the passenger crossing point from Israel into Gaza Strip, was closed for two days following a barrage of attacks in early February. UN National Staff are currently unable to cross through Erez crossing owing to security procedures. UN national staff in the West Bank also faced increased access restrictions.

(b) Many major donors are threatening to disengage themselves from the Palestinian National Authority (PNA). WFP is concerned that a reduction in donor support to Palestinians may lead to deterioration of the humanitarian situation in oPt. If further donations do not materialize soon, WFP will be forced to reduce the level of food assistance to the population as of May 2006. WFP is conducting multi-sector contingency planning to prepare for all eventualities of the humanitarian and financial situation. WFP has also taken the pre-emptive step of establishing two separate pipelines to handle programmes implemented through the Ministry or otherwise.

(c) A new Palestinian Prime Minister, Ismail Haniya, has been appointed and is in the process of convening his Government. This process is expected to be completed around the end of March, just after the Israeli elections.

(d) Under the Protracted Relief and Recovery Operation (PRRO) 10387, basic food needs of both the Social Hardship Cases (SHC) and New Poor (NP) will be met through distribution of monthly family rations. While the SHC will receive relief food as part of the MSA programme, ‘new poor’ beneficiaries will receive food through participation in Food-for-Work (FFW) and Food-for training (FFT) activities implemented through CRS, CHF and MOA. The most vulnerable individuals living in institutions will be provided a daily food ration through Cooperating Partners (CPs).

(e) Under the Social Hardship Case programme, distributions and work projects went on normally. In the West Bank, over 7,114 chronically poor families received about 700 tons of mixed food commodities for the November-December allocation. This completes the second distribution cycle since the beginning of the PRRO. In the Gaza Strip, some 9,981 chronically poor families received about 1000 tons of mixed food commodities for the January-February allocation.

(f) Under the Food-for-Work and Food-for-Training Programme, in the West Bank, about 24,105 New Poor families received over 2,723 tons of mixed food commodities in February. The current phase of FFW and FFT implemented by CRS and CHF was completed in Hebron, Bethlehem, Nablus and Jenin. The preparations for the next phase have already started. In addition, over 100 training sessions were held with women. In the Gaza Strip, distributions are ongoing. MOA Bedouin selection has been completed in the South and is ongoing in the Middle areas. FFW activities with landless daily wage-earners are on-going as per activity plan.

(g) Under the Institutional Feeding Programme, WFP visited new institutions that were previously targeted by UNRWA but are now covered by WFP in accordance with the new WFP-UNWRA agreement. The next food distribution to institutions will be in mid-March.

(h) Preparatory meetings were held in West Bank and Gaza Strip with FAM and CPs to plan International Women’s Day celebrations and contingency planning. CHF Gaza Strip, funded by WFP, have developed a beneficiary database to be shared with the MOA. The database is currently under joint pilot testing.

(i) WFP maps for West Bank and Gaza Strip of intervention versus food insecurity were completed.

(j) As a result of the Karni closure, the Palestinian Ministry of Economy reported that the flow of commodities between the Gaza Stip and Israel is “of great concern”. WFP monitoring in the past weeks has shown a shortage of basic commodities in Gaza Strip and West Bank and an increase in prices of some basic commodities. In the mid-term, price changes will have a negative impact on purchasing power of low income families.

(k) The oPt SPR Exercise 2005 has been completed. Commodity purchases are ongoing locally and internationally. WFP have developed two separate pipelines to manage the new donor constraints.

(l) The closure of Karni interrupted WFP operations as, owing to shortage of grain, the Gaza local mills cannot deliver the required wheat flour quantities. WFP is in negotiations to agree an alternative cargo entry point for the humanitarian cargo into Gaza Strip.

(m) The contracted West Bank mill is fully operational, supplying WFP with around 4,400 tons of WHF to cover West Bank beneficiary needs for the period of March/April2006. Iodized salt production and delivery is ongoing to meet the allocation requirements until the end of March.

(n) WFP met with representatives of UNICEF, UNDP, OCHA, WHO, and UNESCO in West Bank and Gaza Strip to discuss inter -agency contingency planning. VAM and UNRWA have agreed to conduct a joint mapping exercise of UNRWA and WFP interventions.

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