Humanitarian Monitoring Report (August 2003) – OCHA report

P.O. Box 38712 East Jerusalem

Phone: (972) 2 – 5829962 / 5825853, Fax: (972) 2 – 5825841

HUMANITARIAN MONITORING REPORT – AUGUST 2003

The Humanitarian Monitoring Report is issued by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).It draws on information from the Access, Closure and Information System (ACIS), among other data sources that humanitarian  agencies have submitted to OCHA. This report is provided to the Task Force on Project Implementation (TFPI) as a basis for discussions with the Government of Israel. It is compiled by OCHA.  This is available on the website (www. reliefweb. int/hic- opt).

The humanitarian report monitors the humanitarian commitments the Government of Israel (GOI) made to the Bertini mission. On August 7 2002, the UN Secretary-General appointed Ms. Catherine Bertini as his Personal Humanitarian Envoy to address the humanitarian needs arising from the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict since September 2000. Ms. Bertini was requested to assess the nature and scale of the humanitarian needs, and to clarify the respective responsibilities of all actors with regard to humanitarian needs.

Her visit the region from August 12-19 2002, concluded that there were serious humanitarian problems linked to the ongoing conflict and specifically to the measures implemented by the GoI to safeguard its citizens from Palestinian attacks.

These security measures including curfews, closures and roadblocks have led to a crisis of access and mobility, instigating a near-collapse of the Palestinian economy. A large part of the Palestinian population has difficulty accessing basic services such as health and education. Similarly, humanitarian service providers such as UN agencies, NGOs and Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) have experienced providing assistance and services to beneficiaries.

Health:

1.1 Ambulances will wait no more than 30 minutes at checkpoints

1.2 Mechanisms will be set in place to ensure patients seeking critical medical services eg. delivery, dialysis, chemotherapy can quickly pass all checkpoints

Water:

2.1 Problems relating to water deliveries in Palestinian towns and villages will be addressed to ensure daily provision of adequate volume can be supplied by Palestinian water tankers

International Organizations:

3.1 GoI will fully facilitate the activities of international organizations with particular reference to UNRWA

3.2 GoI agreed to review and strengthen the liaison arrangements between international agencies and the IDF

Additional Commitments:

On previous occasions, the GoI has made the following commitments, which were confirmed to the mission:

• The fishing zone for Palestinian boats off the Gaza coast will be extended to 12 nautical miles

• Enabling olive farmers access to their fields

• Increase in shipments at Karni crossing

• Increase in the number of permits for Palestinian workers in Israel.