Informing humanitarians worldwide 24/7 — a service provided by UN OCHA

oPt

Ongoing humanitarian commitment: Commissioner Michel visits the Palestinian Territories

The European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, is visiting the Palestinian Territories to meet civilians affected by the conflict and reaffirm European solidarity, which is reflected by significant financial support from the European Commission, one of the leading international donors. This mission coincides with a further humanitarian aid allocation of €8.3 million for the Palestinian people. During his visit the Commissioner will meet Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei.
The European Commission is one of the largest contributors of humanitarian aid to the Palestinian people. Since the second Intifada began in 2000, the EC's Humanitarian aid department has provided over €191 million to meet the critical needs of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, as well as of Palestinian refugees in Lebanon, Jordan, and Syria. In 2005 alone, the department provided €36.6 million to benefit the neediest Palestinians.

The humanitarian situation for Palestinians remains worrying. This is despite Israel's unilateral withdrawal in August 2005 from the Gaza Strip and parts of the northern West Bank, and the hope that the withdrawal has kindled for a reinvigoration of the peace process. The Palestinians' socio-economic situation has not improved in 2005. Half of the population - including 68% of residents of the Gaza Strip - live in poverty. Nearly 40% of communities in the West Bank lack water networks and nearly 40% of the overall Palestinian population lacks adequate access to basic foodstuffs. The separation barrier has already affected hundreds of thousands of people, cutting off entire villages from access to water, livelihoods, farm lands, businesses, and essential services like healthcare and education. A policy of closures and movement restrictions further limits reliable access to vital goods and services and hampers the work of humanitarian actors. Together, the considerable decline in the quality of essential services such as health and education and the economic and/or physical inability of most Palestinians to access them, have combined to depress household incomes, exhaust assets and coping mechanisms, and erode basic living conditions.

The Commission's Humanitarian aid department therefore continues to provide vital support to Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank, as well as to the refugees in neighbouring countries, where half of all Palestinians now live.

For Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, EC humanitarian funding provides:

- rehabilitation of groundwater wells and training on water pump management

- food distribution, food-for-work, and food-for-training

- improvements in Palestinian health services quality

- provision of temporary jobs promoting community works

- coordination mechanisms and technical assistance capacities

- legal protection for civilians to guarantee their access to essential goods and services, in accordance with International Humanitarian Law.

For Palestinian refugees in Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, EC humanitarian funding provides:

- shelter rehabilitation for refugees in dilapidated, unhygienic, or unsafe homes

- in Lebanon, the distribution of medicines and training in five hospitals serving the Palestinian community.