OPT: The Humanitarian Monitor - April 2010

April Overview

The month of April brought to light a range of concerns throughout the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), including the potential for the displacement of tens of thousands of Palestinians because of new military orders, an escalation in Israeli settler violence, and increasing indicators to poverty in Gaza. In attempting to meet the most pressing needs of the population, humanitarian organizations are encountering a number of access and operational challenges that limit their response and impede the effective delivery of aid.

Displacement and risk of displacement in the West Bank derive from multiple factors, including house demolitions, evictions and deportations. During the month, demolitions in Area C due to the lack of Israeli-issued building permits resulted in the displacement of seven people. In East Jerusalem, four Palestinian families (including 21 children) living in the Beit Safafa neighborhood were evicted from their homes in the context of a dispute over ownership with Israeli settlers, and two new Palestinian families in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood were served with civil eviction proceedings by a settler organization. This month, new Israeli military legislation, defining persons staying in the West Bank without an Israeli-issued permit as "infiltrators", entered into force. Under this legislation, tens of thousands of Palestinians are potentially at risk of arrest, prosecution, and deportation from the West Bank on the grounds of unclear criteria and without adequate judicial review.