Occupied Palestinian Territories - Humanitarian Update, April 2007

Summary of monthly Humanitarian Monitor report produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

KEY ISSUES OVERVIEW

Government workers' strikes excalate
During April strikes by doctors, nurses, teachers and local municipal workers continued to affect the provision of essential services. The strikes are in response to the Government's failure to pay salaries.

Rising poverty and declining access to services in wake of PA institutional crisis
Recent surveys illustrate the rising incidence of Palestinian households reporting severe losses of household income. Many households were resorting to negative coping mechanisms such as borrowing money, selling possessions, reducing healthcare and food consumption and taking children out of school.

Severe agricultural losses in Hebron area
An unusual late frost has caused massive losses in the agricultural sector around Hebron. Particularly hard hit were vineyards, almond groves, wheat, legume and vegetable crops. Al Beqa' region, east of Hebron, reported the total loss of some vegetable crops. It is estimated that some 6000 of the poorest farmers have been affected, with their situation further exacerbated by the limited response of the PA due to its ongoing fiscal and institutional crisis.

Closures continue around Nablus city
Eight IDF checkpoints, six Israeli settlements, two IDF military bases and a network of Israeli-only roads continue to encroach on and encircle the Palestinian residents of Nablus city, putting them in an almost constant state of closure. During April only 50 private Palestinian cars were permitted to exit and enter the city. The IDF state that the closures are necessary to protect Israeli civilians. The IDF has also begun work on expanding the Huwwara checkpoint on the southern entrance to Nablus, leaving the UN concerned that the construction will only serve to make these checkpoints inside the West Bank a permanent fixture.

REGIONAL OVERVIEW

West Bank & East Jerusalem

Al-Hadidiya community - On 22 April, the 80-90 Palestinian residents, and their livestock, of Al-Hadidiya in the northern Jordan Valley were evicted from their homes of over forty years. The Israeli army moved in to enact a November 2006 ruling of the Israeli High Court, which declared the Al-Hadidiya community a threat to the safety of the Israeli settlers in the nearby Roi settlement. The community was moved to a nearby location in 'Area C', where they remain under Israeli civil control and vulnerable to further eviction.

Gaza Strip

Continued fishing restrictions - The fishing season for sardines, which account for 70% of the total annual fishing catch, began in late April. The sardines, however, are found 10 nautical miles out from the Gaza coastline, which is approximately 4 nautical miles further than Palestinian fishermen are permitted by the Israeli authorities to drop their nets.
See OCHA Special Focus report, "Gaza Fishing: An Industry in Danger, April 2007"

Update on the Beit Lahia sewage crisis - While the threat of further flooding has receded following the crisis in the Beit Lahia wastewater treatment plant on 27 March, 267 families remain in the temporary camps established by UNRWA. Two additional emergency filtration basins have been dug in Beit Lahia and work continues at the site of the new treatment plant in eastern Jabaliya, with the IDF permitting 24 hour operations from 20 April.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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