Occupied Palestinian Territories - Humanitarian Update, May 2007

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

KEY ISSUES OVERVIEW

Resurgence of factional violence in Gaza
May saw the fourth episode on inter-factional violence in the Gaza Strip and the deaths of 63 Palestinians. In every month since December 2006, internal violence-related deaths have exceeded direct conflict-related deaths.

Palestinian-Israeli violence also escalated during May, resulting in the deaths of 54 Palestinians. The majority of deaths occurred as the Israeli Air Force (IAF) conducted 65 air strikes on Palestinian targets in the Gaza Strip. Palestinian militants fired 323 rockets from the Gaza Strip towards targets in Israel, killing two Israelis.

The Palestinian factional violence has seen the virtual collapse of law and order and severely affected the provision of humanitarian aid. The disruption to daily life has seen many Palestinians afraid to leave their homes, severely impacting the public sector and commercial life of Gaza.

Health sector strike ends
The health unions ended their 104 day strike on 29 May, after the Palestinian Ministry of Finance committed to an agreement with the unions to begin a schedule for the payment allowances. Salary payments are still outstanding and employees are threatening to strike again in June unless the issue is satisfactorily resolved.

East Jerusalem
In May, Israel celebrated 40 years since the "reunification of Jerusalem". Israel's annexation of East Jerusalem has been deemed illegal by multiple UN Security Council resolutions. Since 1993, citing the need to secure its citizens from Palestinian militant attacks, Israel has employed various restrictive access measures designed to sever East Jerusalem from the rest of the West Bank. Consequently, most West Bank Palestinians are no longer able to access the city that has been the religious, social and economic centre of their community for centuries.

Fatalities in the northern West Bank
New research by B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights group, indicates that 67% of Palestinian fatalities caused by the Israeli army in the West Bank, since the start of the second intifada, were in the northern West Bank. Nablus and Jenin governorates account for the bulk of deaths. There have been no IDF fatalities in the West Bank this year.

REGIONAL OVERVIEW

West Bank & East Jerusalem

Chronic water crisis in Hebron - Many communities in the Hebron area are not linked to a water network, while those that are linked are often going for days or weeks at a time with no water supplied to them. There are a number of reasons for the worsening water crisis: increasing numbers of closures, construction of the Wall and the mini-Barrier, and the suspension of a USAID water network project. Approximately 20 communities in the southern Hebron area have had their vehicular access cut off by the mini-Barrier. The escalating costs of purchasing water for both human and livestock needs has seen some of these communities spending more than 60% of their cash resources to meet their water needs.

Financial crisis in Bethlehem area municipalities - The PA, with its own fiscal problems, has suspended the transfer of municipal taxes to various municipalities in the Bethlehem area. With many residents unable to pay direct municipal fees due to the current economic crisis, the municipalities are unable to pay employees' salaries, or to service their loans and are no longer eligible for credit. Employees have threatened to strike if salaries remain unpaid. The municipalities warn that services to the combined population of 62,500 will soon be suspended unless a solution is found.

Palestinians denied access to the Dead Sea area - Since 10 May, daily flying checkpoints erected by the IDF have blocked all Palestinian vehicular and pedestrian movement into the Dead Sea area. No official military order was issued to ban Palestinian movement on the road, and as the checkpoint is not permanent, no written order is required. The new procedures were verbally relayed to IDF soldiers by the Sector Commander's office.

Gaza Strip

Gaza's sardine catch - The high season for sardine fishing starts in April and runs through May. The limited area in which Gaza's fishermen are currently allowed to operate prevents them from enjoying the full economic benefits of the high season. According to the Palestinian Department of Fisheries (DoF), this year's catch represents only 52% of the 2000 catch. The DoF notes that the fish catch could double if Gaza fisherman were allowed to extend the area in which they fish to the legal 12 nautical miles from the coast, instead of the current restriction of six nautical miles that the IDF currently imposes. Being confined to coastal waters also means the quality of the fishing catch is poor in terms of fish size and so the market value is low. The value of the Gazan catch normally accounts for 4% of the Palestinian Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Restrictions on fishing rights has led to over-fishing in shallow coastal waters and resulted in the depletion of breeding grounds which may have future impacts.

Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

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