|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Home | Contact | Links | Feedback |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
 Home Overseas Projects The Middle East Project News
Occupied Palestinian Territories - Humanitarian Update, November 200717 December 2007Summary of monthly Humanitarian Monitor report produced by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). KEY ISSUES OVERVIEW Update on continued closure of Gaza crossingsThe Rafah, Karni and Sufa crossings remain largely closed. Kerem Shalom is the only crossing point open for the import of commercial and humanitarian supplies as well as for a limited amount of export of agricultural products. Only during the last days of November, about 2,300 pilgrims were able to pass through this crossing to undertake the pilgrimage to Mecca (the Hajj). Impact of fuel cuts in the Gaza Strip Israeli restrictions, a strike by Gaza fuel station owners and delays in payments from the Palestinian Authority to Israeli fuel companies had led to severe fuel shortages in Gaza as of the last week of November. Following the Israeli government's statement on 19 September declaring Gaza a hostile entity, on 28 October Israel began implementing parts of the proposed sanctions by reducing the amounts of fuel entering into Gaza. The Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), the main body managing water and sanitation resources in Gaza, only received 28,000 liters of fuel in November. This is 18.6% of its monthly requirements in order to normally operate its wells, pumping stations and treatment plants. Two of the 11 public hospitals in Gaza have faced severe shortages of diesel and 11 out of 56 Primary Health Care facilities were obliged to stop emergency generators and temporarily halt the provision of dental, laboratory and x-ray services. Gaza Strip municipalities and rural councils have been unable to run garbage collection trucks due to the lack of fuel. Garbage has mounted up throughout the streets raising concerns of potential health risks. Lack of spare parts in the Gaza Strip Since July, CMWU, which maintains the majority of water/waste-water networks, pumping stations and water wells in the Gaza Strip, has been unable to perform normal functions because of the severe lack of spare parts. As of mid-November, 10 wells, serving 150,000 people throughout the Gaza Strip, need to have their electrical motor replaced. Similarly, 10 pumping stations, serving 600,000 people from Gaza city (5), Jabalia (3) and Rafah (2) require urgent repairs that cannot be carried out because of the lack of spare parts. The inevitable breakdown of machinery that will follow, should spare parts not arrive in Gaza, will lead to the reduction/cessation of services and reduce further people's access to water. Israel has denied a request to get spare parts into Gaza for World Bank and UNICEF-funded projects including pipes, valves, water and waste water pumps and electromechanical spare parts. Communities at risk of forced displacement in the West Bank Numerous small communities located in Area C (area under full Israeli control) throughout the West Bank have received multiple eviction and demolition orders and, therefore, are at risk of forced displacement. In Southern Hebron, 150 residents of the Am Al Kher community have received a number of eviction orders. They have been residing for over 45 years in their current location, immediately adjacent the fence surrounding Karmel settlement (established in 1981). They are 1948 refugees from the Eastern Negev area and state that they have no alternative land. Five new eviction orders were issued on 26 November with a one week appeal period. The Southern Hebron communities of Zanuta and Susiya are similarly at risk. Together with Am Al Kher, these three communities have a combined population of some 600 Palestinians, who depend on sheepherding for their livelihoods and own some 5,500 sheep. Eviction from their homes and land would prevent herding and, therefore, destroy their livelihood practices. Death of ten patients following delays in obtaining permits to cross Erez checkpoint, Gaza (WHO) On average, urgent Palestinian medical cases face waits of two to 24 hours to obtain the required Israeli permit to cross Erez checkpoint, north Gaza, in order to access hospitals in Israel or East Jerusalem. In November, two patients in critical condition died at Erez checkpoint after waiting over 48 hours to obtain a permit. Eight other patients died either at hospitals in the Gaza Strip or in their homes while waiting for permits to cross Erez during November 2007. Of these, two were children in critical condition; the first, a 12-year-old with Meningio-Encephalitis; the other an eight-month-old with renal failure. Both died at Gaza Pediatric Hospital as a result of a delay of more than 4 days to grant them permits to cross Erez. REGIONAL OVERVIEW West Bank & East Jerusalem Sharp increase in curfew hours in the northern West Bank - More than 54,000 Palestinians living in 13 locales in the northern West Bank were placed under curfew in November for periods that varied between one hour and six days. A total of 362 hours of curfew were imposed, representing a twelve-fold increase compared to October and exceeding the combined total of curfew hours imposed on the West Bank in the first eight months of 2007. Many of the curfews were imposed after incidents of Palestinian stone-throwing at Israeli settler vehicles. In other cases, 178 curfew hours were imposed on localities in the Qalqiliya governorate in response to the killing of an Israeli settler by Palestinian gunmen who opened fire at his car from a passing vehicle near Al Funduq village on 19 November. Gaza Strip Update on north Gaza waste-water treatment plants - In Um Al Nasser/Beit Lahia, even though the waste-water treatment plant is now capable of processing 20,000 cubic metres of waste-water/day, a third temporary lagoon is required. Any reduction or cessation of electricity supplies for the machinery that is pumping excess sewage from the main lake into temporary lagoons will increase the likelihood of a major flood. A collapse in the main lake would lead to a flood of 1.5 million cubic metres of sewage into surrounding areas, threatening the life and property of 10,000 people. Due to a lack of raw materials that cannot be imported, the construction of a permanent North-Eastern Gaza treatment plant to fully address wastewater needs in North Gaza is currently halted. In spite of some progress with regards to the construction of the transmission line and the infiltration basins, essential valves and pipes central to the operation of the pumping station have yet to receive Israeli clearance for entry. Waste-water network in Khan Younis - The waste-water network in this area is extremely limited and most people use septic tanks. These need to be emptied every 2 weeks, but with the high cost of 50NIS each time, most people empty into the streets or connect their waste-water pipes to the storm water system. The current situation will deteriorate further during winter, when the overloaded storm water pipes overflow. Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
 |
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
| Home | Contact | Links | Feedback | Privacy |  |
| ©
Union Aid Abroad - APHEDA 2003. |
 |  |
