PA, UN Request $571 Million for Humanitarian Response Plan

Bethlehem, 3 Jumadil Awwal 1437/11 February 2016 (MINA) – The Palestinian Finance Minister, Shukri Bishara, and the UN launched a humanitarian response plan for 2016 on Wednesday that will support the humanitarian needs of 1.6 million Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Bishara said in a statement joint statement with the UN Coordinator for Humanitarian Assistance and Development Aid in the occupied Palestinian territory, Robert Piper, that the response plan is requesting $571 million to implement 206 projects by 79 organizations, including 67 national and international NGOs and 12 UN agencies.

Of the $572 million requested, almost $323 million will be used to enhance food security and some $112 million expected to be used for shelter for vulnerable Palestinians., Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) quoted Ma’an as reporting.

According to the group’s assessment, some 1.8 million people need protection in the occupied Palestinian territory and around 1.6 million people are moderately to severely food insecure.

“Forty-eight years of occupation of the Palestinian territory by the State of Israel has left many Palestinians highly vulnerable,” Piper said.

In the occupied West Bank, the group found that 8,000 Palestinians are at “high risk of forcible transfers,” with at least 11,000 outstanding demolition orders put in place by Israeli authorities on Palestinian homes in Area C. The group hopes to provide legal assistance to those at threat, which would allow them to fight the demolition
orders in court.

Hundreds of thousands of others “still have restricted access to essential services,” the statement added.

In Gaza, approximately 92,000 people remain displaced from Israel’s 2014 offensive. Due to high numbers of displaced people, around 65 percent of the project’s funding is expected to be used in the enclave.

“After such a prolonged period of stress, and many cycles of shocks — particularly for the residents of Gaza — the coping capacity of many Palestinian households is at the point of exhaustion,” Piper said.

“Addressing the root causes of the crisis through a political solution is vital to moving forward,” he added. “Meanwhile, protecting the rights of Palestinians living under occupation remains the humanitarian community’s main obligation and priority.” (T/R07/R01)

Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)