The Monthly Humanitarian Bulletin | November 2014

The 2014 olive harvest season, which ended this month, was reported to have proceeded relatively smoothly. Settler attacks against Palestinian farmers and their land declined and there were improvements in access to agricultural land behind the Barrier or located close to Israeli settlements. However, Israeli restrictions embodied in the permit and “prior coordination” regime continue to challenge Palestinian farmers. The olive harvest this year is the second consecutive poor season, primarily due to adverse weather conditions.

Shelter needs in the aftermath of the July-August hostilities are enormous. The nearly final figures emerging from the damage assessments carried out by the Ministry of Public Works and Housing (MoPWH), UNDP and UNRWA indicate that over 118,000 housing units have been affected, of which 12 per cent were totally destroyed, seven percent severely damaged and rendered uninhabitable, and the rest damaged to varying degrees. It is estimated that up to 19,600 families (118,000 people) living in homes included in the first two categories have been displaced and are in need of medium and long term solutions. Meanwhile, imports of construction materials remain low in light of these needs.

On 24 October, the Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing between Egypt and the Gaza Strip until further notice. This followed an attack in the northern Egyptian city of Al Arish, reportedly carried out by radical groups based in the Sinai Peninsula, in which over 30 Egyptian military personnel died.

During November, the Israeli authorities demolished or removed a total of 48 Palestinian-owned structures across the West Bank, including East Jerusalem. All but one structure were demolished on the grounds of lack of a building permit. In total, 136 people were displaced, half of them children. While the number of structures demolished this month is slightly below the monthly average recorded in the previous ten months of 2014, the number of displaced people is higher. The cumulative number of people displaced so far in 2014 is nearly 1,200, the highest such figure recorded by OCHA in an entire year since it began tracking this indicator in 2008.

In 2014, humanitarian partners produced the largest ever humanitarian appeal for the oPt in response to the unprecedented level of human suffering and damage in Gaza following the July-August conflict. The Strategic Response Plan (SRP), which prior to the conflict stood at US $390 million, increased to $920 million following the launch of the Gaza Crisis Appeal.

Heavy rains at the end of November (24-27 November) caused localized flooding in multiple areas across the Gaza Strip. These include the Sheikh Radwan, Nafaq, Manara and Saftawi areas in Gaza City; the Al-Amal area and a section of Salah ad-Din road in Khan Younes; the Abu Rashid area in Jabaliya; and the Mashrou’ area in Beit Lahiya.

On 6 November 2014, the first transfer in 2014 of goods from Gaza to the West Bank took place when one truckload containing 10 tonnes of cucumbers exited to Hebron. By the end of November a total of 49 truckloads (approx. 420 tonnes) carrying a range of vegetables, strawberries, dates and fish were delivered to West Bank markets, generating an estimated income of approximately US$180,000 (excluding the fish).

Shelter needs in the aftermath of this year’s hostilities in the Gaza Strip are enormous. Damage assessments are nearly finalized and indicate that over 118,000 housing units have been destroyed or damaged to varying degrees. Up to 19,600 families are currently displaced, many of them in overcrowded and unsustainable conditions. One of the main transitional shelter solutions being pursued is the provision of prefabricated units on temporary displacement sites. However, the lack of adequate locations and proper access to services and employment for such sites, along cost-benefit considerations, has raised serious concerns among humanitarian agencies and beneficiaries about the suitability of this approach.