The Monthly Humanitarian Bulletin | September 2014

Gaza’s agricultural sector sustained over US$500 million in damage during the recent conflict: around twice the total under Operation Cast Lead according to the Palestinian Ministry of Agriculture. This is Gaza’s third such conflict in six years and by far the most destructive for its already beleaguered agricultural sector. Around 24,000 families of farmers, herders and fishermen suffered debilitating losses. Without urgent support, livelihoods will further erode as more animals die, fields lie barren and fishermen lack the means to pursue their livelihoods.

Further settlement activity took place in East Jerusalem during this month. In recent years, settler organizations have targeted land and property in the midst of densely populated Palestinian residential areas in East Jerusalem, in the so-called ‘Holy Basin’ area in and around the Old City. An estimated 2,000 settlers reside in this area in houses which have been expropriated by means of the Absentee Property Law; on the basis of alleged former Jewish ownership; in buildings purchased from Palestinian owners; and in residences custom-built and financed by settler organizations.

The Gaza Strip Joint Health Sector Assessment Report published this month is the result of quantitative and qualitative data collection undertaken at the beginning of September 2014. It was led by WHO with the support of 23 partner organizations working in response to the confict in Gaza.

During September, the UN brokered a temporary agreement between the Israeli and Palestinian authorities. The new agreement, named the Gaza Reconstruction Mechanism (GRM), will allow for the entry into Gaza of large amounts of basic construction materials (mainly aggregate, cement and metal bars) and machinery (i.e. trucks, tractors, forklifts, buses, diggers, cement mixers and pumps). These items are defined by the Israel authorities as “dual use items” and their import has been severely restricted since the imposition of the blockade in 2007, with the exception of materials for approved international projects, although these were subject to a lengthy approval process by COGAT. The network of illegal tunnels under Gaza’s border with Egypt, partially met the demand for construction materials by the private sector in Gaza for many years. However, the operation launched in June 2013 by the Egyptian authorities, in the context of military operations in the Sinai, resulted in an almost total halt in smuggling, triggering a severe shortage of building materials on the Gaza market and massive layoffs in the construction sector, previously one of the few functioning outlets in the depressed Gazan economy.

Ongoing concerns in the West Bank regarding the annual olive harvest, the Barrier and settlement activity in East Jerusalem feature in this month’s Bulletin, but the humanitarian consequences of the July-August conflict in the Gaza Strip remain the main focus. Ongoing assessments are revealing the extent and severity of the destruction, adding greater urgency to the response required to meet needs before winter arrives.

While the precise scope of current food insecurity in the Gaza Strip is unknown, the Multi-Cluster/Sector Initial Rapid Assessment (MIRA) carried out during the last week of the July-August hostilities suggested that it has increased significantly. Potential factors include the high level of displacement, inability to access livelihoods, and the loss of productive assets. This has been compounded during the hostilities by sharp increases in food prices, particularly fresh vegetables, due to restricted access to farming land. Prior to the crisis, 57 per cent of Gaza households faced food insecurity and another 15 per cent were defined as vulnerable to food insecurity.

The rerouting of the Barrier in Jayyus (population 2,894) in Qalqiliya governorate was completed on 7 September. Jayyus has 13,000 dunums of land and more than 50 per cent of the population depend totally on agriculture for their livelihoods. Around 2,400 dunums of land and two artesian wells (one unused) have been returned to the ‘Palestinian’ side of the Barrier. This land can now be accessed by farmers without permits for the first time since 2003. According to the Village Council, the rerouting resulted in the uprooting of approximately 75 fruit trees and 350 olive trees, the majority of which have been replanted.

The extensive Israeli aerial bombardment, naval shelling and artillery fire during the last round of hostilities had devastating results on public infrastructure, including water and sanitation. The Coastal Municipalities Water Utility (CMWU), which is the main provider of water and sanitation services, estimates that between 70 and 80 per cent of the network is now functional following emergency repairs carried out during and since the ceasefire. The remaining 20-30 per cent of the network that remains inoperable is concentrated in the worst-hit areas, primarily within the three-kilometre-wide buffer zone declared by Israel during the hostilities.