PALESTINE: Red Cross Vouchers to Ease Hunger

By Gustavo Capdevila Reprint | | Print |

Gustavo Capdevila

GENEVA, Aug 16 2002 (IPS) - The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is undertaking a major relief effort in the Palestinian territories, aimed at helping around 120,000 of the most impoverished residents of urban centres on the West Bank.

The current escalation of violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip territories occupied by Israel has led to a severe deterioration of the livelihoods of the local population, said ICRC spokesman Patrick Vial.

Between 60 and 70 percent of the 2.9 million people living in the Palestinian territories have fallen below the poverty line, according to the latest World Bank statistics, he added.

To address the pressing needs of the local population, the humanitarian institution began this week to provide aid to some 20,000 families in nine cities and towns on the West Bank.

The aid is based on a system of vouchers to be handed out monthly to the neediest families, who will thus be able to buy 90 dollars worth of essential food and household items, from suppliers pre-selected by the ICRC.

The list of products that can be purchased with the vouchers includes goods that traditionally come from rural communities, like fresh produce and olive oil.

The programme is to be in place for seven months, and will assist 20,000 poor families in Jenin, Nablus, Tulkarem, Qalqilya, Salfit, Ramallah, Jericho, Bethlehem, and Hebron.

Although the programme’s main objective is to provide essential goods to the poorest families, it is also aimed at bolstering the local economy.

At the same time, the ICRC continues to provide food and other assistance to 30,000 families in rural areas – around 180,000 people – also on the West Bank, as well as to 2,000 families in the Old City of Hebron.

Vial added that the possibility of selecting the goods to be purchased with the vouchers respects the dignity of the beneficiaries, and reduces the sensation of dependence on imported food products.

Israel’s military operations have fomented the paralysis of the economy in the Palestinian territories, due to the restrictions on movement imposed by curfews and the cordoning off of some areas, he added.

All activities linked to the harvesting and processing of olives, one of the local population’s essential means of livelihood, have been badly hurt by the curfews and closures.

Workers are unable to make it to the olive groves, and in the few plantations where the harvest has gone forward, the olives have spoiled because the routes of access to stores and processing plants have been blocked, said Vial.

Prior to the outbreak of the Intifada (the Palestinian uprising against the Israeli occupation), in September 2000, 30 percent of Palestinians were living below the poverty line, with incomes of less than two dollars a day, according to World Bank statistics.

But by March this year, 45 to 50 percent were living in poverty, and the proportion has now climbed to between 60 and 70 percent, according to the international lending institution’s most recent figures, said Vial.

In addition, some 140,000 people are unemployed. Last March, the World Bank estimated that based on a loose definition of unemployment, the proportion stood as high as 35 percent of the economically active population.

In the occupied territories, the social fabric is collapsing, which has had severe psychological consequences for the population, said Vial.

In accordance with international humanitarian law, Israel, as the occupying power, has the “clear obligation to ensure, at all times, adequate supplies of food, medicines and other basic needs for the population under its occupation,” the Red Cross pointed out.

Neither relief operations to attend urgent humanitarian needs, nor the legitimate security concerns of authorities relieve the occupying power of “its duties to ensure a sufficient supply for the daily life of the whole population,” said the ICRC.

Founded in 1863, the ICRC has the mission to protect the life and dignity of the victims of war and internal conflicts. The institution is considered the depositary of international humanitarian law, which is aimed at curbing the effects of armed conflicts.