Better information on the number and the state of poor people without access to adequate food in the West Bank and Gaza Strip will help reduce the number of food insecure people there, FAO said today. A new FAO project aims to provide the Palestinian Authority with updated information on poor households and groups and the causes of their food insecurity. This analysis will enable decision-makers to better target vulnerable groups and improve the design and implementation of emergency interventions and sustainable development programmes. Food insecurity is a reality for 40 percent of the 3.6 million people living in the West Bankand Gaza Strip and a near constant threat for an additional 30 percent of the population, according to a 2003 FAO assessment. Read more about Forty percent Palestinians in OPT food insecure
For a long time, relations between the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the Islamist movement Hamas have been tense. On September 30 these tensions finally boiled over. After a series of mysterious and still-disputed events, members of Hamas clashed with Palestinian police officers throughout Gaza City. Three Palestinians were reported killed, including a major in the Palestinian police, while more than 50 others, among them children, were injured. Read more about Hamas and the PA at loggerheads
“At least give us enough bullets to protect people and protect our stations,” exclaimed a Palestinian police officer after he stormed the parliament building in Gaza City on the afternoon of October 3rd. He was one of approximately 40 officers from the Shati refugee camp who raided the in-session parliament to protest the Palestinian Authority’s reaction to fierce clashes between PA forces and Hamas militants in Gaza City on the night of October 2nd. One policeman and two bystanders were killed and 43 others were wounding in six hours of intense street fighting throughout the city. Read more about Outgunned: The PA's Security Challenges in Gaza
Bethlehem — While average Palestinians celebrate Israel’s withdrawal in the streets of the Gaza Strip, the minds of ranking Palestinian leaders are distracted by the implications of this development. Understanding that the post-withdrawal situation in Gaza will greatly affect the future of negotiations, PA leaders have outlined curious plans to ensure success. Facing Hamas, an adversary that reputable security analysts predict could defeat PA security forces in a military confrontation, PA officials have posited the idea of transferring thousands of armed Palestinian refugees from Lebanon to the Gaza Strip. Read more about Governing Gaza: The role of Lebanon's armed Palestinians
The Security Council today expressed support for the statement issued in New York on 20 September by the Quartet and urged the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority to cooperate, along with other parties concerned, with the efforts to achieve the goals set out in that statement. Following a briefing by Alvaro de Soto, United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Council President Lauro Baja (Philippines) read out a presidential statement in which the Council called for renewed action in parallel by the Government of Israel and the Palestinian Authority on their obligations in accordance with the Road Map, to ensure continued progress towards the creation of an independent sovereign, democratic and viable State of Palestine living side by side with Israel in peace and security. Read more about Security Council calls for renewed action by Israel and Palestinian Authority
On the eve of the Quartet meeting (EU, US, UN and Russia) in New York on 20th September, the European Commission can announce that its allocation to the Palestinians in 2005 will be greater than foreseen, at around 280 million Euro. This package includes a substantial contribution to tackling the priorities identified by Quartet Special Envoy James Wolfensohn in the aftermath of the Israelis’ withdrawal from Gaza. A special 60 million allocation will help revive the Palestinian economy and create institutions capable of addressing the new responsibilities arising following disengagement. These efforts are designed to maintain the momentum created by Gaza withdrawal, and ensure that this important event leads on to full implementation of the Roadmap. Read more about European Commission to support the Palestinians with 280 million Euro in 2005
The withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Gaza Strip from the early hours of Monday 12 September 2005 has had an immediate and beneficial impact on the lives of the 1.4 million Gazan residents. The withdrawal of the IDF has resulted in the lifting of all internal closures within the Gaza Strip and has had a particular impact on the residents of the five Gaza enclaves: As Seafa, Al Mawasi, Al Ma’ani, Abu Nahia and Abu al Ajin. This report reviews the key changes to access that have occurred and a preliminary overview of the status of infrastructure. Read more about Gaza access and infrastructure
Yasser Abu MoailekGaza, Palestine19 September 2005
He was a happy man, gracefully making his way amid the guests who filled his living room, distributing smiles as well as juice, while sharing jokes and social talk, with a smile that would not leave his face. “Nafez Abu Nahyeh was reborn today,” whispered one of the guests, while pointing at their host, who took the center of a rustic couch with his four children, tickling the youngest and caressing the hair of the eldest. For more than three years the Abu Nahyehs were prisoners in their own home, after Israeli soldiers had commandeered their house, which is situated right next to the Jewish settlement Kfar Darom. Read more about Gaza family's nightmare comes to an end
Sameera, sister to eight girls and mother to three daughters, suffered from domestic violence for years. Her husband, Adel, accused her of having a genetic defect since she had not given birth to a boy, and he routinely beat and neglected her and their daughters. Adel’s violent temper flared after the birth of their second daughter, while the family was living in dire circumstances in the midst of Al-Bureij Refugee Camp. He accused his wife of depriving him of an heir who would carry his name. He claimed she was incapable of bearing boys, “just like her mother who gave birth to eight girls.” Since there are more boys than girls on his family’s side, it seemed clear to him that she was at fault. Read more about A woman's centre takes on domestic violence in the Gaza Strip
The Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) completed their withdrawal from Gaza at 7 am this morning. Operation Last Watch ended with a brief ceremony at Qissufim road crossing when the national flag was re-raised by Gaza Division troops on the Israeli side of the crossing. Palestinian National Security Forces progressively moved into the former settlements throughout Sunday night and into the early hours of this morning. In spite of their presence, synagogues were set ablaze in Netzarim, Kfar Darom and Morag by groups of Palestinians who followed behind the security forces. Read more about Gaza disengagement update
