| UN food
agency warns of rising malnutrition among Palestinians
15 April – The United Nations Food
and Agricultural Organization (FAO) today warned of rising hunger and
malnutrition among Palestinians living in the West Bank and the Gaza
Strip – a situation the agency blamed largely on Israeli polices and
practices.
“The total blockade of the West Bank and Gaza Strip has paralyzed
the Palestinian economy, which is so vulnerably dependent on Israel
and already severely weakened by frequent border closures, to such an
extent that it is now in a deep recession, with millions of people
severely impoverished and extremely food insecure,” FAO said in a
special alert, which was issued in Rome.
Reporting rising levels of malnutrition, the agency cited recent
estimates of a 10.4 per cent increase in the incidence of low birth
weights and a 52 per cent increase in the still birth rate in the West
Bank. Reports also indicate that many homes are now without water and
electricity, and what little food the Palestinians have is rotting.
The alert voiced “serious concern” about the on-going large-scale
destruction of Palestinian infrastructure – including farm assets such
as stores, irrigation systems, greenhouses, water facilities and
orchards – as well as the removal of topsoil from an estimated 8,000
hectares of land.
FAO said that by severely restricting Palestinian access to
international markets, Israel has become virtually the sole supplier
of food to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with the country accounting
for more than 95 per cent of Gaza's total agricultural imports and
almost 100 per cent of its exports. Under those circumstances, the
agency pointed out that “border closures have extreme consequences for
the food security of the Palestinian people.”
The alert also raises concern over Israel’s confiscation of
agricultural land and water resources. According to FAO, freshwater
resources available to the West Bank and the Gaza Strip amount to 112
cubic metres per person a year, compared to 377 cubic metres for
Israel.
The agency, which has been unable to conduct a long-planned
assessment mission to the territories because of security concerns,
warned that “all available information points to a major catastrophe
under way in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.” |
