Background
2004 ended on a note of high optimism in the international community regarding the revived potential for a breakthrough in the Palestine Israel conflict, brought about by the prospects of a new leadership for the Palestinian Authority and of Ariel Sharon's Gaza Disengagement Plan. The reality for Palestine refugees living in the occupied West Bank and Gaza however remained largely unchanged in the latter half of the year as the emergency situation not only persisted but, at points, reached new lows.
According to data collected by UNRWA's Field Security Office, 364 Palestinians were killed and 1,556 injured during the latter half of 2004. Whilst all deaths are to be deplored, the Agency is greatly saddened by the deaths of 28 UNRWA school pupils and two teachers during the period.
Disturbingly, a number of these killings have occurred whilst the pupils were on school premises and therefore under the care of the Agency at the time they were shot: These include 10-year old Raghda Adnan Al-Assar, who was struck in the head by an Israeli bullet while sitting at her desk in UNRWA's Elementary C Girl's School in Khan Younis camp. Two schoolgirls from the same UNRWA school were shot; Ghadeer Jabr Mokheimer, 9, in the stomach as she sat at her desk and Rania Iyad Arram, also 9, in the head as she waited outside her school compound.
The period July to December 2004 was characterised in Gaza by regular military incursions by Israeli forces in their efforts to prevent home-made rocket attacks on the Negev town of Sderot and settlements within the Gaza Strip. The largest of these was Operation Days of Penitence. For 17 days from 28th September, the Israeli army remained in control of Northern Gaza in the largest military operation since the start of the intifada. An estimated 200 armoured vehicles were on the ground in towns, villages and the densely populated Jabalia refugee camp, launching regular raids into civilian areas, firing on Palestinian targets from the air and ground, sealing off Palestinian neighbourhoods and restricting movement of civilians and humanitarian/emergency relief workers. Large swathes of agricultural land were levelled and there was widespread damage to public and private property -- homes, schools, commercial interests - and public infrastructure. IDF bulldozers dug deep trenches across several main roads, severing sewage, water and electricity lines. Over 100 Palestinians were killed, including 27 children, and over 400 injured. An estimated 143 families, mostly refugees, were made homeless in this single operation, 19 public buildings were destroyed, as well as extensive damages to roads, water and sewage lines. UNRWA, in coordination with other humanitarian actors, began distributing emergency supplies with the assistance of the UN's World Food Programme to those affected as soon as safe access could be guaranteed. Relocation fees and in-kind assistance was provided to those who lost their homes, food parcels were distributed and health centres were placed on 24-hour shifts1.
During such military operations in the northern area of the Strip, large swathes of agricultural land, in particular olive groves and citrus trees were leveled. According to different studies and surveys 2 , land leveling has increased food insecurity in Gaza. Over 50% of Beit Hanoun's agricultural land has been destroyed in the last four years. In July alone, the Israeli Army "cleared" 289 hectares of land in the Beit Hanoun area.
In response to the deteriorating security situation and increasing difficulties of access to Gaza through the Erez Checkpoint, UNRWA's Commissioner-General, Peter Hansen, took the decision to raise the UN security phase from Phase Three to Phase Four on 21 July. This meant the relocation of all UNRWA Headquarters international staff to Jerusalem and Amman, with the exception the Commissioner-General's office. Initially planned for a period of two months, the relocation lasted until 21st December. Naturally this resulted in considerable disruption to operations at the Agency's Headquarters.
Food distribution has also suffered as a result of heightened security measures at Karni, the only commercial crossing point between Gaza and Israel. Since the new security regime was introduced the Agency's emergency food distribution programme has been suspended on two occasions. The round of emergency distributions which was due to begin on 10 June, but did not start until September, affecting around 600,000 persons -- almost two-thirds of the refugee population.
In the West Bank, the demolition of Palestinian buildings continued as did the confiscation and bulldozing of land, and uprooting of trees belonging to Palestinians as part of the construction of the wall/fence in the West Bank. Construction work on the wall/fence continued throughout the reporting period, despite the fact that on 9 July the International Court of Justice issued a ruling that the structure was in violation of international law, calling on Israel to dismantle it and to compensate those Palestinians harmed by its construction. Following this, on 20 July, the UN General Assembly passed a resolution which demanded that Israel comply with its legal obligations as mentioned in the advisory opinion. As a practical response, on 25 July the IDF demolished 18 commercial buildings in Barta'a, apparently connected to the construction of the wall/fence, out of 35 Palestinian buildings demolished during the month.
Land confiscations, bulldozing and uprooting of land continued also for expansion of Israeli settlements, especially in the Nablus area. In parallel, settler attacks against Palestinian farmers and olive pickers also continued. The Eid holiday period and the death of President Yasser Arafat was a further destabilising factor in the situation although only a few security-related incidents were recorded in the immediate aftermath of President Arafat's death. At the end of November though, security concerns intensified again. Lastly, the highest number of demolitions since February 2004 was recorded in the West Bank in the month of December (46). A total of 31 out of 46 demolished Palestinian houses occurred apparently to allow the construction of settlers' roads in the West Bank. This led to 181 demolitions being recorded in the West Bank over the reporting period. Curfews continued to be used as a form of collective punishment and control in the West Bank with 24 instances recorded in July, 26 in August, 32 in September, 15 in October, 4 in November, and 13 in December. Almost 150 curfew days were recorded, with a peak of 44 days in December. According to latest figures, at the end of the reporting period there were 719 road obstacles in the West Bank, of which 61 were permanent checkpoints, 6 semi-permanent checkpoints, and 48 gates. Movement restrictions were maintained for Palestinians travelling within the West Bank and into Jerusalem.
By the end of December 2004, UNRWA had received only 52% of requirements set out in the 2004 Emergency Appeal plus the Rafah Supplementary Appeal combined. Whilst the Agency is grateful to donors for funds received, the fact remains that contributions have lagged far behind needs. As a result, UNRWA was again forced to reprogramme its emergency assistance in both West Bank and Gaza Fields, and to focus on those areas of intervention which provide for the survival of the population, namely food assistance, direct employment and cash payments, rather than a full package of programmes which would more effectively mitigate the impact of events on those most vulnerable.
Notes:
1 For a more detailed report, please see Gaza Field Office's damage assessment.
2 OCHA,Gaza on the Edge, a report on the deteriorating humanitarian situation, 1 Oct. 2004
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