Combatting Palestinian food insecurity

According to the UN World Food Programme (WFP) and the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA), Palestinians are faced with an additional and possibly permanent burden. Food insecurity is causing hardships to Palestinians, with one in three households struggling to provide adequate nutrition for their families.

Collaboration on statistics between the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics, UNRWA, FAO and WFP have revealed a deterioration of food security, with the percentage of struggling families in the West Bank and Gaza rising to 34% in 2012, compared to 27% in 2011.

The humanitarian organisations expressed concern about the problem, stating that food security is imperative if the region is to achieve any semblance of peace. Officials also recognised the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and the blockade imposed upon Gaza as exacerbating the problem. The reality camouflaged behind the statements of concern is the debilitating process of enforced dependence, brought about by Israel’s unchallenged violations of international law. Lower incomes, restrictions on travel, deprivation of agriculture and water, government policies regarding settlements, as well as settler vandalism inflicted upon Palestinian land, have forced Palestinians into alternatives which create a cycle of dependence upon authorities which contribute inadequate monetary aid while investing in Israel, thus becoming accomplices in the occupier’s human rights violations.

Food insecurity is a form of violence unacknowledged by Israel and sustained by a necessary insistence upon relief. Humanitarian aid, although effective at providing a sliver of respite, is subservient to the oppressive dominance of authorities, who manipulate situations at will while striving to maintain the illusion of progress. Palestinians remain shackled to their oppressive predicament, while Israel is allowed to continue its policy of deprivation by allowing the distribution of less food than is necessary for adequate nutrition. The process fails to evoke an international outcry, since an absolute deprivation is not practiced.

The dynamics of humanitarian aid and oppression are clearly deciphered not only through Palestinian dependence on aid, but also through the international organisations’ dependence upon funds which major world powers contribute towards. The cycle of violence intertwines with humanitarian aid as powerful countries such as the US, which is the major financial contributor of UNRWA, continue to create the conditions which necessitate the work of humanitarian organisations; even as the organisations affirm that their budget cannot compensate or provide for a decent life.

In the absence of upholding international law and holding Israel accountable for the illegal occupation of Palestine and onslaught of human rights violations, the international community has also failed to establish a long term plan for Palestinians affected by food insecurity in order to allow the subjugation of the indigenous population. Any talk or subsequent offer of monetary aid to alleviate suffering and create employment usually harbours ulterior motives which further the cycle of dependency. To quote Nelson Mandela, “Overcoming poverty is not a task of charity, it is an act of justice. Like slavery and apartheid, poverty is not natural.” One way to combat the indignity and suffering associated with food insecurity is by confronting Israel and upholding Palestinian right to self-determination. 

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