Ramallah: Israel escalates violations and warns of an increase in the rate of hunger in the West Bank

The World Food Program warned that the escalation of Israeli arrests and restrictions on movement in the West Bank is increasing the rate of hunger among Palestinians, while Ramallah confirmed that the Israeli government is defying the calls and efforts made to calm the situation in the occupied West Bank.

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that the Israeli government defies the calls and efforts made to calm the situation in the occupied West Bank.

The ministry stated in a statement on Wednesday, "The occupation continues to escalate its violations to explode the conflict arena, enter the West Bank into a spiral of violence that is difficult to control, and create a state of chaos to pass more settlement projects and deepen the creeping annexation of the West Bank."

The statement condemned "the crimes of the Israeli occupation forces and settlers against Palestinian citizens in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, most notably the ongoing crime of demolishing homes and the notifications to demolish dozens of homes in the area adjacent to Al-Aqsa Mosque."

The statement also condemned "the escalation of the occupation's incursions and conquest of all areas of the West Bank, which often leave martyrs and wounded and lead to the intimidation of safe citizens in their homes, including women and children, as well as the assaults and attacks of settlers, their theft of Palestinian land, their assaults on citizens and their vehicles, and the uprooting and destroying of their trees and property." ".

The Palestinian Ministry of Foreign Affairs considered that “the international failure to stop the war of genocide against the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip and curb the violations of the occupation and its settlers in the West Bank encourages the extreme right-wing government to persist in undermining any opportunity to implement the principle of a two-state solution and sabotage the international efforts made for a ceasefire and restore the political horizon for a solution.” "Conflict."

Food insecurity

The United Nations World Food Program warned that the escalation of Israeli arrests and restrictions on movement in the West Bank is increasing the rate of hunger among Palestinians.

According to the United Nations news website, Palestine’s gross domestic product decreased by 22% in the last three months of 2023.

The report attributed this decline to various factors, including closures in the occupied West Bank and the layoff of large numbers of Palestinian workers in Israel. The unemployment rate also rose to 29 percent in this period, compared to only 13 percent in the previous three months.

The UN program said, "Hundreds of thousands of them have lost their work permits in Israel and are unable to leave the West Bank, while commercial activity within the occupied Palestinian territory is limited, putting the economy and humanitarian situation at risk of further deterioration."

He pointed out that since last October 7, the situation in the West Bank has been witnessing a political and economic deterioration, the imposition of Israeli restrictions on movement, and the establishment of additional military checkpoints, which has greatly limited freedom of movement.

According to the World Food Programme, a large number of workers have lost their jobs, companies have been forced to close or downsize, and the Palestinian Authority faces a severe funding shortfall, affecting the salaries of civil servants.

According to preliminary assessments conducted by food security sector partners, food insecurity in the West Bank has increased from 350,000 people, or about 10% of the population, to an estimated 600,000 people since the outbreak of the current war.

According to the programme, this number is expected to increase in the coming months, and the program reported that the largest number of people facing food insecurity are in Nablus and Hebron.

The West Bank is witnessing a wave of tension and field confrontations between Palestinians and the Israeli occupation army, interspersed with raids and arrests of Palestinians, in conjunction with a devastating war on the Gaza Strip that left tens of thousands of civilian casualties, most of them children and women.

The death toll in Gaza rises to 28,663 and international warnings of the continuation of the war

The Ministry of Health in Gaza announced that the death toll from the Israeli war on the Strip had risen to 28,663 martyrs since October 7, while UN officials warned of the continuation of the war amid fears of displacement to Egypt and the high cost of reconstruction.

The Ministry of Health in Gaza said on Thursday that the death toll from the war on the Gaza Strip had risen to 28,663 Palestinian martyrs since the start of the war launched by Israel on the Gaza Strip, after which it was tried on charges of genocide.

This came in its daily report on the losses resulting from the Israeli aggression in the Gaza Strip.

It stated: “The Israeli occupation committed 9 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, claiming 87 martyrs and 104 injuries during the past 24 hours.”

She added, "There are still a number of victims under the rubble and on the roads, and the occupation prevents ambulance and civil defense crews from reaching them."

“A kind of nightmare for Egypt”

In a related context, Martin Griffiths, the United Nations aid coordinator, warned on Thursday of the possibility of Palestinians crowded in Rafah flowing into Egypt if Israel launches a military operation on the border city.

Griffiths told UN diplomats in Geneva, “The possibility of carrying out a military operation in Rafah, with the possibility of closing the (border) crossing, with the possibility of an influx of (displaced people)... the kind of nightmares for Egypt and it is a reality before our eyes.”

He explained that the idea of ​​people in Gaza moving to a safe place is purely an "illusion."

Griffiths added: "Let us hope that friends of Israel and those who care about Israel's security will give them good advice at this moment."

Mirjana Spolijaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said at the same meeting where Griffiths spoke that the absence of a clear evacuation plan that includes the sick and the elderly would push suffering to a new level.

She added: "The suffering on both sides, the massacre that we have been witnessing since October 7, will reach an unimaginable level if operations on Rafah are intensified in the manner that was announced."

Earlier, the United Nations said that any Israeli attack on Rafah could "lead to a massacre."

"Marshall plan"

In the same context, an official at the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said on Thursday that Gaza will need a new “Marshall Plan” to recover from the conflict between Israel and Hamas, adding that the extent of the damage resulting from the conflict amounts to approximately $20 billion so far.

UNCTAD Director Richard Kozol-Wright explained during a United Nations meeting in Geneva that the damage is already equivalent to about four times what the sector was exposed to in the seven-week war in 2014.

He added: "We are talking about approximately $20 billion if (the conflict) stops now."

He stated that the estimate is based on satellite images and other information, and that arriving at a more accurate estimate will require researchers entering Gaza.

He pointed out that reconstruction would require a new "Marshall Plan," referring to the American plan for the recovery of Europe's economy after World War II.

This comes as the Israeli war on Gaza entered its fifth month, causing massive destruction and an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe, according to the United Nations, which led to Tel Aviv being tried for “genocide” before the International Court of Justice, for the first time since its establishment.