MIDEAST: A Price to Pay for Israeli Aid Restrictions

• by Mel Frykberg (ramallah)
• Monday, June 13, 2011
• Inter Press Service

The restrictions are also severely impacting the ability of NGOs and other international organisations to carry out their work, forcing aid workers to deliver less effective forms of help to those most vulnerable in the territories.

Particularly hard hit are the most vulnerable communities in the poverty-stricken Gaza strip but vulnerable communities in the West Bank are also suffering the consequences of Israel’s restrictions.

'These restrictions are effectively robbing people in Gaza of a real chance for recovery. Nearly 80 percent of the population in Gaza is dependant on humanitarian aid and our time and money is being wasted because we cannot consistently or efficiently get staff and necessary materials in and out of Gaza,' Kathy Joubeh, director of programmes, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) told IPS.

MAP is one of dozens of aid organisations which together comprise the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), which released a report, ‘Restricting Aid: The Challenges of Delivering Aid in the Occupied Palestinian Territory,’ outlining the difficulties which are costing the group the extra five million dollars annually.

One of the aid organisations in Gaza pulled out of water and sanitation projects in 2008 due to the restriction on movement of goods and staff. Another organisation reported eight to 12 months delays in moving water piping infrastructure into Gaza due to the restrictions.

Five other groups reported delays of up to six months on the import of agricultural equipment, seedlings, tools, books, toys, mobile water pumps, medical equipment and food parcels.

AIDA members also report that their ability to deliver sustainable development programmes is reduced due to procurement restrictions, and restrictions on the type and quantity of materials that can be moved into Gaza.

Severe restrictions on bringing building materials into Gaza has meant that instead of focusing on rebuilding homes and water and sewage networks destroyed during the latest military attacks on Gaza, many agencies and donors have shifted to providing psycho-social assistance to children and families instead.

The Jordan valley and Area C of the West Bank, which are under full Israeli control, also face restrictions from Israeli civil and military authorities on improvements to infrastructure, which has forced AIDA members to focus on shorter-term humanitarian projects instead of more sustainable development programmes.

'Right now, there are major obstacles to taking even simple measures that can improve the lives of children and their families in areas that have been cut off from health facilities, schools, and agricultural land that is needed to make a living. Delivering aid to areas based solely on where we are allowed entry is not acceptable. Aid should go where people need it the most,' said Salam Kanaan, country director for Save the Children.

Additionally, staff face severe restrictions on their movement including the denial of access and project permits and denial of work visas for those operating in Gaza or in Area C of the West Bank.

Some communities trapped in the West Bank’s Seam Zones (between the Green Line and Israel’s separation barrier) can’t be reached at all.

In the village of Barta in the northern West Bank, where 5,400 people are stuck within the Seam Zone and surrounded by an electric fence, AIDA members were not even able to get a permit to go in for two hours to evaluate what the community might need.

'Barta is not an isolated case,' said Pauline Nunu, country coordinator for the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI). 'There are too many examples where people are unable to reach the services they need and the humanitarian community has no power to help because of the access and movement restrictions on us.'

On top of the logistical nightmare the situation also takes its toll on staff emotionally. 'It is very frustrating, staff get burnt out. You can’t plan ahead and deliver work effectively. Training programmes have to be rescheduled due to the Israeli authorities cancelling permission and permits at the last moment,' Joubeh told IPS.

'Appointments have to be cancelled and remade. Disability programmes which we have worked on for months are delayed and this affects our partners. We are working with some of the most disabled people and these restrictions reflect a lack of respect for humanitarian work,' added Joubeh.

Aid organisations have had to overcome the obstacles with costly coping mechanisms. Parallel management structures have been put in place in the West Bank and in Gaza, which cost extra time and money. International staff are recruited for positions that require travel between the two Palestinian territories when the positions could be filled by local staff at less cost if they had the ability to move freely.

Staff have also been hired specifically to apply for permits and visas for the international staff and this drain on the groups’ budgets has eaten into resources budgeted for aid delivery. U.S. and European taxpayers are largely paying for this.

Joubeh says there are always problems when delivering aid globally but that the restrictions placed on aid workers in the Palestinian territories are not experienced by aid workers in other countries.

'If we are to deliver aid effectively and serve the Palestinians properly there needs to be a clear, transparent system of access. We shouldn’t have to wait so long for permits,' Joubeh told IPS.

© Inter Press Service (2011) — All Rights ReservedOriginal source: Inter Press Service

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