UN food agency to stop aid to 2 lakh impoverished Palestinians

Gaza: In Palestine, the World Food Programme (WFP) is going to suspend its aid benefiting more than 2 lakh people there from next month, citing an acute shortage of funds, Reuters reported.

WFP’s director in Palestine, Samer Abdeljaber, told Reuters on the phone on Sunday that the organisation is forced to make the decision due to a severe fund crunch and therefore going to stretch the limited available resources.

The beneficiaries account for 60 per cent of the organisation’s caseload from June, he said.

WFP’s decision will affect families in Gaza and in the West Bank, where most of the food insecurity and poverty prevail.

At the moment, the UN agency offers beneficiaries in Palestine a monthly voucher of $10.30 per person, along with food baskets. Now both are going to be affected.

The Islamist Hamas group has ruled Gaza since 2007 and houses around 2.3 million people. Out of them, 45 per cent are unemployed, and 80 per cent depend on international aid.

For years, Israel, along with Egypt, has put a block in the enclave and restricted the movement of people and goods. Both the powers sight security concerns with the Hamas rulers to justify their blockade.

However, WFP will continue its aid to 140,000 people in Gaza and the West Bank. The mentioned suspension of services was to save those who are at the highest risk of not being able to afford their food, Abdeljaber said.

If funds continue to dwindle, WFP will have to suspend food and cash assistance totally by August, he said.

However, dozens of Palestinians staged a protest outside the WFP offices in Gaza City against the new decision. They chanted “No to Hunger”.