Joint Press Release
PA – OCHA / December 15, 2020
Today, the Prime Minister of the State of Palestine, H.E. Dr. Mohammad Shtayyeh, and the Humanitarian Coordinator a.i., Ms. Lucia Elmi, launched the Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP) to help 1.8 vulnerable people in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) in 2021. The launch was broadcasted on social media, where speakers responded to questions from the public.
“This international aid plan will complement efforts by the State of Palestine to help Palestinians in need where our reach is more limited,” said the Prime Minister. “The most vulnerable Palestinians must be supported, whether they are in Gaza, Jerusalem, Area C or elsewhere. This plan will allow us to link immediate humanitarian aid with sustainable development endeavours and efforts to overcome impediments over the long-term.”
“The impact of prolonged military rule, access restrictions, internal divisions, and insufficient respect for Palestinians’ rights as enshrined in international law, is now compounded by COVID-19,” said Ms. Elmi. “While lasting solutions are being sought, we count on donors and partners to help us be there for those who need us the most in order to live with dignity.”
More than 200 organizations and partners, including local and international organizations, as well UN entities, have come together to formulate the plan, which consists of 186 humanitarian projects.
The latest humanitarian needs assessment found that 2.45 million Palestinians, 47 per cent of the population, need aid. The 2021 HRP targets 1.8 million of them, who have been identified as the most vulnerable. This past year has seen the unique realities of the COVID-19 crisis, its socio-economic impact and the temporary suspension of coordination between the parties. About 346,000 Palestinians, who had been identified as having moderate needs, are now assessed to be in severe need.
Seventy per cent of the funds required to implement the plan will target Gaza, where the situation remains fragile: its 2 million inhabitants are effectively isolated from the rest of the oPt and the world, and exposed to recurrent escalations of hostilities, a chronic electricity deficit, and shortages in specialized medical staff, drugs and equipment.
In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, settlement expansion, settler violence, access restrictions, the demolition of homes and other structures and evictions of families have continued or even increased during 2020, intensifying the coercive environment that places pressure on Palestinians to leave their communities.
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For more information, please see www.ochaopt.org/hrp-2021
For a recording of the launch, please see facebook.com/ochaopt
