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Palestine
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The Challenges and the Changes
Palestine is different from the other four Better by the Year countries in that while all the others are making some progress on the MDGs the situation is getting worse in Palestine. This is a direct result of the conflict with Israel. The present challenge for Palestine (and Israel) is to find a peace settlement.
The reports below from the UN and from UNICEF show the situation at present.UN Special Report September 2006 (short, abridged version)
Because of the on-going Israeli military occupation and the lack of control over water, natural resources and borders, Palestinians have not been able to engage in a development process.
While other countries might be progressing towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals since 2000, we have been witnessing a serious setback due to the siege and closures, Apartheid Wall, occupation policies and military operations of the Israeli Occupying Power and more recently due to the financial boycott of the Palestinian Authority by Israel and most foreign donor countries.
- Nowadays, seven Palestinian families out of ten are living under the poverty line - the poverty rate reached 66% during the second quarter of 2006.
- Out of 197,000 unemployed workers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. 49% have been unemployed for more than a year and 32% for more than 2 years.
- The unemployed have no income at all while they have little or no hope to find jobs.
21 % of the Palestinian population was poor in September 2000, this doubled to around 46% by the end of 2001 and to approaching 70% in 2006
A survey to investigate the effects of the siege (February 2002), showed that 11% of Palestinian children are forced to drop out of school and 52% attended school irregularly. Child labour has intensified as a result of the increase in poverty.
The situation for women and girls has got worse with domestic violence increasing and more forced young marriages
For sustainable economic growth, the private sector and agriculture need to grow and dependency on the Israeli economy to end. Foreign aid is not being used to achieve the MDGs but for emergency reliefCrisis in Gaza for its children
“Clearly children are tremendously impacted by this situation, but Gaza has been forgotten because of the understandable focus on Lebanon,” – Dan Toole, UNICEF Director of Emergency Programmes.
Life has deteriorated dramatically for children since hostilities broke out in Gaza. In July, 36 children were killed, the highest monthly child death toll since the beginning of the Intifada in September 2000. Since 1 November, 14 children have been killed following the Israeli military operation in Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza.
With little or no access in and out of Gaza, it is cut off economically from the outside world. Electricity is scarce and stocks of essential medicines are at critical levels whilst health facilities are struggling to provide adequate care. The spread of communicable disease also remains a potent threat.
Gaza’s children are living in an environment of extraordinary violence and insecurity. They are showing signs of acute distress, are afraid to play outdoors and have suffered from being confined to their homes during the summer with few opportunities for outdoor activities. UNICEF-supported psychosocial counselling teams are responding to a substantial increase in requests for assistance.
Taken from the UNICEF UK Website November 2006
Using the above information and Quick Facts on Palestine can you prepare a presentation to all the parties involved to reach a rapid peace settlement so that work on the MDGs can restart? Your presentation can emphasise the human grounds in particular welfare of children caught up in the conflict.
The parties involved are:
Hamas and Fatah who recently formed a government of national unity together with Israel and the Quartet*
