A total of
64,172
people in need received our assistance in 2018.
Humanitarian overview
About 4.9 million Palestinians live under protracted occupation, which denies them basic human rights. In 2018, there was a sharp deterioration in the humanitarian situation in Palestine.
Poverty, unemployment and food insecurity have increased in Gaza, where people continue to face movement restrictions and severe limitations on access to essential services. There has also been a significant rise in Palestinian casualties as a result of the Great March of Return (GMR) demonstrations and the majority of Gaza’s 2 million people continue to rely on shrinking international aid.
In Area C of the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, settlement expansion, settler violence, the demolition and confiscation of property, and evictions are intensifying pressure on the most vulnerable Palestinian communities, including Bedouin refugees who are at risk of being forcibly displaced from their homes.
Around one third of East Jerusalem’s 330,000 Palestinian residents may be isolated from their city, with legal changes proposed to redraw the municipal boundaries of Jerusalem and annex large settlement blocs, which are illegal under international law.
People we helped in Palestine in 2018
NRC's operation
We protect and assist Palestinians affected by, or threatened with, displacement in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
We provide legal counselling to promote human rights, and work to improve shelter, water and sanitation facilities. We support the provision of quality education, and help communities prepare for, and respond to, emergencies.
We also advocate for the rights of displaced Palestinians locally and internationally.
Camp management
We provide internally displaced people and vulnerable communities with access to protection and essential services in Gaza. Our team works to:
- include internally displaced people and vulnerable communities in decision making processes
- increase the emergency preparedness and response capacities of local authorities, humanitarian responders, and communities
- improve coordination between communities and humanitarian organisations
- enhance the effectiveness, transparency and accountability of humanitarian work
Education
Many children in Palestine have seen or experienced traumatic events and subsequently suffer from nightmares, which affect their ability to learn and thrive. We work to ensure that Palestinian children have access to quality education and psycho-educational support by:
- training teachers on effective classroom management and struggling students
- training counsellors to support students suffering nightmares
- assisting teachers and school staff in developing child-centred teaching and learning approaches
- supporting parents and school communities in establishing parent associations
- in collaboration with our ICLA team, providing information to students, parents and teachers about their rights and referral mechanisms for further support
- providing emergency resources for vulnerable schools to enhance teaching and learning, as well as protect against attacks on education
Information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA)
We work to protect people and communities who have been, or are at risk of being, forced to leave their homes. We provide legal information, training, counselling and assistance for those affected by discriminatory policies and practices. We:
- work closely with national and international stakeholders to influence positive policy change
- provide legal services that protect people from demolition, eviction and confiscation orders, revocation of residency rights, access restrictions, and settler violence in the West Bank
- provide Palestinians in Gaza with information about housing, land and property rights to promote tenure security
- work with Israeli and Palestinian NGOs and private lawyers to provide effective counselling and legal assistance
Shelter and settlements
We provide access to adequate shelter for the most vulnerable people in Gaza. Our teams:
- provide shelter for households living in war-damaged and substandard homes
- provide support and technical assistance to people whose homes have been damaged through conflict to ensure that families have adequate shelter
- distribute essential household materials, including mattresses and blankets
- repair and upgrade public schools to improve learning facilities for students
- support families affected by the economic crisis with rental assistance to prevent eviction
Water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) promotion
We help vulnerable communities access safe, sufficient, and affordable hygiene and water facilities in Gaza. Our teams:
- provide safe drinking water and sanitation facilities, including bathrooms, toilets, sinks and water network supplies to vulnerable households
- equip public schools with water and sanitation facilities, including storage tanks, toilets, and connections to water wells
- improve peoples’ access to public services and mitigate against winter flooding through community infrastructure projects
- foster green energy solutions through solar-powered water pumping systems and rainwater harvesting for irrigation
- distribute hygiene items to vulnerable households, and provide training to improve social and environmental health
Policy, protection and research
We provide protection and policy analysis to a range of actors in Palestine, promoting principled humanitarian assistance in accordance with international law. We engage closely with international decision-makers and advocate for the protection of displaced and vulnerable people’s human rights.
Cluster and other coordination support
We play an important role in humanitarian coordination in Palestine by leading the Shelter Cluster, hosting the Association for International Development Agencies (AIDA) and managing the West Bank Protection Consortium.
- Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs (NMFA)
- Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad)
- Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida)
- UK Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO)
- Directorate-General for European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO)
- United Nations Office for Public Services (UNOPS)
- United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA)
- United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR)
- Governments of Luxembourg, Denmark, Ireland, France, Belgium DGD, Spain
- Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ)
- New York University (NYU)
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