May Overview

The results of the 2012 Socio-Economic and Food Security survey, released this month, indicate that 27 percent of the population in the oPt (about 1.3 million people) were food insecure in 2011. Albeit high, this represents a six and nine percentage points decrease compared with the equivalent figures for 2010 and 2009, respectively. To a large extent, this can be attributed to the increased levels of economic activity recorded in 2011, as well as improved targeting of food assistance interventions.

Although encouraging, the general context in which this positive trend took place underscores the fragility of this progress. The deadlock of negotiations between the PLO and Israel and the related lack of political horizon, along with the ongoing fragmentation of the oPt as a result of settlement activities and the entrenchment of the separation between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, are key elements within that context.