occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) Humanitarian Response Plan 2023 (January 2023)

This document is consolidated by OCHA on behalf of the Humanitarian Country Team and partners. It provides a shared understanding of the crisis, including the most pressing humanitarian need and the estimated number of people who need assistance. It represents a consolidated evidence base and helps inform joint strategic response planning.

Crisis Context and Impact

The occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) is one of the most complex and challenging environments in which the United Nations operates. The OPT remains a protracted political crisis characterized by 55 years of Israeli military occupation. This crisis is exacerbated by a lack of adherence to international humanitarian and human rights law, internal Palestinian divisions and the recurrent escalation of hostilities between Israel and Palestinian armed groups. The results are chronic protection concerns and humanitarian needs which will continue in the absence of a sustainable political solution and opportunities for further development.

At the same time, the OPT has undergone rapid demographic growth and urbanization, trends that will continue for the foreseeable future. The absence of and barriers to livelihood opportunities are subsequently driving a cycle of aid dependency and their reliance on negative coping strategies to meet basic needs. The high reported levels of debt, and use of savings to meet basic needs further exacerbates the financial precariousness of households and may reduce their resilience to or ability to recover from future shocks.

In Gaza, the Israeli occupation and 15 years of an Israeliimposed blockade/movement restrictions and recurrent escalations between Israel and armed groups in Gaza have contributed to Gaza’s dire living conditions. In June 2007, after the 2006 legislative elections and following the takeover of Gaza by Hamas, the Israeli authorities implemented a blockade citing security concerns, virtually isolating the 2.2 million Palestinians in Gaza from the rest of the OPT and the world more broadly. This land, sea and air blockade on the Gaza Strip (the terms "Gaza Strip" and "Gaza" are hereafter used interchangeably) intensified previous restrictions, imposing strict limits on the number and specified categories of people and goods allowed through the Israeli-controlled crossings. Restrictions imposed by Egypt on the movement and access of people and goods at Rafah, the Gaza-Egypt crossing further exacerbates the situation. Rapid population growth coinciding with challenges to development gains and limited resources have resulted in further deterioration of living standards and development prospects in Gaza.

In the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Israel’s military occupation continues to impede basic human rights of Palestinians. Under the Oslo Accords, the West Bank was divided into East Jerusalem and Areas A, B and C, whereby each area is governed by different administrative and security regulations. The ongoing conflict, including the possible indiscriminate use of force against civilians by Israeli forces,
Hamas, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and/or other armed groups, and Israeli occupation practices including the possible excessive use of force, demolitions, evictions, settlement expansion and settler related violence all drive insecurity, reverse and prevent socioeconomic progress, breed a climate of mistrust and tension between Palestinians and Israelis, and undermine political solutions.