The West Bank is on the verge of hunger.. One million Palestinians need food

Ramallah - Ofoq News - The United Nations World Food Program warned of the worsening food insecurity crisis in the occupied West Bank, in light of the escalation of settler violence, the deterioration of economic conditions, and the decline in funding allocated for humanitarian aid.

The program's deputy executive director, Carl Skau, said that food insecurity in the West Bank has more than doubled over the past three years, noting that about a million Palestinians are now in need of food aid, according to what was reported by Anadolu Agency.

During a press conference at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Skaw explained that his field visits to the occupied Palestinian territories revealed scenes of burned olive fields and evacuated farms, at a time when attacks continue that threaten the Palestinians’ livelihoods and their ability to secure their basic needs.

The crisis is worsening with damage to agricultural lands and attacks on farmers, especially during the olive harvest season, which constitutes a major source of income for a number of Palestinian families. Residents also face increasing economic pressures that limit their ability to purchase food and provide for their families' needs.

In a development that makes the humanitarian situation more difficult, the World Food Program was forced to reduce the number of beneficiaries of its food aid in the West Bank from about 400,000 people to 200,000, due to a lack of funding, despite the increasing needs.

The program had previously warned that declining incomes and rising costs of living were pushing more families to reduce the quantity or quality of food, in an attempt to adapt to deteriorating economic conditions.

These indicators raise fears of widespread hunger in the West Bank, especially among the most vulnerable families and rural communities that depend on agriculture and livestock raising as their primary source of livelihood.