Deteriorating situation in West Bank hampers relief efforts: UN

UNITED NATIONS, July 28 (Xinhua) -- Movement restrictions and increasing insecurity, including settler attacks, across the West Bank are constraining relief efforts, UN humanitarians said Tuesday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the situation is so bad that some partners have had to resort to providing remote services, including mental health and psychosocial support, for people in hard-to-reach areas.

OCHA said that since the weekend, settler attacks have been recorded mainly in Nablus, Qalqiliya and Jenin governorates.

"Israeli forces have reportedly imposed a closure on Nablus City and its surroundings, and on Tell village, where some of the recent killings took place," the office said. "Concerns have also been raised over the establishment of a settlement outpost closer to where Palestinians live."

Ramiz Alakbarov, UN deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process, on Tuesday warned the Security Council of the "rapidly deteriorating" situation in the West Bank.

He said the increasing violence has resulted in civilian casualties, displacement, damage to property, and growing insecurity across affected communities and that a wider escalation is increasingly likely unless immediate steps are taken to reverse course.

Alakbarov urged Israel to take immediate and effective measures to prevent settler violence, protect Palestinian communities, and ensure that all perpetrators are held accountable. He added that Palestinians must unequivocally reject violence and incitement and take all necessary measures to prevent attacks against Israelis.

OCHA said the reported instruction by Israeli leadership for the military to take over a fourth refugee camp in the West Bank could have a devastating humanitarian impact on thousands of people.

"Since last year, Israeli operations in the camps of Jenin, Tulkarm and Nur Shams have displaced more than 30,000 people, including children, and destroyed homes, livelihoods and essential services," the office said. "These operations have also deepened humanitarian needs."

It said that the ability of local authorities and international humanitarian organizations, including the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), to help is impeded by harsh restrictions and financial constraints.

OCHA said Israeli forces and municipal authorities on Monday forcibly entered UNRWA's oldest vocational training facility, the Kalandia Training Centre in East Jerusalem, where UNRWA reported they gathered and confined educational staff and students while conducting operations. It is the second incursion by Israeli forces into that compound in less than a month.

"Such actions are a violation of the inviolability of United Nations premises," the office said. "They also impede joint efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to people in need."

Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said that Israeli forces arrived at the UNRWA facility during class time. He said that Israeli personnel gathered staff and students together and confined them for the duration of the operation without presenting documentation to explain the purpose of the entry.

In the Gaza Strip, OCHA said that it remains deeply concerned over the impact of airstrikes on civilians.

The office said that since Friday, its partners have recorded military activities across all of Gaza's governorates. Airstrikes, shelling, gunfire and naval fire have been reported primarily in areas west of the so-called Yellow Line, spanning less than half of the strip, where most people are crowded in harsh conditions.

"Several incidents, including those resulting in fatalities and injuries, have reportedly affected civilians," OCHA said, adding that one of those airstrikes, on Saturday, hit the vicinity of Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, less than 200 meters away from two UN premises.

The office said that further encroachment of the "Yellow Line" into populated areas through the placement of yellow cement blocks had also been reported. ■