OCHA said the more than 3,000 housing units scheme for settlers as part of the E1 plan would essentially cut off the northern and central West Bank from the south, leading to a devastating humanitarian impact.
UNITED NATIONS, Aug. 20 (Xinhua) — Israel’s West Bank settlement expansion plan negatively affects Palestinians and increases the risk of displacement, UN humanitarians said on Wednesday.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the more than 3,000 housing units scheme for settlers as part of the E1 plan would essentially cut off the northern and central West Bank from the south, leading to a devastating humanitarian impact.
OCHA said the wider occupied Palestinian territory (OPT) would feel the effect, with 18 Palestinian Bedouin communities put at a higher risk of displacement.
“This plan also involves the construction of a bypass road diverting Palestinian traffic away from the main Jerusalem-Jericho road,” the office said. “In this context, OCHA notes that such roads undermine territorial contiguity, increase travel times, and negatively affect people’s livelihoods and access to services.”
OCHA also said that a longstanding Israeli plan to encircle the E1 area with additional sections of the wall would further deepen restrictions on movement and access, and run counter to the International Court of Justice’s advisory opinion of 2004 that all sections of that security barrier already built within the OPT must be dismantled.
The humanitarian office said that in the Gaza Strip, the situation is increasingly dire, with children and adults killed, injured and displaced every single day. Starvation and malnutrition also continue to deepen. The United Nations and its partners are sparing no effort to bring critical food and other supplies into Gaza to avert further catastrophe.
“It is critical that the Israeli authorities facilitate humanitarian operations, including shelter support, wherever people are, including Gaza City and in the north of the strip,” the office said.
OCHA said that its partners estimated that 1.4 million people require 3,500 truckloads of tents, tarpaulins and basic household items.
It added that its partners reported that restrictions on international non-governmental organizations and the UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees continue to block shelter deliveries. ■
West Bank settler expansion scheme threatens Palestinian life: UN
