http://www.irinnews.org/irin-fp.aspxUpdated everydayen-gbTue, 16 Mar 2010 16:34:06 GMTGAZA CITY Tuesday, March 16, 2010 (IRIN) - Nahla*, aged 30, from Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, said she was physically and mentally abused for more than 10 years by her husband before being granted a divorce three months ago.GAZA CITY Tuesday, March 16, 2010 (IRIN) - Nahla*, aged 30, from Bureij refugee camp in central Gaza, said she was physically and mentally abused for more than 10 years by her husband before being granted a divorce three months ago.

Fear and cultural factors prevented her from seeking help from women’s organizations.

“I never tried to go to the police to complain about my husband's criminal acts, because he threatened to kill me if I did,” Nahla told IRIN. “And I never went to complain to any women’s rights organizations because I didn’t think they would be able to solve my problem - and I was also scared that my husband would find out.”

Rights activists blame the economy, Hamas-Fatah tensions and the conflict with Israel for the rising number of cases of violence against women. Disinterest in domestic abuse by the judicial authorities and the apparent impunity of violators have made matters worse, they say.

A March 2010 report by the Geneva Centre for the Democratic Control of Armed Forces (DCAF) explores women’s perceptions of the organizations or legal bodies designed to protect them, based on focus group discussions and interviews with women and girls in the West Bank and Gaza between June and November 2009.

Social stigma

“Women and girls revealed that their feelings of insecurity are related to the ongoing conflict, society’s tacit acceptance of violence against women, their own lack of awareness of service providers, and their distrust of the available services,” the report said.

“Women and girls explained that they were reluctant to resort to women’s organizations, human rights organizations, or security and justice providers, such as the police and courts, because of the strong social stigma attached to reporting abuse.”

The report said women recommended more awareness-raising events and education campaigns for all segments of society about women’s rights and the institutions in place to uphold them. They also felt better training was needed for members of the social services, women’s and human rights organizations and hospital staff and police - in addition to increased female representation in these organizations and political life in general.

AWRAD survey

A 2008 survey of 2,400 Palestinians by Ramallah-based independent research centre Arab World for Research & Development (AWRAD) found that 74 percent of Palestinians did not know of a women’s or human rights organization working in the field of women’s rights; and 77 percent of respondents believed that laws needed to be enacted to protect women from domestic violence.

Nahla’s brothers called the police to report the fact that she was being beaten regularly and kept locked in her home without access to a telephone to make contact with her family. The police arrested her husband, kept him in custody for five hours and then released him, she said.

The police then took Nahla to her mother’s house, where she stayed until she was granted a divorce by a local court, which ordered that her five children remain with their father. Against his will, the court has given her the right to visit her children one day a week.

“My heart is torn apart because I live away from my kids, but my life with him was hell,” Nahla said. “I could never go back.”

Gaza study

In December 2009, a report by the Gaza-based Palestinian Women’s Information and Media Center (PWIC) noted an upsurge in violence against women since Israel imposed an economic blockade on the Gaza Strip in June 2007, after Hamas became the de facto authority there.

The study - based on 24 workshops and interviews with 350 other women in the last quarter of 2009 - found that 77 percent of women in Gaza had experienced violence of various sorts, 53 percent had experienced physical violence and 15 percent sexual abuse.

"The levels of violence against women in the Gaza Strip are higher than they were in previous years, and compared to other countries the rates are certainly higher," Huda Hamouda, director of PWIC, said. “Women are exposed to hardships in every sphere, be it financial, social, political or lack of security.”

She said widespread unemployment was one of the biggest contributors to household stress, and in turn male violence towards females.

"It's hard to imagine a family living in dignity when they live on less than three dollars a day. Many say they don’t feel respected and suffer depression. Poverty affects education and public participation. It limits their social standing,” she said.

Meanwhile, the Commission on the Status of Women, a commission of the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), on 12 March approved a text on the status of and assistance to Palestinian women, to be sent to ECOSOC for adoption.

The draft resolution expresses concern about the “grave situation of Palestinian women in the occupied Palestinian territory, including East Jerusalem, resulting from the severe impact of the ongoing illegal Israeli occupation and all of its manifestations”.

(*not her real name)

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88446GAZA CITY Wednesday, March 10, 2010 (IRIN) - A half-finished two-story building in central Gaza City is one of the few places providing support to amputees, most of them civilian victims of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, as they try and come to terms with their injuries. GAZA CITY Wednesday, March 10, 2010 (IRIN) - A half-finished two-story building in central Gaza City is one of the few places providing support to amputees, most of them civilian victims of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, as they try and come to terms with their injuries.

Ten patients were waiting to see Dr Hazem al-Shawwa, the director of the Artificial Limb and Polio Centre, when IRIN visited. Mostly young, they had been caught in the violence of Israel’s 23-day assault on Gaza at the end of 2008 and beginning of 2009, and were still learning to use their new prosthetic limbs.

“We have 250 new amputees following the Israeli war to add to the 5,000 cases we had before the war,” said al-Shawwa. “Some of the injured from the Gaza war are still having problems with their amputated limbs as they were not treated properly at the time due to the hectic situation; initial treatments focused on saving lives.”

A new upper floor extension to the centre is under construction, reflecting the demand for its services, but a lack of funds has delayed work.

In the centre’s ground-floor training room, 15-year-old Jamila al-Habbash took a firm grip on the parallel bars and shuffled forward. She lost both her legs in a missile strike by an unmanned Israeli drone as she played on the roof of her home in eastern Gaza city: her sister and cousin were killed in the blast.

Mohamed Ziada, one of five specialists at the centre, said Jamila was making good progress since her artificial legs were fitted in December, and may soon not need her crutches. He pointed out that treating teenagers was expensive as they quickly outgrow their prosthetics and need numerous re-fittings.

“Worse than a nightmare”

Fifteen-year-old Ghassan Mattar also lost his legs when an Israeli missile hit his home in eastern Gaza City on 5 January 2009, an incident documented by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR). “I still can’t believe I’ve lost my legs. It’s worse than a nightmare,” he told IRIN.

The only rehabilitation hospital with the capacity to treat amputee patients effectively is the al-Wafaa Rehabilitation Centre in northern Gaza. Ghassan should have been sent there directly but the hospital was hit by artillery fire during Israel’s Gaza incursion, and its wards were evacuated, according to PCHR.

Ghassan was able to leave Gaza for Egypt and received six months of treatment at the Palestine Hospital in Cairo. However, back in Gaza he found his artificial legs were giving him problems as they did not fit properly so he visited the artificial limb centre and got a better fitting pair.

A below-the-knee prosthetic costs about US$800 at the centre. An above-the-knee limb is twice as much, and an arm costs $1,200. Although seemingly expensive, Ziada told IRIN it was a fraction of the cost charged in other countries.

Imports interrupted

The problem facing the centre is that a blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel since June 2007 has interrupted imports of both prosthetic limbs - mainly from Germany - and the raw materials with which to make them.

“We use hundreds of different parts, plastics and materials to make prosthetic arms and legs. Without even just one of the materials, the limb cannot be made,” said Ziada.

It takes about 30 hours to manufacture a limb when all the parts are available. “The Red Cross helps the centre to mediate between us and the Israelis to let materials cross, which takes about three months,” Ziada added.

Prosthetics specialists from other countries who had tried to come and train Gazan doctors had been denied entry into Gaza, according to Ziada. “We need at least another five specialists because of the large number of amputees from the Gaza war.”

The centre is assisted by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and NGOs Handicap International and Islamic Relief.

Israel says the aim of its 27 December 2008-18 January 2009 incursion was to destroy the military infrastructure of Hamas, the ruling party in Gaza, and to prevent the firing of rockets into Israel. According to the PCHR, 5,303 Palestinians were injured in the conflict.

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88378NAIROBI Friday, March 05, 2010 (IRIN) - Here are the most popular new articles on the IRIN website over the last 24 hours. Updated hourly. This feature was launched on 18 July, but will display the latest, most popular items of today.NAIROBI Friday, March 05, 2010 (IRIN) - ---http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=73277GAZA CITY Tuesday, March 02, 2010 (IRIN) - More than 4,036 houses in the Gaza Strip were totally destroyed or beyond repair in the aftermath of Israel’s 23-day conflict with Hamas from 27 December 2008 to 17 January 2009, according to an April 2009 UNRWA and UN Development Programme assessment. GAZA CITY Tuesday, March 02, 2010 (IRIN) - More than 4,036 houses in the Gaza Strip were totally destroyed or beyond repair in the aftermath of Israel’s 23-day conflict with Hamas from 27 December 2008 to 17 January 2009, according to an April 2009 UNRWA and UN Development Programme assessment.

Rebuilding these homes has been almost impossible because Israel has not allowed cement and building materials into Gaza since June 2007, saying they could be seized by Hamas for military purposes.

The UN has repeatedly called for the lifting of the blockade on humanitarian grounds. 

See Gaza mud brick houses slideshow: http://www.irinnews.org/photogallery/Gaza_mud_brick_houses_Mar2010/index.html

International donors pledged US$4.5 billion in aid for the Palestinian Authority, much of it specifically for Gaza, at a conference in Egypt in March 2009, but little has reached the Strip because of the continuing blockade and bitter divisions between political parties Hamas and Fatah.

Those made homeless in last year’s war have squeezed in with relatives, rented apartments or made do in their damaged homes, aid workers said.

A new project by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) aims to build around 120 mud brick houses for dozens of homeless families in the next few months. Each house costs about US$10,000 and takes three months to build.

While the houses offer better conditions than tents and can stand for 100 years, they are not meant as a long-term solution, UNRWA said.

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88284GAZA CITY Wednesday, February 24, 2010 (IRIN) - Sami al-Qouqa, a 30-year-old former fisherman from al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, lost his left hand when his fishing boat came under fire from an Israeli gunboat on 12 March 2007, in an incident documented by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights. GAZA CITY Wednesday, February 24, 2010 (IRIN) - Sami al-Qouqa, a 30-year-old former fisherman from al-Shati refugee camp in northern Gaza, lost his left hand when his fishing boat came under fire from an Israeli gunboat on 12 March 2007, in an incident documented by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

“I was on my small fishing boat in Palestinian fishing waters when two Israeli warships approached me. The Israeli navy shouted at me: ‘Go back or we’ll kill you!’ Initially, I refused, so they began shooting at me. One of the gunboat’s shells hit me and seriously wounded my left forearm and hand,” al-Quoqa told IRIN.

He was taken to al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City where doctors amputated his hand. He has since been unemployed and depends on the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) for food aid for his wife and two sons.

Gaza fishermen say ever-tightening restrictions on where they can fish, frequent attacks by Israeli gunboats and an economic blockade in place since 2007 are putting more and more of them out of business.

“Now, Israelis shoot all the time and without reason. The Israeli navy keeps confiscating fishing equipment and ripping up fishermen’s nets. We want a solution but we don’t know how or what or when. How long can this go on?” Muhamed Subuh al-Hissi, a member of the Palestinian fishermen’s trade union in Gaza, told IRIN.

He said that before the 23-day Israel-Hamas war in Gaza around the beginning of 2009 Israeli gunboats only opened fire on fishermen who strayed beyond the three-mile buffer zone, but now boats were shot at well within the zone.

Under the Oslo Accords, a peace agreement between the Palestinian Liberation Organization and Israel signed in 1993, fishermen in Gaza were legally allowed to venture out 20 nautical miles. However, since the start of the second `intifada’ in 2000, the Israeli navy imposed a three-mile fishing limit, and has enforced it rigourously since last year’s war, saying it was necessary to stop weapons being smuggled into Gaza.

Israeli view

“The Israeli marines shoot at Palestinian boats which are suspected of smuggling arms into Gaza, posing a threat to the security of Israel," Avikhay Adrii, an Israeli army spokesman, told IRIN. “Some groups use Palestinian fishing boats for terror purposes and the Israeli navy must protect Israel’s shores.”

In early February Israeli Navy Commander Maj-Gen Eliezer Marom told reporters that Palestinian “terror organizations” were “making cynical use of Gaza’s fishermen for terror purposes” after the discovery on an Israeli beach of a third explosive device disguised as a barrel. He said any collaboration with the Palestinian militant groups who claimed responsibility for the launching of the barrels would harm fishermen’s livelihoods.

“Regular security ships guard the area, and allow Gaza’s fishermen to fish peacefully. I call on them not to cooperate with terror organizations and not to allow them to use these fishing boats for these purposes,” he said.

According to the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), from 20 January to 2 December 2009, there were 36 Israeli naval attacks on Gaza fishermen while enforcing their buffer zone.

Local witnesses said the latest incident was on 22 February, when Israeli gunboats fired on fishermen off the coast of Gaza, forcing them to return to shore. An Israeli military spokeswoman denied the shooting occurred.

Dwindling catches, hopes

According to Gaza-based Palestinian think-tank PAL-Think,10 years ago there used to be about 6,000 fishermen in Gaza catching 3,000 tons of fish a year; now there are around 3,600 making such small catches that some have turned to opening fish farms on land.

The Israeli blockade also prevents the export of fish out of Gaza, further hitting the livelihoods of fishermen.

“As a result of the Israeli-imposed restrictions on the Gaza Strip, Palestinian fishermen cannot reach many points and cannot catch many fish… All the boats fish in the same areas, and there are no fish as a result in Gaza,” Hamas agriculture minister Mohamed Ramadan Agha told IRIN.

He called on international organizations to take serious action to protect the livelihoods of Palestinian fishermen.

Meanwhile, former fisherman al-Qouqa is despondent: “I’m really living a miserable life because fishing is impossible with only one hand. I come to the port just to see and talk with my fishermen friends. I can’t stay at home all the time.”

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88222GAZA Monday, February 08, 2010 (IRIN) - Hassan al-Err, aged 67, and his seven-member family are moving into a mud house built by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, because other building materials are not available.GAZA Monday, February 08, 2010 (IRIN) - Hassan al-Err, aged 67, and his seven-member family are moving into a mud house built by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) in the Gaza Strip, because other building materials are not available.

The two-bedroom house in the Ezbet Abed Rabbo neighbourhood of Jabaliya town, north of Gaza City, is an improvement on the tent in which they had been living - next to the rubble of their former home.

Rebuilding homes damaged in last year’s 23-day war, has been almost impossible because Israel does not allow construction materials such as cement and steel into the Strip, saying they could be used for military purposes.

“I can’t forget how hard the past year has been for me and my family living in a tent in the cold winter and the hot summer,” al-Err told IRIN. “Of course a mud house is much better than a tent, although it’s not a real solution because I can’t build another flat on top of it for my two married sons who live in a rented house in Jabaliya town.”

Al-Err’s previous home in al-Salam neighbourhood, eastern Jabaliya, was one of 4,036 houses in Gaza which were totally destroyed or beyond repair, according to an April 2009 UNRWA and UN Development Programme assessment.

“The UN hopes to build around 120 mud brick houses for dozens of homeless families in the next few months in the Strip. Each house costs about US$10,000 and takes three months to build,” said Adnan Abu Hasna’a, an UNRWA spokesman.

While these houses were not a long-term solution for homeless families, he said, they offered better conditions than tents or partially destroyed buildings. They also provided employment for people UNRWA is training to make mud bricks and homes.

A dash of cement

Cement makes up 3 percent of each mud brick, to ensure enough strength, while keeping costs down, officials working on the project said.

International donors pledged US$4.5 billion in aid for the Palestinian Authority, much of it specifically for Gaza, at a conference in Egypt in March 2009, but little has made its way to the Strip because of the continuing blockade and bitter Palestinian divisions between political parties Hamas and Fatah.

“People in Gaza are determined to overcome all hardships and to challenge the Israeli siege imposed on the Strip,” Yousef al-Mansi, Hamas housing minister, said.

sk/ed/cbhttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88032GAZA Friday, February 05, 2010 (IRIN) - Nearly half a million children in Gaza returned to overcrowded and dilapidated schools on 1 February, many attending in a shift system, with missing textbooks, stationery or uniforms.GAZA Friday, February 05, 2010 (IRIN) - Nearly half a million children in Gaza returned to overcrowded and dilapidated schools on 1 February, many attending in a shift system, with missing textbooks, stationery or uniforms.

“I don’t have a school uniform because my Dad doesn’t have a job and said he doesn’t have enough money to buy me one,” said Mohammed al-Khouli, a nine-year-old at the government-run al-Mu'tasem primary school in Gaza City. “I have to borrow pens and pencils from other kids in my class because I don’t have any.”

Israel’s 23-day military offensive on Gaza which ended on 18 January 2009 had “devastating consequences for the education system”, according to a report [http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/un_ngo_fact_sheet_blockade_figures_2009_07_28_english.pdf] by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Some 440,000 students attend 640 schools in Gaza; 383 are government schools, 221 are run by the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) and 36 are private schools, according to the ministry of education and UNRWA.

The OCHA report said at least 280 schools were damaged in the conflict, including 18 that were completely destroyed.

No rebuilding

The education ministry said none have been rebuilt or repaired because of the Israeli ban on the entry into Gaza of construction materials, which Israel says could be used for military purposes.

The ministry reckons it needs some 25,000 tons of iron bars and 40,000 tons of cement to build 105 new schools to cater for the annual rise in the number of schoolchildren.

“The war had and continues to have a severely negative impact on the entire education system,” Yousef Ibrahim, deputy education minister in Gaza, told IRIN, adding that about 15,000 children from damaged schools had been transferred to other schools for second shifts, thus “significantly shortening class time”.

Ibrahim said many damaged schools in use lacked functioning toilets, water and electricity; classrooms were overcrowded and there were shortages of basic items such as desks, doors, chairs and ink. He said half all students in government schools lacked at least one textbook for coursework this term.

UNRWA began distributing textbooks to all its students on 4 February, according to Khalil al-Halabi, UNRWA’s education chief in Gaza. But he said rising unemployment and poverty were leading to more hungry students in classrooms.

According to the education ministry, 164 students and 12 teachers in its schools were killed in the conflict. UNRWA said 86 children and three teachers were killed in its schools.

“Schoolchildren, thousands of whom lost family members and/or their homes, are still suffering from trauma and anxiety [http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=87954] and are in need of psycho-social support and recreational play activities,” said the OCHA report.

Khalid Salim 43, a science teacher at Abu Ja’far al-Mansour preparatory school in north Gaza said it was a struggle to teach children.

“Most of them don’t understand the lessons; they don’t concentrate at all... They forget everything explained in the class. When I give them exams, 80 percent fail. Before the war, just 3 percent failed,” he said. “When they hear Israeli jet planes, the children scream and cry loudly out of fear.”

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=88005AMMAN Thursday, February 04, 2010 (IRIN) - Governments in the Middle East must put aside political differences, rethink water management and revise strategy and policy in using water otherwise the region will face a dire future, scientists have warned at an international conference in Jordan.AMMAN Thursday, February 04, 2010 (IRIN) - Governments in the Middle East must put aside political differences, rethink water management and revise strategy and policy in using water otherwise the region will face a dire future, scientists have warned at an international conference in Jordan.

The 1-4 February Amman conference is entitled Food Security and Climate Change in Dry Areas.

Scientists said the region can no longer afford to waste water, with global warming expected to exacerbate an already existing problem.

“We are still practicing water management in the same way when the water was not scarce and that is the point. Now it is time to revise all water management concepts in the region, because water scarcity [has] reached the point of being chronic,” said Theib Y. Oweis, director of the water and land management programme at the International Center for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA).

“We cannot afford to use water as we use it now. Unless we start revising everything, we will come to a point where we will not have water to use for agriculture,” Oweis told IRIN on the sidelines of the conference.

Dozens of experts from around 30 countries are taking part in the conference organized by Jordan’s Ministry of Agriculture, the National Centre for Agricultural Research and Extension, ICARDA and other partners.

Oweis said water policies in the region do not give water the value it deserves, thus putting at risk strategic reserves for future generations.

“Even now water is more valuable than oil; water is life but oil is not. With water getting scarcer people will feel the value. One of the problems is that policies of regional countries do not value water,” he said.

Water pricing

Eddie Bethel, head of ICARDA’s Geographic Information Systems (GIS) unit, said: “The predictions for the near future are dire for the entire Mediterranean region. There is a significant increase in temperature and a decrease in precipitation. For the medium future we can expect serious difficulty in the availability of water in improving agriculture in the region”.

According to a report entitled The Regional Impacts of Climate Change: An Assessment of Vulnerability, by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), water shortages, already a problem in many countries of Arid Western Asia (including the Middle East), are unlikely to be reduced, and may be exacerbated, by climate change. Changes in cropping practices and improved irrigation could significantly boost the efficiency of water use in some countries.

Bethel called on regional countries to introduce some new tools to tackle the problem. “They will have to learn to save water. There is a lot of waste in this region,” he said.

“For example to put a price on water is one of the policy options that are difficult to discuss but most likely to become necessary. Pricing for water will encourage farmers to grow less water-demanding crops and put [in] irrigation systems that are more efficient,” Bethel said.

ICARDA’s Oweis called on individual countries to manage the little water they have in a more efficient way.

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87991GAZA Tuesday, February 02, 2010 (IRIN) - Mona al-Samouni, 12, is depressed and has nightmares about the day - just over a year ago - when she witnessed her parents and a number of relatives being shot by Israeli soldiers in their home in Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City.GAZA Tuesday, February 02, 2010 (IRIN) - Mona al-Samouni, 12, is depressed and has nightmares about the day - just over a year ago - when she witnessed her parents and a number of relatives being shot by Israeli soldiers in their home in Zeitoun, southeast of Gaza City.

Like a number of other children who witnessed horrific events during last year’s 23-day Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip, Mona has become increasingly withdrawn and silent - common ways of coping with tragedies, doctors say.

Statistics about Palestinians who lost their life during the military operation vary, but NGOs place the overall number of persons killed between 1,387 and 1,417. The Gaza authorities report 1,444 fatal casualties, whilst Israel provides a figure of 1,166, according to the UN Fact-Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, also known as the Goldstone Report.

The killing of Mona's family is one of the most notorious incidents of last year’s conflict in Gaza (see BBC slideshow) and was one of 11 incidents investigated by the UN Mission “in which Israeli forces launched direct attacks against civilians with lethal outcome” and in which “the facts indicate no justifiable military objective pursued by the attack”. It said Israeli forces “killed 23 members of the extended al-Samouni family” on that day.

“There is a significant deterioration in the psychological well-being of Palestinian children who are living in the Gaza Strip, especially after the recent war,” Ayesh Samour, director of the Psychiatric Hospital in Gaza, told IRIN.

According to a study by NGO Ard al-Insan in Gaza, 73 percent of Gaza children are still suffering from psychological and behavioural disorders, including psychological trauma, nightmares, involuntary urination, high blood pressure and diabetes.

Samour said children in Gaza were being denied a normal childhood because of the insecurity and instability in their environment. He said a culture of violence and death had pervaded their mentalities, making them angrier and more aggressive.

A dearth of health professionals in the Strip and a lack of access to medical equipment meant children were not getting the help they needed, Samour said.

Basem Naim, the Hamas minister of health in Gaza, said hospitals and primary care facilities damaged during the Gaza conflict have not been rebuilt due to the blockade of the territory under which Israel bans the entry of construction materials, saying they could be used for military purposes.

"Health professionals in Gaza have been cut off from the outside world," Naim said.

Hussain Ashour, director of al-Shifa Hospital, the main hospital in Gaza City, said they lacked medical equipment and paediatricians.

Project

Save the Children Sweden and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on 25 January launched the Family Centres Project in Gaza.

“The project will ensure that the right to survival and development of children at risk… is ensured through the establishment of 20 Family Centres in different communities of the Gaza Strip,” Patricia Hoyos, director of Save the Children in Gaza, told IRIN.

“Its main role is to serve a wide population and to provide quality child protection, educational, health and psychosocial services to all those in need of support,” she said.

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87954GAZA Thursday, January 28, 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of Gazans made homeless by Israel’s 23-day military assault on the Gaza Strip which ended just over a year ago, are still in tents and damaged buildings; cold weather and recent flash floods have exacerbated their plight, say aid workers and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).GAZA Thursday, January 28, 2010 (IRIN) - Thousands of Gazans made homeless by Israel’s 23-day military assault on the Gaza Strip which ended just over a year ago, are still in tents and damaged buildings; cold weather and recent flash floods have exacerbated their plight, say aid workers and the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA).

Heavy rain and flooding on 25 January badly hit tented communities in Beit Lahiya in northern Gaza; al-Mughraqa, a town 6km southwest of Gaza City; and Ezbet Abed-Rabbo, east of Jabalia town in northern Gaza, said Hamas officials.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) described conditions in al-Mughraqa as “shocking”. Most of the residents there have no land of their own and live in shelters or tents with their livestock, on which they depend for their livelihoods.

Residents said many of their animals were killed in the floods and people were surviving on food distributed by Hamas, the de facto ruling authority in Gaza since 2007.

In Beit Lahiya, rain brought misery to many local residents, according to Hamas officials.

"We don’t sleep at all when it rains like this in winter,” said Um Subhi Awaja, 33, who is pregnant and lives in a tent in Beit Lahiya with her husband and five children. “We stay up the whole night scooping water out and trying to dig a small ditch around the tent to prevent more water getting in, but it doesn’t help. My children are afraid and we don’t have enough blankets or clothes. It’s so cold we’re freezing.”

Um Subhi’s husband is unemployed, in debt, and has six children with a second wife who lives in another tent in Beit Lahiya.

"I’m not sure how we will cope… The children are always getting sick, coughing or getting a fever,” she said.

Rent relief

According to an April 2009 UNRWA and UN Development Programme assessment of the damaged caused by the Israeli assault and subsequent fighting, some 4,036 houses in Gaza were totally destroyed or beyond repair, and 11,514 partially destroyed.

Those made homeless have squeezed in with relatives, rented apartments or made do in their damaged homes, aid workers said.

Ahmed Harb al-Kurd, Hamas social affairs minister, said on 27 January that Hamas has offered to pay rent of up to US$3,000 a year to any Gazans who lost their homes during the war. He told IRIN that this would be until “the government finds a solution to reconstruct their houses once Israel lifts its barbaric siege, and construction materials, such as cement, are allowed to cross to Gaza”.

Israel has not allowed cement and building materials into Gaza since June 2007, shortly after Hamas took over in the Strip, because it says they could be seized by Hamas to fortify their military structures.

The UN has repeatedly called for the lifting of the blockade on humanitarian grounds.

“We have seen nothing” of the $4.4 billion pledged to the Palestinian Authority by more than 80 states and organizations at a donor conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, in March 2009, al-Kurd said. The money was meant for the Palestinian economy as a whole and Gaza in particular.

“Everything agreed at that conference was merely ink on paper,” he said.

"The humanitarian situation of Palestinians in Gaza is going to deteriorate if something doesn’t give,” Jamal Hamad, an UNRWA spokesman in Gaza, told IRIN on 27 January.

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87904TEL AVIV Wednesday, January 20, 2010 (IRIN) - Heavy rain and flooding has forced hundreds of people from their homes in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza authorities. About 115 homes were damaged and the sewage system was reported to be overflowing.TEL AVIV Wednesday, January 20, 2010 (IRIN) - Heavy rain and flooding has forced hundreds of people from their homes in Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip, according to the Gaza authorities.

About 115 homes were damaged and the sewage system was reported to be overflowing.

A witness in Gaza who works for a local NGO told IRIN that over 100 families had been made homeless, but warned the number might rise if the rain continued.

Some experts told IRIN Gaza’s poor infrastructure is unable to cope, and there was a risk that sewage mixed with floodwater could cause communicable and water-borne diseases.

The Israeli government has so far not commented on allegations that Israel opened dams in Gaza valley, exacerbating flooding in the Strip.

td/at/cbhttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87809JOHANNESBURG Tuesday, January 19, 2010 (IRIN) - The best search and rescue workers have stamina, a phenomenal sense of smell, and sharp hearing - they usually also have four legs. JOHANNESBURG Tuesday, January 19, 2010 (IRIN) - The best search and rescue workers have stamina, a phenomenal sense of smell, and sharp hearing - they usually also have four legs.

Highly trained dogs and their handlers can offer the best chance of survival to people buried in the rubble of an urban search and rescue (USR) site, where there are often no outward signs of life.

The dog

Intelligence and a remarkable nose make dogs ideal for the job, according to Ann Christensen, Canine Committee Chair at the US-based National Association for Search and Rescue. Most dogs have better vision than humans, particularly in the dark, and more acute hearing. But it is their sense of smell - said to be a thousand times more sensitive than that of people - that really sets them apart.

Popular breeds are German Shepherds, Border Collies and Golden or Labrador retrievers, with trainers looking for a specific combination of talents. "There are only a few dogs can do this type of work, that have the right stuff. The average family pet can't do this, no matter what training you give them," Christensen told IRIN.

Disaster sites are usually extremely dangerous and stressful, so "a disaster dog has to be confident, courageous and agile"; it must be able to focus while sniffing through the wreckage and ignore all other scents and noises, no matter how tempting.

The training

"It takes a minimum of around 18 months to two and a half years to train a ... team [consisting of a dog and handler]. Normally, if you have a dog that has the ability, the drive, the focus to carry out the job, it actually takes longer to train the handler," said Chris Pritchard, Coordinator for USR Dog Teams at the International Search and Rescue Team of the United Kingdom Fire and Rescue Service.

Handlers are an integral part of the dog's training and by the end of it, if the chemistry is right, they are partnered for the duration of the dog's working life - about 10 years.

"When a handler certifies with a dog, they certify as a team and they work together. You develop a very strong bond with the dog because you spend a lot of time training with the dog, travelling with the dog, going on missions with the dog – you spend almost more time with your dog than you do with your family," said Christensen.

According to Wolfgang Zörner, president of the International Rescue Dog Organisation, the global umbrella body that ensures members comply with the standards set by the UN International Search and Rescue Advisory Group (INSARAG), international teams must pass a mission readiness test to qualify for deployment.

"Once you pass, the certification is valid for three years, but the test is very hard - it goes on continuously day and night for two days, and not more than 40 percent pass," he commented.

The Equipment

Canine-handler teams need to be completely self-sufficient for up to 10 days after deployment. That means they arrive on site with tents, food, medical and veterinary equipment or water. The dogs need at least one litre per day - more in hotter climates - to maintain workable levels of hydration. Appropriate kennelling is also important to keep the dogs secure on site.

Besides their leash and collar, equipment can range from lifting harnesses and cooling jackets to dog boots. "You want to protect the dog so that it can do its job - they are as important as the rescuers," said the UK's Pritchard.

The deployment

The first 24 hours after a disaster has struck is the "golden day", Pritchard commented. "The ability of the individuals that may be trapped to survive starts to decrease dramatically after that."

Zörner noted that "every disaster is different, but the main objective is to be on site as soon as possible. In every catastrophe there are always some miracles, and some people survive longer, but normally a person cannot stay alive without water for more than four days."

His last mission was the Padang earthquake in Indonesia. "When the call comes in we can be ready to deploy with the dogs within eight hours," he said. Typically, a call will come through the INSARAG Virtual On Site Operations Coordination Centre (OSOCC) – an online information exchange and coordination tool for disaster managers and international response organisations.

The canine-handler teams become part of a larger group of USR specialists. Once medical checks are passed, teams are briefed, equipment is checked and palletised for transportation, and the team heads off, either on civilian or military aircraft.

The search

On arrival the teams report to the OSOCC, usually set up by INSARAG in cooperation with the local emergency management authority. "The problem on the spot is always transportation. To get from the airport to the [OSOCC] and then to the sites," said Zörner.

Given the limited time and resources, initial reconnaissance to identify priority areas is essential. "It is important that they [OSOCC] already know where it is useful to search with dogs; that they have conducted an initial assessment," he noted.

The dogs are one part of the "technical search element", the others are highly sensitive acoustic equipment that can pick up minute sounds, and tiny cameras that can be manoeuvred through tiny cracks or holes drilled in concrete.

"It's a big game of hide and seek - that's the only reason the dogs go out and find. If the dog locates a scent source it will demonstrate that by either scratching, or through a focused bark, and will continuously bark at that point where the scent is most strong," said Pritchard.

"But that does not necessarily mean that the person is buried right under them - the scent can travel a considerable distance. We then work the dog at different angles to see if the scent is coming out somewhere else." A second dog is often brought in to verify a find.

The dogs are used in more than one phase of the rescue operation. "Once rubble is removed from an area and dogs can get closer, that may open a scent channel and allow the dogs to pick up on the scent of a person that is trapped. We recommit dogs to the building as we remove large pieces of rubble," Prichard said.

The rescue

"They recognize a human scent picture made up of many different scents - like the clothing that people wear ... the food that they ate, the polish of their shoes, sweat glands." It is generally understood that they also home in on skin rafts – scented skin cells that drop off human beings at a rate of 40,000 a minute.

Once a find is confirmed, the dogs are removed so that the victim can safely be taken out. Because searching is essentially a game, a find is always rewarded – usually with a toy – to ensure the dogs remain motivated.

Zörner said a dog worked for 20 minutes, because "If it works too long the dog loses interest and the work is no longer secure – he can give an indication even when it is not absolutely sure," and then rested for the same amount of time.

"We search only for live people - that is the priority." When the search is called off - usually 10 days after the disaster began - the dog-handler teams are sent home.

Then, as the humanitarian phase of the relief operation intensifies, another specialist sniffer dog - the cadaver dog - is brought in to search for the dead.

tdm/oa/hehttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87790CAIRO Monday, December 28, 2009 (IRIN) - More than 1,000 people from 42 countries who have vowed to travel from Cairo to the Gaza Strip on 31 December in a bid to highlight and break the Israeli economic blockade, will be prevented from carrying out their mission, according to the Egyptian authorities. CAIRO Monday, December 28, 2009 (IRIN) - More than 1,000 people from 42 countries who have vowed to travel from Cairo to the Gaza Strip on 31 December in a bid to highlight and break the Israeli economic blockade, will be prevented from carrying out their mission, according to the Egyptian authorities.

The protesters hope to bring aid to the 1.5 million residents of Gaza a year after Israel’s 23-day offensive ended on 18 January 2009.

“It’s a shame on Egypt to prevent these people from entering Gaza, which has been suffering this Israeli blockade for a long time now,” Diaaeddin Gad, a spokesman for the activists, told IRIN.

On 27 December, the marchers were prevented by police from floating 1,400 candles on the River Nile to commemorate the deaths of 1,400 Palestinian victims of the offensive.

Margaret Hawthorn, 62, who flew in from Massachusetts in the USA to take part in the event, said she was stunned to discover she would not be allowed to show solidarity with the Gazan people. “It’s important that we come here to express support for the people of Gaza,” she told IRIN.

She was one of some 1,360 people - including doctors, lawyers, diplomats, rabbis, imams, a women’s delegation, a Jewish contingent, a veterans group and Palestinians born overseas - due to take part in the event on 31 December organized by Gaza Freedom March, a coalition of activists of all faiths focusing on human rights.

Police also prevented the activists from staging a protest outside Egypt’s Bar Association in central Cairo.

“This is so contradictory,” said Nikos Progonlis, a Greek man who came to Cairo with his wife for the march. “Egypt declares its support to the people of Gaza on the one hand, but asks us not to march for Gaza on the other. I really can’t understand that.” He said friends of his who wanted to come to Cairo via the Egyptian city of al-Arish had been arrested earlier in the day.

Other activists said many people had been denied Egyptian visas.

Steel barrier

Tensions between Gaza activists and the Egyptian authorities are already high because of a recent Egyptian decision to build an underground steel barrier along its part of the border with the Strip - designed to prevent the smuggling of arms and goods through underground tunnels between Gaza and Egypt.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abul Gheit defended the barrier, calling it a “national security issue”, and others have publicly condemned the Gaza activists.

“Some of these convoys contain radical people from several countries who can cause trouble if they are let in,” Sherif Hafez, an Egyptian political analyst and specialist on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, told IRIN. “These people want to spoil Egypt-Israeli relations.”

“Egypt is just taking its orders from Israel,” activists’ spokesman Gad said. “It would never have prevented us from entering Gaza and would never have built this barrier if Israel had not wanted that.”

A report in August 2009 by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) detailed the humanitarian effects of the blockade, which has been in place since 2007.

ae/ed/cb/oahttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87582TEL AVIV Wednesday, December 23, 2009 (IRIN) - The construction of a desalination plant intended to supply some 50 million cubic metres of water annually to Palestinians living in the West Bank has again been stalled.TEL AVIV Wednesday, December 23, 2009 (IRIN) - The construction of a desalination plant intended to supply some 50 million cubic metres of water annually to Palestinians living in the West Bank has again been stalled.

Sources at Israel's National Water Authority said building the plant near Hadera city, about 45km from Tel Aviv, might damage the coastal aquifer: “If a pipe breaks it will mean permanent damage to the aquifer,” Avraham Tene, a Water Authority official responsible for desalination issues, told reporters.

Israeli demands that an alternative site be found might delay construction for years, analysts say. Israel is not funding the project or involved in its construction but is responsible for allocating the land for it, according to the Israeli-Palestinian Joint Water Committee.

Desalination is a major plank in Israeli water policy: the country already operates two major plants and is constructing more.

td/ed/cbhttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87539HAWARA/TEL AVIV Tuesday, December 22, 2009 (IRIN) - Three hundred olive trees in Shaer's plot near the village of Jit in the West Bank's Nablus region are almost bare: There will be hardly any olives for his family this year, let alone any for saleHAWARA/TEL AVIV Tuesday, December 22, 2009 (IRIN) - Three hundred olive trees in Shaer's plot near the village of Jit in the West Bank's Nablus region are almost bare: There will be hardly any olives for his family this year, let alone any for sale.

"We will pray for rain and wait," he said. He reckoned this year's crop would be less than a quarter of last year's "and last year it was not good at all".

Ahmed, an olive farmer form the Qalqilayah region, about 30 minutes drive from Tel Aviv, said the meagre crop was not worth harvesting. "I can only hope for the future," he said.

Palestinian olive farmers have been hit by a third consecutive bad or poor harvest. Normally, in this region, you get a good crop one year followed by a smaller yield the next year, but the two-year cycle appears to have been broken - exacerbated by a dry winter in 2008-2009, according to some experts.

A 2008 report http://unispal.un.org/pdfs/olive_harvest_fs08.pdf on the olive harvest in the West Bank and Gaza by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said some 45 percent of agricultural land in the occupied Palestinian territory was planted with some 10 million olive trees - with the potential to produce 32,000-35,000 tons of olive oil.

About 93 percent of the harvest is used for olive oil, and up to 100,000 families depended on olives for their livelihoods to some extent, it said.

In 2006 an excellent crop produced some 36,000 tons of olive oil; 2007 was a bad crop year in line with the two-year cycle, and the 2008 crop yielded only 23,000 tons. According to experts at the Israeli olive board, the drought caused massive early flower shedding, thus dramatically reducing the yield in 2008 and 2009.

The head of the Palestinian olive oil council, Nabih Ath-Thib, said in October http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=236296 he expected the total 2009 olive harvest to yield about 5,000 tons of olive oil, far short of the 15,000 tons he said was needed to cover the needs of Palestinians.

Access restrictions

In certain areas the crop was further reduced because of lack of access to groves.

According to the Rabbis for Human Rights (RHR), an Israeli NGO, "despite claims by the Israeli Defense Force [IDF] to the contrary", restrictions of access to the fields, particularly along the "seam" between the security fence and the 1949 Armistice Line, known as the "Green Line", have increased. http://www.rhr.org.il/page.php?name=human_rights_in_the_occupied_territories&id=15&language=en

However, this year's harvest took place without major incident - an improvement on previous years: The IDF allocated hundreds of soldiers and border police to stop settlers from disrupting the harvest.

The Palestinian and Israeli authorities jointly coordinated Palestinian farmers' access to restricted areas around settlements and behind the West Bank barrier. The International Committee of the Red Cross monitored the harvest but never had to take action as in previous years, for example when gates leading to olive groves remained shut.

This change, according to IDF sources, followed several months of deliberate harassment and the burning of several hundred Palestinian olive trees by settlers in "retaliation" for IDF efforts to evacuate some minor settler outposts in the Samaria hills. In the groves of Jit, several trees have been burned or hacked down by settlers.

Nablus District Coordination Office (DCO) head Lt-Col Fares Attila conducted an extensive survey in 2008 of all Palestinian olive farmers to allow proper allocation of IDF forces during the 2009 harvest. Farmers were notified in advance when their orchards would be guarded to ensure their safety, according to DCO officials.

Rabbi Eric Asherman of RHR told IRIN he was pleased with the IDF initiative, adding, however, that the Palestinians were not given enough time to get the harvest in - only two days.

Testimonies to Israeli NGO B'Tselem and reports from RHR and OCHA indicate the IDF was better prepared this year to protect Palestinian farmers from settler violence during the olive harvest, but did not manage to prevent it completely.

td/at/cbhttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87520TEL AVIV Monday, December 07, 2009 (IRIN) - Nearly seven months after the first H1N1 influenza cases were registered in Israel and the West Bank, five cases of the disease were confirmed in the Gaza Strip on 6 December, according to the Palestinian health authority.TEL AVIV Monday, December 07, 2009 (IRIN) - Nearly seven months after the first H1N1 influenza cases were registered in Israel and the West Bank, five cases of the disease were confirmed in the Gaza Strip on 6 December, according to the Palestinian health authority.
 
"The illness has hit Gaza,  [but] we have a national plan to deal with it," Hassan Khalaf, deputy health minister in Gaza, told the media. Rumours of two deaths from H1N1 have not been confirmed.
 
An Israeli Health Ministry official who preferred anonymity told IRIN: “We suspect this infection follows the return of pilgrims from the `Haj’.”

Israel delivered some 5,000 H1N1 vaccinations to Gaza prior to 27 November, but some aid workers are concerned about the lack of vaccinations and what they called “fertile ground'” for an outbreak of H1N1, given the precarious hygiene and medical conditions in the enclave resulting from the 30-month Israeli blockade.

According to the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), the population of Gaza is about 1.4 million.
 
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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87349NAIROBI Thursday, November 26, 2009 (IRIN) - From the first goat sales about five years ago, creative NGO fundraisers have expanded a range of animal and farm-related "gifts" for sale online to benefit developing countries. NAIROBI Thursday, November 26, 2009 (IRIN) -  From the first goat sales about five years ago [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/magazine/4078527.stm], creative NGO fundraisers have expanded a range of animal and farm-related "gifts" for sale online to benefit developing countries.
 
The approach has its detractors and not all NGOs have joined the trend. IRC [www.theirc.org], which is promoting its gift catalogue this week, for example, offers no living creatures, sticking to school supplies and mosquito nets.
 
Important: Inclusion in the list below does not imply endorsement by IRIN, nor should exclusion be interpreted as significant. Buyer beware and always read the fine print. The NGOs may not literally spend the funds on the purchase of an individual animal.  
 
Nonetheless, as the Christmas fund-raising season picks up, IRIN has rounded up a few options just to give a whiff of the livestock-related fundraising available. If you have found more "funusual" (or outrageous) charity gift ideas, drop us a line at feedback and we'll make a list  [LINK].
 
Manure: (Oxfam Australia, from AUS$15) - [http://www.oxfamunwrapped.com.au/Product.php?productid=103] (promotional video here: http://www.oxfamamericaunwrapped.com/beep.html)
 
Sheep: (Save the Children, $30) [https://secure.savethechildren.org/01/web_cat_d_1_sheep]
 
Goat: (ADRA, $70) [https://secure2.convio.net/ccadra/site/SPageNavigator/giftcatalog10]
 
Pig: (World Vision Spain, EUR60) [http://worldvision.es/colaborar_regalos_pedido.php?action=add&id_regalo=4]
 
Alpaca: (Practical Action, £50) [http://www.practicalpresents.org/view_product.php?product_id=9]
 
Llama: (Project Concern, $100) [https://secure2.convio.net/pci/site/Ecommerce/692413658?VIEW_PRODUCT=true&product_id=1121&store_id=1141]
 
Cow: (Send a Cow, £125) [http://www.sendacowgifts.org.uk/mumstheword]
 
Camel: (£230, Muslim Hands) [http://www.muslimhands.org/en/gb/great_charity_gifts/select_gift/?gift=G1]
 
And finally:
 
Fermented cow's urine: (Farm Africa, £20) [http://www.farmafricapresents.org.uk/buy/item/9]
 
28 Farm Animals (2 sheep, 2 cows, 2 goats, 2 pigs and 20 chickens): ($2,000, World Vision) [http://donate.worldvision.org/OA_HTML/xxwv2ibeCCtpItmDspRte.jsp?section=10375&item=92]
 
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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87197TEL AVIV Thursday, November 26, 2009 (IRIN) - The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has announced that restrictions on the West Bank's population in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) will be eased during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha between 26 November and 2 December.TEL AVIV Thursday, November 26, 2009 (IRIN) - The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) has announced that restrictions on the West Bank's population in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt) will be eased during the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Adha between 26 November and 2 December.

According to the IDF, the following policies will be implemented for the period [http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Government/Communiques/2009/Restrictions_eased_West_Bank_Eid_al-Adha_festival_25-Nov-2009.htm]:

* Palestinians will be allowed to enter Israel to visit immediate family members;
* Israeli citizens will be able to enter the city of Tulkarem by car via checkpoint 407;
* Operating hours of the Awarta checkpoint, south of Nablus, will be extended to 10pm;
* A roadblock on the Jenin-Tulkarem road will be removed to enable faster passage between the two cities;
* A roadblock near the village of Dhahria will be removed, enabling quick transportation between the villages near the city of Hebron;
* More than 50 roadblocks throughout the Judea and Samaria region (West Bank) will be permanently removed;
* Married men aged 45 and over, and women aged 45 and over, will be allowed entry with special authorization into the Temple Mount for prayer, and men over 50 will be allowed entry without special authorization. Married women of age 30-45 will be allowed entry to the Temple Mount with special authorization.

In addition, the IDF said it would reduce its activity in the West Bank's central cities during the holiday and the operational hours of the Palestinian Police in the cities would be expanded.

According to the November update by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in the occupied Palestinian territory (oPt), between May and October, the Israeli authorities continued to implement measures that increased the freedom of movement of Palestinians between most Palestinian urban centres in the West Bank. However, during the same period, there was no significant improvement when it comes to access to land and use of space by Palestinians [http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/ocha_opt_movement_access_2009_november_english.pdf].

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87201DUBAI Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (IRIN) - More people have died from H1N1 influenza in Iran than in any of the 22 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region, according to WHO’s 14 November update.DUBAI Wednesday, November 18, 2009 (IRIN) - More people have died from H1N1 influenza in Iran than in any of the 22 countries in the World Health Organization (WHO) Eastern Mediterranean Region, according to WHO’s 14 November update.

With 33 deaths to date, Iran made up about 17 percent of the 188 total deaths in the region since May 2009. Saudi Arabia has had 28 deaths, Oman 25 and Syria 22.

Syria had by far the highest rate of deaths to cases with 9.5 percent of all cases being fatalities. This was followed by Yemen with a 2.5 percent rate, Afghanistan 1.7 percent and Iran 1.5 percent.

Kuwait had the highest number of cases with 6,640 (23 percent of all 28,751 cases in the region), followed by Saudi Arabia with 4,119; Oman 3,829; and Egypt 2,494.

Kuwait also had the highest number of cases per capita (populations taken from CIA Factbook) with 2.46 cases per 1,000 in the population, followed by Oman with 1.12 cases per 1,000 and Bahrain with 1.10 cases per 1,000.

Since WHO’s last regional H1N1 update on 7 November, Egypt has had the highest number of new cases, with 850, followed by Iraq with 561, Iran with 515 and Oman with 500.

Somalia reported its first two cases at the start of November.

As of 8 November, WHO reported that there were over 503,536 global cases of H1N1 with at least 6,260 deaths. However, it noted that because countries are “no longer required to test and report individual cases, the number of cases reported actually understates the real number of cases”.

WHO segments the world into six regions: Africa, the least affected region, had 2.9 percent of the global total of H1N1 cases; the Eastern Mediterranean Region 5.1 percent; Southeast Asia 8.8 percent; Europe 15.5 percent; the Western Pacific 29.8 percent and the Americas 37.9 percent.

BOX
Country Total laboratory-confirmed cases reported by the state parties Total deaths reported by the state parties
Afghanistan 779 14
Bahrain 793 6
Djibouti 9 0
Egypt 2,494 7
Iraq 1,835 9
Iran 2,153 33
Jordan 2,380 4
Kuwait 6,640 17
Lebanon 761 2
Libya 21 0
Morocco 824 0
Oman 3,829 25
Pakistan 6 1
Palestine 901 1
Qatar 23 1
Saudi Arabia 4,119 28
Somalia 2 0
Sudan 21 0
Syrian Arab Republic 230 22
Tunisia 141 0
United Arab Emirates 79 0
Yemen 711 18
Total 28,751 188

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87092TEL AVIV Sunday, November 15, 2009 (IRIN) - Israel’s Ministry of Defence has accepted agriculture minister Shalom Simchon’s request to transfer some 7,500 calves into Gaza for Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday on around 27 November this year and symbolised by the slaughtering of animals to distribute meat to the poor.TEL AVIV Sunday, November 15, 2009 (IRIN) - Israel’s Ministry of Defence has accepted agriculture minister Shalom Simchon’s request to transfer some 7,500 calves into Gaza for Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holiday on around 27 November this year and symbolised by the slaughtering of animals to distribute meat to the poor.

''This is a humanitarian gesture but it will also stop the smuggling of cattle into Gaza from Egypt which might be infected with diseases that will infect Israeli herds,” Simchon said.

Beef is considered a luxury by Israel's defence ministry and therefore is not allowed into Gaza on a regular basis under the sanctions Israel has imposed on the Strip. Israeli cattle farmers, who reared all the calves and stand to benefit financially from the transfer, lobbied the Israeli government to allow it.

NGO Gisha, a legal centre for freedom of movement, has filed a petition under the freedom of information act claiming that a lack of public oversight raises questions of impropriety in the transfer of goods to Gaza. The petition was filed after six months of attempts to obtain information relating to the entry of food and goods into Gaza.

td/edhttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87043DUBAI Friday, November 13, 2009 (IRIN) - An estimated 200 million children aged under five in the developing world suffer from stunted growth due to maternal and childhood undernutrition, according to a new UNICEF report. DUBAI Friday, November 13, 2009 (IRIN) - An estimated 200 million children aged under five in the developing world suffer from stunted growth due to maternal and childhood undernutrition, according to a new UNICEF report. http://www.unicef.org/publications/index_51656.html

“Stunting is associated with developmental problems and is often impossible to correct. A child who is stunted is likely to experience a lifetime of poor health and underachievement,” a UNICEF statement on 11 November said.

In the Middle East, the Occupied Palestinian Territories have a stunting prevalence of 10 percent, a surprisingly better result than other, far wealthier neighbours, which have the following scores:

Lebanon - 11
Jordan - 12
Oman - 13
UAE - 17
Saudi Arabia - 20
Kuwait - 24
Iraq - 26
Syria - 28
Egypt - 29
Yemen – 58

at/oa/cbhttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87018DUSHANBE Thursday, November 12, 2009 (IRIN) - Even as world food production grows, hunger is on the rise in many poor countries, according to the Global Crop Prospects and Food Situation report for November, published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 12 November.DUSHANBE Thursday, November 12, 2009 (IRIN) - Even as world food production grows, hunger is on the rise in many poor countries, according to the Global Crop Prospects and Food Situation report for November [http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/ak340e/ak340e00.htm], published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on 12 November.

The report highlights a contradiction: world cereal production is at its second-highest level ever, yet food prices remain very high. It identifies 77 countries that are both low-income and food deficit.

In East Africa, cereal prices range from 68 percent to 177 percent over the 2007 numbers. In southern Africa, prices are 58-200 percent higher than in 2007, and in most of Asia prices are up 40-70 percent. Since most low-income food deficit countries are food importers, they lose far more from high prices than they gain from steady crop production.

Hunger, in most cases, is caused by lack of money rather than a shortage of food production, according to the World Food Programme (WFP). [http://www.wfp.org/hunger/causes] In 2008 the number of undernourished people in the world increased by 40 million, despite record harvests. [http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/8836/icode/]

The new FAO report suggests that 2009 is likely to see a similar increase in hunger.

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=87006JOHANNESBURG Wednesday, November 11, 2009 (IRIN) - A move by donor countries to provide aid agencies with cash, allowing them the flexibility to source cheaper or more appropriate food in the region or beneficiary country and save on transport and warehousing costs, is not addressing nutritional needs, according to a new report.JOHANNESBURG Wednesday, November 11, 2009 (IRIN) - A move by donor countries to provide aid agencies with cash, allowing them the flexibility to source cheaper or more appropriate food in the region or beneficiary country and save on transport and warehousing costs, is also not addressing nutritional needs, according to a new report.

Food aid should include foodstuffs fortified with micronutrients and animal protein. "The emphasis is more on quantity rather than quality, and rarely does the food aid target the most vulnerable groups: children under five, pregnant women and lactating mothers," said Stéphane Doyon, of the international medical charity, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a co-author of the organization's report, Malnutrition: how much is being spent?

"Barely 1.7 percent of interventions reported as 'development food aid/food security' and 'emergency food aid' between 2004 and 2007 actually address nutrition needs," he said.

The MSF report was published ahead of a new UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) report, which points out that the level of child and maternal undernutrition "remains unacceptable" throughout the world; 90 percent of the developing world's chronically undernourished or stunted children live in Asia and Africa.

jk/he http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=86993TEL AVIV Sunday, November 08, 2009 (IRIN) - Israel’s Civil Administration announced on 5 November that it had transferred 5,000 pandemic H1N1 vaccinations to Gaza for Hajj pilgrims leaving to Saudi Arabia via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.TEL AVIV Sunday, November 08, 2009 (IRIN) - Israel’s Civil Administration announced on 5 November that it had transferred 5,000 pandemic H1N1 vaccinations to Gaza for Hajj pilgrims leaving to Saudi Arabia via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt.

''Swine flu is a worldwide problem, it does not stop at borders. An outbreak of swine flu will endanger the Palestinian population and also endanger the state of Israel,” said Colonel Moshe Levi, commander of the Gaza District Coordination Office. He added that the International Committee of the Red Cross had donated the vaccines and arranged for their transfer to Gaza.

Israel allowed 20,000 doses of the vaccine into Ramallah in the West Bank for the same purpose.

Israel has received 300,000 vaccinations for pandemic H1N1 so far and began mass vaccinations of Israelis in high-risk groups on 5 November. Some 35 Israelis and one Palestinian have died from H1N1.

td/edhttp://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=86930SOUTH MOUNT HEBRON/TEL AVIV Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (IRIN) - It's a hot September day in the desert hills of South Mount Hebron in the West Bank, an hour’s drive south of Jerusalem. A small convoy of four water tankers makes its way along an unpaved road to deliver water - purchased by a group of Israeli and Palestinian NGOs - to Bedouin Palestinians living in small communities in the hills.SOUTH MOUNT HEBRON/TEL AVIV Tuesday, October 27, 2009 (IRIN) - It's a hot September day in the desert hills of South Mount Hebron in the West Bank, an hour’s drive south of Jerusalem. A small convoy of four water tankers makes its way along an unpaved road to deliver water - purchased by a group of Israeli and Palestinian NGOs - to Bedouin Palestinians living in small communities in the hills.

Severe drought has left traditional water holes dry or depleted, and the absence of any water infrastructure means the local Bedouin/Palestinian villagers consume extremely small quantities of water - some 15 litres per person per day, according to activists, Bedouins and provisional Israeli government data, compared to 240-280 litres per person per day in Israel, according to the Israeli water authority in 2008.

Water from local Palestinian suppliers in the nearby Palestinian towns of Yata and Hebron can cost 50 NIS (US$13) per cubic metre. A herd of 100 sheep drinks up to 1.5 cubic metres a day, forcing villagers to pay thousands of NIS in the dry months to keep them alive. Sheep and goats are the life-blood of the Bedouin community.

Regular showers, laundry washing and running water in toilets are non-existent, local Bedouin told IRIN.

Yaacov Manor, a volunteer accompanying the water convoy on 26 September, told IRIN: "The villagers collect rainwater, but it is only enough for a short period of time. In recent years there has not been sufficient rain and they have been forced to buy water from local water vendors. By contrast, the [Israeli] Carmel settlement, which is in the area, receives water regularly, and even has gardens.”

The Israeli Civil Administration said in response: "In general, the Palestinian water authority is responsible for supplying water to Palestinian residents. Nonetheless, the Civil Administration has opened a water filling spot in the Carmel area, where water has been transferred from the [Carmel] community for Palestinian use for many months now."

Other Palestinians not faring much better

While the water situation for this particular Bedouin community is extremely tough, Palestinians elsewhere in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) do not fare much better.

According to a 27 October 2009 report [http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/027/2009/en/e9892ce4-7fba-469b-96b9-c1e1084c620c/mde150272009en.pdf] by Amnesty International (AI), Israelis consume more than four times as much water per capita as Palestinians.

AI accused Israel of depriving Palestinians of access to adequate water, saying that by maintaining total control over the shared water resources and pursuing discriminatory policies Israel is violating the rights of the Palestinian population to water.

“Israel allows the Palestinians access to only a fraction of the shared water resources which lie mostly in the occupied West Bank, while unlawful Israeli settlements receive virtually unlimited supplies,” Donatella Rovera, AI’s researcher on Israel and OPT, told IRIN.

While Palestinian daily water consumption barely reaches 70 litres a day per person, Israeli daily consumption is more than 300 litres per day - more than four times as much, according to AI. In some rural communities Palestinians survive on barely 20 litres per day, the minimum amount recommended for domestic use in emergency situations. Some 180,000-200,000 Palestinians living in rural communities have no access to running water and the Israeli army often prevents them from even collecting rainwater, AI said.

The Israel Water authority said the report “distorts the truth” and that Israel “holds up its end of the Oslo agreement regarding water sharing”.

Uzi Landau, Israel's minister of national infrastructure, called the report “a lie” and said it reflected Palestinian propaganda. “Despite Israel's severe water crisis, Israel transfers large quantities of water, greater than it is obliged to according to the [Oslo] agreement.”

The Palestinian water authority was not available for comment.

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http://www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?ReportId=86765