Cross-Cultural Understanding

www.ccun.org

News, January 2008

 

Opinion Editorials

News

News Photos

 

 

 

Editorial Note: The following news reports are summaries from original sources. They may also include corrections of Arabic names and political terminology. Comments are in parentheses.

 

Need for Food Aid Rises Sharply in Gaza Strip Due to Israeli Closure of Border Crossings

Food insecurity continues to rise in Gaza 

Sunday January 13, 2008 02:06 by Saed BannouraVermonters for a Just Peace in Palestine/Israel - http://www.vtjp.org/ saed at imemc dot org

Geneva_(dpa) _ 

The number of people requiring food aid has risen sharply in the Gaza Strip since the closure of the main Karni border crossing point in June, according to figures published Friday by the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) in Geneva.

A study carried out last month by the WFP showed the number of people it was helping had risen 20 per cent to 302,000 from 252,000.

Combined with refugees receiving assistance through the UN agency UNRWA, it meant more than 1 million people, or almost three quarters of the population, were now dependant on food aid, WFP spokeswoman Christian Berthiaume said.

The UN has repeatedly urged the Israelis to reopen the Karni border post which they closed after Hamas seized power in Gaza.

WFP said 70 per cent of the population was surviving on less than 250 dollars a month.

Food prices have risen significantly with households now spending 60 per cent of their budgets on food, compared with 38 per cent before June.

The WFP has increased its appeal for funds from 107 million dollars to 141 million.

So far 45 million dollars had been donated, but without further offers soon, the agency would be forced to begin cutting back its operations from March. dpa hl wjh

Copyright (c) dpa Deutsche Presse-Agentur GmbH

 


Fair Use Notice

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

 

 

 

 

Opinions expressed in various sections are the sole responsibility of their authors and they may not represent ccun.org.

editor@ccun.org