Gaza and Westbank

Website of the SDC in Gaza and Westbank: www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/gazaandwestbank/

Palaestina Switzerland’s commitment to helping Palestinian refugees, mainly through the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East UNRWA, dates back to 1950. About 1.7 million of the 4.5 million refugees registered with UNRWA live in Gaza & the West Bank, accounting for approximately 40% of the population. In 1994, one year after the signature of the Oslo Accords, the SDC opened a Cooperation Office in Jerusalem so as to build up and implement a development programme (Palestine special programme). The vision behind SDC involvement is to create the foundations of a future Palestinian state in the OPT (Occupied Palestinian Territory), and it aims to improve the prospects for peace and living conditions in Gaza & the West Bank, as well as promoting institutions capable of long-term survival.

The Swiss Government's bilateral commitment	2010 Mio. CHF	2011 Mio. CHF	2012* Mio. CHF

SDC^a
Bilateral development cooperation	11.99	13.81	–
Humanitarian aid	7.43	7.33	13.00
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
Economic Cooperation and Development	–	–	–
Total SDC/SECO commitment	19.42	21.14	13.00

Other Federal Offices
FDFA Human Security Division and Directorate of International Law	1.55	1.23	–
Total other Federal Offices	1.55	1.23	–

Total	20.97	22.37	13.00

* planned; total based on available data
Bilateral development cooperation excluding programme contributions to NGOs
.. = figures not available | – = nil or amount < 5'000 CHF

^a Excluding multilateral contributions to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) of 6 mil. CHF in 2010 and of 6.9 mil. CHF in 2011.

Humanitarian Aid and Development Cooperation: Priorities

Following reorganization of the SDC, the direction and management of all its programmes (Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid) were concentrated in a single organizational unit. The SDC programme in the OPT will therefore be partially restructured in 2010.

On-the-spot and emergency assistance: Given the ceaseless growth of humanitarian needs, support will continue in the OPT for international organizations like the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the World Food Programme (WFP) and UNRWA, especially in the fields of emergency assistance and access to basic services.
Economy and income: Income-boosting measures for the civilian population and a long-term economic-development programme will be implemented. For instance, the SDC supports the Palestinian Farmers Union which works with cooperatives of olive-oil producing farmers.
Human rights and humanitarian law: The SDC also advocates the respect of human rights and humanitarian law, and works together with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the ICRC, the World Health Organization (WHO) and civil- society organizations. For example, it supports the Independent Commission for Human Rights which investigates violations of human rights in Gaza & the West Bank and observes public institutions in connection with human rights. In addition to financial resources, a Swiss Humanitarian Aid Unit (SHA) communication expert has also been put at OCHA’s disposal.
Mental health: Mental health will continue to be a priority and will focus on psycho-social advice and targeted support for families with children, especially as part of the Early Recovery process in the Gaza Strip.

Humanitarian crisis in Gaza

The final result of the 22 days of conflict between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip in late 2008/early 2009, revealed a death toll of more than 1400 with some 5000 wounded on the Palestinian side – the vast majority of them, civilians – and 13 dead plus 182 wounded on the Israeli side. Over 20,000 dwellings were destroyed or damaged, and public infrastructure was badly hit. The latest outbreak of violence has made the already disastrous situation for local inhabitants even more acute: food security is no longer guaranteed, health services are precarious and there is growing poverty. Although more than 80% of people require international assistance, access to the Gaza Strip is limited, even for humanitarian organizations.

Emergency and survival assistance: In January 2009, the SDC transported relief supplies worth one million CHF to Gaza and distributed them to the needy in cooperation with local partner organizations. In addition, a further three million CHF were made available to UNRWA. An SHA logistics expert has been seconded to the World Food Programme.
Start-over assistance: An Early Recovery programme is being implemented in conjunction with local partners with the aim of helping war victims to make a fresh start.
Recovery and rehabilitation: Measures under a recovery and rehabilitation programme are designed to facilitate the transition from humanitarian aid to economic recovery.

The SDC allocated an additional 6.5 million CHF for the crisis in Gaza.

SDC target groups in the OPT are:

the civil population in Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem suffering under Israeli occupation of the OPT and as a result of the war in the Gaza Strip, especially the 1.7 million Palestinian refugees registered with UNRWA.
citizens with no, or virtually no, access to rule-of-law institutions and/or who are campaigning for the respect of human rights and dignity.

Women and under-age children are particularly vulnerable in all these groups.

SDC partners in Development Cooperation and Humanitarian Aid are:

individual specialized ministries of the Palestinian Autonomy Authority
international organizations such as UNRWA, WFP, WHO, UN-OCHA and the ICRC
Palestinian non-governmental organizations or Palestinian foundations that play an active part in human rights, environmental protection or economic and social development;
the Palestinian private sector

Special attention is devoted to coordinating and harmonizing the work of the various players operating in the region.

Background information Gaza & Westbank

Facts and figures

	Surface area
	Population
	Annual population growth rate (since 1990)
	Life expectancy at birth women / men
	Adult illiteracy rate: women / men
	Gross National Income (GNI) per capita
	Percentage of population with less than 2 USD per day

6'220

2.7

75 / 72

8 / 3

km2

mill.

years

USD

.. = figures not available
Source: World Bank's World Development Indicators 2011

Background information provided by the BBC

Local SDC contact address:

Gaza and Westbank (Gaza & Westbank)
Swiss Cooperation Office Gaza & West Bank P.O. Box 31840 Jerusalem 91317 Gaza & Westbank
Phone	+97 22 58 24194
Fax	+97 22 58 23757
Email	gaza@sdc.net
Website	www.swiss-cooperation.admin.ch/gazaandwestbank/

Additional Information and Documents

Here, you will find more publications, links, documents and articles about Swiss development cooperation and humanitarian aid in this country.