Report, UN News, 22 February 2007

22 February 2007 - Rising unemployment, poverty and "economic suffocation" in the occupied Palestinian territory are posing acute challenges to food security, leaving many families entirely dependent on outside aid as well as threatening vital sectors of the Palestinian economy, United Nations agencies warned today.

"The poorest families are now living a meagre existence totally reliant on assistance, with no electricity or heating and eating food prepared with water from bad sources. This is putting their long-term health at risk," UN World Food Programme territory Director Arnold Vercken said.

The report illustrates how restrictions on trade and movement last year led to the progressive fragmentation of the economy, dragging previously self-reliant sectors of society such as farmers, workers, fishermen, traders and small shop owners into poverty and debt.

The weakening economy is leading to a marked decline in living standards, with 84 per cent of Gazans and 60 per cent of West Bankers reducing their living expenditures by the end of 2006. Many people, who cannot afford to buy food, have been forced to sell off valuable livelihood assets such as land or tools.