Displaced West Bank Palestinians face growing hunger after UN cuts food aid

Tulkarem, occupied West Bank – Fawza Awad, a 75-year-old widow, couldn’t clasp backmost her tears arsenic she described the surviving conditions she has endured since being displaced from the Tulkarem exile campy successful January 2025 – a effect of an Israeli subject operation that targeted exile camps successful the bluish West Bank, forcibly displacing tens of thousands of Palestinians from their homes.

With small money, Fawza and her household recovered structure wherever they could: a small, unfinished location successful Tulkarem belonging to her daughter. She presently lives successful a information of the operation alongside her son, his wife, and their child.

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The household antecedently relied connected constricted fiscal and nutrient assistance provided by the World Food Programme (WFP), but has not received assistance successful the past 5 months.

The UN bureau officially announced a 50 percent reduction successful the fig of nutrient assistance recipients successful the occupied West Bank successful September, citing “critical backing constraints”, the effect of reduced backing from planetary funders. Food needs, conversely, person much than doubled since 2023, erstwhile Israel began its genocidal warfare connected Gaza, and accrued attacks connected Palestinians successful the West Bank.

The WFP noted astatine the clip that astir 900,000 radical successful the West Bank are presently suffering from nutrient insecurity.

In a connection fixed to Al Jazeera, the WFP confirmed that immoderate families had stopped receiving assistance earlier the authoritative announcement successful September.

Fawza and her household person been near to fend for themselves. There is no imaginable of returning to her aged location – she says that the Israeli service has wholly demolished the structure, replacing it with a wide roadworthy to facilitate the question of its subject vehicles.

She added that 1 of her sons has been detained by Israel since 2024, portion her different sons, who antecedently worked wrong Israel, are present each unemployed.

“I endure from asthma and precocious humor pressure, requiring monthly medicine that costs astatine slightest 200 shekels ($64), an disbursal nary 1 covers for me. We utilized to person humble nutrient assistance hardly capable for 2 oregon 3 people, but present that has stopped completely,” Fawza told Al Jazeera.

Rabab Qasim and her hubby Talib Abu Sarriya unrecorded with their 3 children successful a schoolhouse gathering successful Tulkarem aft being displaced past twelvemonth [Hatem Hamdan/Al Jazeera]

‘Not adjacent bread’

Not acold away, successful the al-Muwahhad School gathering successful the Thannabeh suburb of Tulkarem, much than 1,000 Palestinians displaced from the Tulkarem and Nur Shams exile camps are sheltering, having recovered obscurity other to spell and incapable to wage rent.

Among them are Rabab Qasim, 47, her hubby Talib Abu Sarriya, 72, and their 3 children. For the 2nd consecutive year, they person been surviving successful a small, 30-square-metre (320sq-foot) country connected the crushed level of the school, with nary root of income and wholly reliant connected aid.

For the past 3 months, the household has received nary assistance whatsoever pursuing the WFP nutrient assistance cut.

“I endure from a herniated disc successful my back, requiring monthly attraction that costs 300 shekels ($96) – an magnitude I cannot afford,” Rabab said. “I besides request carnal therapy, which I person ne'er been capable to entree due to the fact that I cannot wage for it. I slumber connected a worn-out mattress connected the floor; each I privation for is to beryllium capable to bargain a bed.”

Talib told Al Jazeera that the household are often incapable to find breadstuff oregon a meal, and often spell to slumber hungry. It’s a acold outcry from their erstwhile beingness successful the Tulkarem exile camp, wherever helium erstwhile owned a tiny rootlike stall. It was a humble livelihood, but 1 that gave them capable to get by.

Said al-Amour mislaid his limb successful an Israeli pogrom [Hatem Hamdan/Al Jazeera]

Alone successful the struggle

The WFP has blamed expanding Israeli pogroms and forced displacements successful the West Bank for devastating livelihoods, deepening hunger, and pushing families into adjacent much terrible crises. The latest quarterly nutrient information investigation conducted by the WFP indicates that 76 percent of Palestinian households successful the West Bank person experienced a important diminution successful income.

According to the analysis, 12 percent of the colonisation has mediocre nutrient consumption, and one-third of households cannot spend a steadfast fare owed to rapidly deteriorating economical conditions. Rural areas and the governorates successful the confederate occupied West Bank person been the hardest hit.

Said al-Amour, 61, a nonmigratory of Khirbet al-Rakeez successful Masafer Yatta, southbound of Hebron, told Al Jazeera that helium and his 14-person household haven’t received immoderate assistance from the WFP for the past 7 months.

In April 2025, portion confronting repeated attacks by settlers connected the village, Said says helium was changeable by a settler. The wounded resulted successful the amputation of his limb and a imperishable disability; helium continues to look periodic assaults and beatings whenever helium encounters the settlers – portion of the ongoing pogrom against Palestinians successful the West Bank.

“They are trying to bargain our land. I garbage to fto them instrumentality it, and I volition proceed to support it, but I americium paying a dense price. Now, they person chopped disconnected the assistance I utilized to person that helped my household stay steadfast here,” helium told Al Jazeera.

Due to the amputation of his leg, al-Amour requires monthly aesculapian attraction costing astatine slightest 1,200 shekels ($385), an disbursal that helium cannot afford. He has nary root of income different than a fewer olive trees, which settlers often effort to seize.

Collapse of livelihoods

In practice with its partners, the WFP inactive provides assistance to 200,000 Palestinians successful the West Bank done currency transfers, nutrient vouchers, nonstop nutrient supplies, livelihood programmes, and nutritional services.

However, the WFP told Al Jazeera that it simply does not person the resources to screen the needs of each the families successful the West Bank requiring assistance.

“The cessation of assistance does not connote that a beneficiary is ineligible; rather, it is simply a wide determination affecting each existent beneficiaries, careless of the result of their idiosyncratic assessment,” the WFP said. “It is imaginable that changes whitethorn occur, and assistance could beryllium reinstated for immoderate beneficiaries; successful specified cases, they would beryllium contacted and notified via substance message.”

Economist and quality rights activistic Ubai Aboudi told Al Jazeera that the West Bank is facing a humanitarian situation exacerbated by the nonaccomplishment of the WFP nutrient aid, arsenic good arsenic a fiscal situation affecting the Palestinian Authority (PA). Israel has wholly withheld the customs revenues it collects connected behalf of the PA since May 2025, leaving the authorization incapable to wage nationalist assemblage salaries.

Aboudi noted different factors, specified arsenic the tens of thousands of Palestinians antecedently employed successful Israel and amerciable settlements successful the West Bank who person been retired of enactment since October 2023, erstwhile Israel stopped giving them enactment permits.

He besides added that Israeli restrictions connected Palestinian and planetary NGOs, including the suspension of registration for 37 planetary organisations and the closure of immoderate section groups, person further constricted the quality to supply humanitarian assistance.

“Around fractional a cardinal Palestinian families request nutrient assistance, portion the existent request whitethorn beryllium greater,” Aboudi said. “With assistance declining from the World Food Programme and different sources, galore families are incapable to unafraid food.”