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2023-05 Factsheet - Palestine

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Photo credit: NRC

Highlights

This Factsheet presents updated information on the shelter cluster’s activates, needs and responses provided by member organizations in the West Bank, Area C, East Jerusalem) and Gaza. The responses focus on several aspects including, but not limited to the activities presented in this Factsheet

 

NFI

Shelter

Need analysis

Shelter Cluster Factsheet 1st Quarter 2023

Gaza:

Due to the previous escalation, in August 2022, around 1,500 housing units were damaged or destroyed including 97 units severely damaged, and 26 units destroyed, leaving around 600 individuals still internally displaced. This is compounded by the remaining caseload of May 2021 escalation, where 62,000 housing units had been damaged or destroyed out of which 916 housing units were subjected to severe damages and 1,688 housing units destroyed and resulted in the displacement of  12,000 people of which 7,000 remain displaced in addition to 3,000 people still displaced from previous escalations.

According to MOPWH reports, 924 demolished housing units of 2021 escalation are lacking reconstruction funding as well as 12,300 units in need for repair of partial damages.

According to the MSNA, 37.3% of the households reported that their shelters had been damaged by bombardment during the escalation of hostilities in Gaza in May of 2021. While 54% of them have reported no existing damage at their shelters, 28.8% have reported that there shelters are still damaged due to the lack of own resources to repair or the assistance received was insufficient.

 

The MSNA 2022 assessment has found that 58.8% of the assessed households in Gaza Strip reported existing shelter damage, defects, or issues at their shelters, such as: Cracks in some walls in 42.7%, Opening or cracks in the roof at 30.3%, Broken or cracked windows in 17.3%, Lack of or bad condition of kitchen 12.7%, and Lack of or bad condition of bathroom 9.2%.

 

21,500 existing housing units across Gaza which are classified as substandard and do not meet the minimum requirements of living space, weather protection, hygiene facilities, and privacy, require different degrees of rehabilitation.

 

According to the MSNA, 8.9% of the assessed households are at risk of eviction due to Disputed ownership in 28.9% of the cases, lack of affordability of tenants to cover rental cost in 27.2%, and inadequate shelter conditions at 17.2% of respondents.

 

Additionally, the MSNA wash analysis revealed that 12.0% of Gaza households reported being affected by flooding in the 3 years prior to the MSNA data collection (of these households 41.2% reported their shelter being impacted by flooding and 87.1% reported floods disrupting their daily activities).

 

WB, H2, EJ

The MSNA found that Over 73,000 Palestinians of those in need of shelter assistance live in West Bank including Area C, East Jerusalem and the H2 area of Hebron city. The restrictive and discriminatory planning regime applied by Israel in Area C and East Jerusalem makes it virtually impossible for Palestinians to obtain building permits, impeding the development of adequate housing and infrastructure. Public (also called ‘state’) land is almost exclusively allocated to Israeli settlements or for military training, while most private Palestinian land is zoned as agricultural, where construction is severely restricted. The resulting housing deficit alongside the risk of demolition, is a significant ‘push-factor’ for residents of Area C and East Jerusalem to relocate elsewhere in the West Bank. Between January and September 2021,  a noticed surge with total of 240 residential structures were demolished or confiscated, rendering 960 people, half of them are children, homeless and in need of urgent shelter assistance. In Area C alone, there are over 12,500 demolition orders pending against Palestinian structures.

In East Jerusalem, the shortage in housing units and high rental costs push people to find other alternatives in the nearby communities such as Bethlehem , Aanta, Ram , Abu Dies in addition to those living in homes at risk of demolition, and some 218 families are at risk of eviction, primarily due to court cases filed mainly by Israeli settler organization like Shiekh Jarrah neighborhood. A recent assessment identified at least 37,300 individuals in Palestinian Bedouin and herding communities in Area C are living in basic shelters like tents, metal shacks and caves, as being substandard and in need of urgent rehabilitation and upgrading. Many communities in WB suffer from frequent settler attacks and are in  need of shelter protection measures (e.g external fences/gates, windows steel protection nets).

 

 

Response

 

Gaps / challenges