Key facts: Occupied Palestinian Territories
Last updated: January 2009
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- Population:
3.7 million (Gaza: 1.4 million; West Bank:
2.3 million) (Palestinian Central Bureau of
Statistics, 2007).
- Average life expectancy:
73 years (World Bank (WB), 2006).
- Average per capita income:
US$1,200 (International Monetary Fund (IMF),
2007). UK: US$33,800 (purchasing power
parity (PPP)) (World Development Indicators,
2007).
- Gross national income (GNI):
US$5.3 billion (IMF, 2007).
- Average annual growth rate:
0% (IMF, 2007).
- Percentage of people not meeting
daily food needs: 76% (in Gaza:
Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA)/World Food Programme, 2008:
before present crisis) – an increase from
34% (in West Bank and Gaza: OCHA, 2006).
- Women dying in childbirth:
N/A.
- Children dying before age 5:
22 per 1,000 live births (WB, 2006). UK: 6
per 1,000 (UN Statistics Division, 2005).
- Percentage of
children receiving primary school
education: 76% (Unesco, 2006).
- Percentage of people aged 15-49
living with HIV/AIDS: N/A
- Percentage of people with access to
safe, clean water: N/A
Data for the Occupied Palestinian Territories
is sometimes difficult to obtain and its quality
can be variable.
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Development in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
Improving access to Gaza for aid agencies, people, and commercial
goods is critical to the current humanitarian effort and to reviving
the Gazan economy. In the West Bank, too, removing restrictions on
movement and access is needed for the economy to grow and people to
live a life in dignity. The UK continues to be diplomatically active
on all these issues and is also supporting the Quartet
Representative to lobby for improved access across the OPTs.
DFID’s aid to the Palestinians is part of a wider international
objective to create a Palestinian state so that Palestinians can
live in peace alongside Israel. Our aid has been helping the
Palestinians prepare for statehood and the economy grow stronger so
that a future Palestinian state can be economically viable. We are
helping:
- The Palestinian Authority deliver public services like health and
education and be a credible and well-prepared partner in peace negotiations
with Israel.
- The Palestinian economy grow stronger by providing grants to
Palestinian companies to help them sell their products in new markets and be
more competitive. On 15 December 2008, the UK hosted a major conference
bringing together the Palestinian and British business communities to
discuss investment opportunities.
- The Palestinian security forces make the streets safer for
ordinary Palestinians.
Working with the Foreign Office we have also supported:
- The production of a Palestinian television programme to promote peaceful
resolution of differences
- A project that will monitor water pollution and reduce tension over
water-resources
- Awareness raising of human rights violations in Hebron
- A project that will highlight Israeli human rights abuses in Gaza and
use legal assistance, litigation, advocacy and media work to combat
restrictive measures taken against Gaza residents to travel and receive
goods
- Legal assistance to individual and institutions revealing and
challenging military policies that violate human rights in Gaza
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DFID in the Occupied Palestinian Territories
DFID has given over £450 million to the Palestinian people since the start of
the Oslo peace negotiations in 1993.
The UK pledged up to £243 million over three years at the Paris donor conference
in December 2007. With our recent pledges of nearly £47 million in response to
the conflict in Gaza, this brings our pledge to Palestinians to nearly £270
million over three years.
In 2008 DFID provided £76 million in essential services, financial services,
capacity building, humanitarian aid, security improvements and private sector
development.
DFID’s support has been playing a leading role in:
- Building the capacity of the Palestinian Authority (PA), through long
term technical assistance and much needed financial support
- Innovative support to the Palestinian private sector, encouraging
improvements in competitiveness and market access
- Security sector reform, with a focus on civil police and on coordinating
donor support
- Supporting Palestinian refugees and improving the performance of the UN
in its role as a provider of services to those refugees
- Ensuring that humanitarian support reaches those that need it most,
including those in Gaza.
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DFID is supporting the Palestinian people with both aid and through
reinforcement of the progress towards a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
Our agreement to provide £100 million to the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA)
over five years helps the 4.4 million Palestinian refugees in the OPTs and wider
region. 70% of the population of Gaza are refugees who directly benefit from
this assistance.
In 2008 we provided £50 million through the World Bank and the European
Commission to help pay teachers, doctors and engineers in both the West Bank and
Gaza, and keep basic services running while supporting reform of the Palestinian
Authority. We also provided £1 million to support the development of the
Palestinian civil police, and funded a UN Access Support Team that work to
improve the frequency and predictability of humanitarian supplies to Gaza.
Addressing the recent crisis in Gaza has become an urgent priority. Please
see the latest update on the UK
government's response.
Details of DFID’s funding for humanitarian needs and recovery efforts in
response to the 2009 Gaza Crisis are regularly Gaza Crisis are regularly
updated.
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