Ref: 113/2021

Date: 1 September 2021

Time: 10:40 GMT

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) follows up with deep concern the late disbursement of social affairs dues to thousands of the abject poor beneficiaries of the “Cash Transfer Program.” PCHR calls upon the Palestinian government to assume its responsibilities towards poor people and protect them by urgently disbursing social affairs dues to its beneficiaries, especially as they are rendered unable to meet their basic needs, including food, medicine, and school supplies.

According to information available to PCHR, the Palestinian Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) has only disbursed one payment under the “Cash Transfer Program” in 2021 for at least 115,000 poor families (80,000 in the Gaza Strip and 35,000 in the West Bank). Each family received a reduced amount of 750 ILS; MoSD relief payment previously ranged between 750 and 1,800 ILS depending on family size, economic, and social conditions. Several families who received the reduced amount, which was released after months of delays, stated that the money they received does not provide for their minimum basic needs. According to Dawoud al-Deek, MoSD Deputy Minister, the families who received the reduced amount will not be compensated due to the Palestinian government’s financial deficit.

Under the Cash Transfer Program, MoSD ought to release relief payments to the abject poor and persons with disabilities quarterly; however, the Ministry has only made one payment in 2021 and only 3 payments in 2020.

The stalled release of relief payments has had a negative impact on poor Palestinians in general, but was mostly hurtful to poor persons, daily workers, those with limited income, and persons with disabilities in the Gaza Strip, due to the deteriorating living conditions since the Israeli military offensive on Gaza in May 2021, the continuing Israeli closure policy imposed on Gaza for 15 years, Covid-19 restrictions, and the Palestinian internal decision.

All of the above played a major role in the raising percentage of unemployment and food insecurity in Gaza, as the unemployment rate is at 45%, i.e. 217,000 unemployed able-workers; meanwhile, the poverty rate is at 53% and 62.2% of the Gaza Strip population are considered to be food insecure according to UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

PCHR received dozens of appeals and complaints from citizens enrolled in the “Cash Transfer Program,” demanding the Palestinian government to intervene quickly to ensure the regular disbursement of their dues. Also, the Gaza Strip has witnessed several protests and sit-ins over the past few months demanding release of relief payments.

In light of its fear of deteriorating living conditions for the families enrolled in the “Social Affairs Program”, PCHR:

• Calls upon the Palestinian government to expedite the disbursement of relief aid immediately to allow beneficiaries to provide their families’ basic needs like food and medicine, and to allow them to purchase the necessary supplies for schools for their children
• Calls upon the Palestinian government to disburse the accrued dues to beneficiaries, including compensation of the reduced amount in the last allocation, and to release the due and delayed payments
• Calls upon the Palestinian government to fully adhere to fixed disbursement dates every three months as decided by the MoSD and known for all beneficiaries.
• Calls on the MoSD to increase the number of beneficiaries of the social affairs program and emergency aid in the Gaza Strip in order to ensure that citizens are protected and able to withstand the crises that the Gaza Strip has witnessed and caused an unprecedented spike in poverty and unemployment rates.
• Considers that the Palestinian government’s deficit should not burden the poor and demands urgent alternatives to aid them rather than to make them poorer.