JERUSALEM, June 8, 2011 (WAFA) - The Israeli government must remove movement and access restrictions which impede the work of humanitarian and development agencies in all areas of the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and the Gaza Strip, Wednesday said a coalition of development agencies.

The Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), representing 84 international humanitarian and development agencies working in the Palestinian territory, said in a report “that civilian population must be allowed to enjoy basic rights guaranteed in international law, including the right to freedom of movement and choice of residence, the right to an adequate standard of living, adequate housing, and access to education and healthcare.”

It described the situation in the Palestinian Territory as “increasingly difficult humanitarian conditions … particularly in those areas most affected by restrictions on movement and access.”

It said that AIDA members’ staff “must have impartial, rapid and unimpeded access within and between all areas of operation in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and Gaza.”

“Israel maintains a complex system of restrictions on movement and access. In the West Bank, checkpoints, roadblocks, a permit system and the ‘Wall’ and its ‘seam zone’ inhibit the movement of Palestinians. In the Gaza Strip, a permit system is augmented by control over a ‘buffer zone’ or perimeter area between Gaza and Israel and a sea blockade, said the report titled “Restricting Aid: The challenges of delivering Assistance in the Occupied Palestinian Territory.”

According to AIDA report, “restrictions decrease the effectiveness and sustainability of aid operations of international organizations operating in the occupied Palestinian territory, deny the most vulnerable populations from needed assistance and significantly increase the costs of delivering assistance; compromising the quality of programming and reducing the long-term impact of humanitarian and development interventions.”

It said that “AIDA member organizations face severe restrictions on the movement of staff; denial of access permits, denial of project permits and denial of work visas for those operating in Gaza or in Area C of the West Bank, severely Hampering their ability to effectively deliver, manage and monitor projects, hire appropriate personnel, share best practices, and train staff or coordinate with other organizations.”

AIDA added that “restrictions cost agencies an estimated additional $4.5 million per year. International staffs are recruited for positions that require travel between the West Bank and Gaza even though these jobs could be filled by Palestinian national staff at less cost, if they had the ability to move freely. Extra staff positions have had to be created to compensate for the time required to apply for permits and visas needed to allow for movement of staff around the West Bank and Gaza.”

“Restrictions decrease the effectiveness and sustainability of aid operations where AIDA members are unable to bring materials necessary for their programming into the communities that need it most, particularly in Gaza; an overall reduced level of planned activities, a significant number of delayed or cancelled projects and projects that have been changed or redesigned because of the lack of materials of suitable quality,” it said.

“In the context of the prolonged occupation in the occupied Palestinian territory, the restrictions create an environment in which mainly short-term humanitarian projects or activities that do not require equipment or materials can be implemented,” it said.

“Most vulnerable populations are denied of vital services because of existing restrictions on humanitarian access or because donor policies do not target them due to the difficulties of project implementation forcing donor and aid agencies to target accessible geographic areas instead of the most vulnerable populations, such as in Area C of the West Bank, rural areas under full Israel control, in particular the ‘seam zone’ border area and the Jordan Valley.”

AIDA concluded that “restrictions cause a growing impoverishment of the communities themselves and due to their increasing isolation, their inability to address their own needs independent of humanitarian assistance.”

T.R./M.A.