Palestinian Territories

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The situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) has deteriorated severely since the second Intifada in 2000, with a sharp economic and social decline during 2006, after the governmental election of Hamas and the freezing of international assistance to the Palestinian Authority. The Israeli military actions, closures and arrests increased during 2006 and in 2007, adding to the difficulties faced by the Palestinian population. Mid June 2007 clashes between Hamas and Fatah resulted in a further closure of the Gaza Strip and a declining economic situation. These clashes showed up again in 2008. 

As the conflict in the Palestinian Territories escalates, so does the scale of human suffering. The Palestinian crisis gets worse with each passing year, with a never-ending cycle of hostility between Palestinians and Israelis. The different initiatives aimed at resolving the conflict, including the Road Map of April 2003, proposed by the Quartet (USA, Russia, EU and UN), the Geneva Accord and, more recently, the Mecca Agreement (February 2007), as well as the proposals put forward during the Riyadh Summit, have not produced the hoped-for results. Unilateralist action has also met with little success: the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has not provided a satisfactory solution to the area's political and humanitarian problems.

DISABILITY
According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics there are around 4 million Palestinian living in the OPT. According to general estimations by WHO, between 7-10% of a given population would have some kind of disability; in the Palestinian Territories, this implies that the figure would be around 280,000 – 400,000 people.

In the Palestinian context, discrimination against disabled people still exists. Although attitudes towards disabilities resulting from injury during the Intifada is less discriminatory (they are seen as heroes), but in general attitudes of prejudice and ignorance towards them are present. They face discrimination on daily basis on every level, in terms of opportunities of schooling, work and status within society.

There is also a fare number of “hidden disabilities”; people with multiple disabilities (for example a physical impairment combined with an intellectual impairment), disabled women and mothers of disabled children face more restrictions and they are deprived from their basic rights.

Restrictions in movements affect all Palestinians but hit especially hard the movement and access of people with limited mobility (wheelchair users, people walking with crutches) people with intellectual impairments and people with a visual disability (for example in crossing checkpoints). The countries hilly geography, especially in the West bank, and the lack of (accessible and public) transport increases the difficulties.

Some facts:

• The disability prospective in general in Palestine is still based on charitable and medical approach. The rights-based approach is in its early stages. There is a great imbalance between the muscle and influence of service providers on the one side and the limited power of Disabled People's Organisations and individual people with a disability. 
• Disability is repeatedly an excluded topic from the mainstream services, which has generates a discriminatory feeling for the disabled people
• Society in general, including decision-makers are impacted by a stereotype portrayal about disabled people, the media has, and still play a dominant role in constituting such issue, even each disability has a specific stereotypical image
• The disabled persons’ rights law #4 for the year 1999 is the main legislation on protecting and promoting the rights of disabled people. This law is similar to the previous Jordan law which was based on the charity. The Palestinian participation in the UN convention process was weak. Some advocacy initiatives were conducted in order to enforce the implementation of the law # 4 and there was a liaison committee to coordinate between the civil society and the governmental authority. The majority of this committee based in Gaza, currently is seems not active anymore.
• In general disability seems better accepted at a public level than in the labour market. In comparison to the neighbour countries, it seems that there are more disabled people working in universities, the legislative council and other departments. Maybe this is attributed to the high percentage of the disabilities caused by the Intifadas.
• The political events and the clashes between Fatah and Hamas have a strong impact on the disability field, restrictions on funds for the local NGOs/DPOs due to the economic blockage of Gaza, increased difficulties in coordination between the different branches of the unions/associations in and outside Gaza. Even for the international NGOs, it's quite difficult to conduct activities in the occupied territories.
  

BACKGROUND
In 1996, Handicap International started its mission in the Palestinian Territories by participating in the Palestine Priority Programme, funded by the French Foreign Ministry. Its goals were:

• support for the General Union for Disabled Palestinians (GUDP)
• assistance in the implementation of national policy for people with disabilities
• support for the Palestinian Social Affairs Ministry in the drawing up of a directory of care services for people with disabilities
• endowments in the form of equipment and documentation for the Union of Palestine’s Medical Rehabilitation Centre (UPMRC).

From 1998 to 1999, with the financial support of ECHO (Humanitarian Aid Office of the European Commission), Handicap International provided support (technical aids, equipment, training, etc.) to the five reference centres that provide services for disabled people (Bethlehem Arab Society, Abu Raya, Princess Basma, El Wafa and the Society for the Physically Disabled).

In 1999, Handicap International evaluated the wheelchair production workshops, in collaboration with the Development Resource Centre. We also carried out a study of the level of user satisfaction vis-a-vis care centres for the disabled, with the aid of the Development Study Programme and Birzeit University. The same year, we supported a mine risk education programme, with the help of Defence Children International.

In 2000 and 2001, Handicap International, in partnership with the Ministry of Health, renovated the women’s ward of the Bethlehem Psychiatric Hospital and trained the nurses in improving patient care.
In 2002, the association finalised the printing of the directory compiling all services existing in Palestine for people with disabilities. The Ministry of Social Affairs hosts the directory’s website.

From 2002 to 2005, Handicap International stepped up its efforts to help the disabled population in the Gaza Strip by supporting the El Wafa Rehabilitation Hospital's homecare programme.
For four years, medical personnel at El Wafa (physiotherapists, occupational therapists and nurses) visited the homes of injured people unable to travel to care centres.
Each of the various stages of this programme, supported by the Luxembourg Foreign Ministry and by ECHO, enabled Handicap International to provide equipment and functional rehabilitation
A partnership with Guidance and Training Centre (GTC), located in Bethlehem, has been launched in 2004, with the financial support of Chaîne du Bonheur (Swiss agency). GTC provided psychological assistance to Palestinian refugee children affected by the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Moreover, training actions has been implemented for physiotherapists and medical personnel in at least six rehabilitation centres.

CURRENT ACTIVITIES

• In the West bank: Reinforcing the capacities of local disability stakeholders in mainly Yatta area and surrounding hamlets, and few stakeholders in As Samou area, to better answer to the needs of persons with disabilities and their families.
• In Gaza: assisting people in need of ortho-posthetic devices through the production of these devices and the reinforcement of the technical capacities of the ortho-prosthetic technicians in the Artificial limbs Centre
• In Gaza: enhance the lifestyle of persons with disabilities in the southern Gaza Strip through supplying and adapting functional aids and making home and community buildings more accessible.
• In Gaza: Providing victims of June 2007 clashes access to services of rehabilitation and prosthetic services in Northern Governorate, and Rafah city. 

PARTNERS
Palestinian Red Crescent society, Society for Physically Handicapped People, Artificial Limb and Polio Centre, Stars of Hope, Health Workers Committee, Bethlehem University, Southern Society for Rehabilitation and Care of the Handicapped.

TEAM
The team in the Palestinian Territories is composed of nine employees (one expatriate & eight local staff).

CONTACTS
JERUSALEM:
# 4 Ground Floor, Khalid Ibn Al-Walid Street, Jerusalem
Tel: 00 972 2 62 61 691
Fax: 00 972 262 61 556
Contact: vgagnet@hi-me.org

HEBRON:
Tel/fax: 00 972 222 999 73

GAZA:
Tel/fax: 00 970 8 283 47 83