VZCZCXRO9717
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHJM #0459/01 0671337
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 081337Z MAR 07
FM AMCONSUL JERUSALEM
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6908
INFO RUEHXK/ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JERUSALEM 000459 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
NEA FOR FRONT OFFICE; NEA/IPA FOR 
WILLIAMS/SHAMPAINE/BELGRADE; PRM FOR PDAS GREENE AND 
PRM/ANE; NSC FOR ABRAMS/DORAN/WATERS; TREASURY FOR 
SZUBIN/LOEFFLER/NUGENT/HIRSON; BRUSSELS FOR LERNER; PLEASE 
PASS TO USAID FOR KUNDER/MCCLOUD/BORODIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM EAID ECON EAGR KWBG
SUBJECT: WFP/FAO REPORTS ON PALESTINIAN FOOD SECURITY 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Summary:  The latest WFP/FAO food security report 
states that one-third of Palestinian households are highly 
dependent on food assistance, as financial hardship greatly 
reduced Palestinian access to food in 2006.  Forty-six 
percent of Palestinians fell below the USD 2.20 per capita 
per day local poverty line, despite large-scale humanitarian 
assistance in 2006.  Food insecurity levels have remained 
relatively steady over the last five years, yet would have 
increased substantially in 2006 without the major increase in 
food aid, according to WFP.  The report cited poor 
harmonization between actual Palestinian needs and 
international assistance programs, as only 29.4 percent of 
food insecure Palestinians received food aid in 2006.  End 
summary. 
 
LESS THAN ONE-THIRD OF FOOD INSECURE 
RECEIVED ASSISTANCE 
------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The 2006 WFP/FAO Comprehensive Food Security and 
Vulnerability Analysis Report (CFSVA), released February 21, 
concluded that 54 percent of Palestinians are relatively food 
secure (defined as households with income and/or consumption 
above USD 2.20 per capita per day), while 46 percent as 
relatively insecure (income and/or consumption below USD 2.20 
per capita per day).  Of the poorest Palestinian households, 
those with income and consumption levels less than USD 1.60 
per capita per day, only 29.4 percent received international 
food aid in 2006. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) WFP representatives told Econoff March 6 that 
during the last five years, an estimated 35-37 percent of the 
WB/G population has been food insecure on average.  Jacques 
Higgins, WFP Deputy Country Director, said that without the 
increased food assistance in 2006, specifically the USD 80 
million jump in food aid in mid-2006, levels of food 
insecurity would have been significantly higher. 
 
MUST IMPORT STAPLES 
------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The report stated that local food production in the 
WB/G does not and will not provide sufficient staple food 
commodities and that the food supply will always rely on 
imports and commercial channels.  (Note:  The WB/G does not 
have a comparative advantage in cereals, and some donor 
projects are promoting small-scale agriculture production for 
local consumption, including two from USAID.  End note.) 
Palestinian areas that have rich agricultural potential, such 
as Qalqilya, Tulkarm, and the Jordan Valley, are affected by 
closures and are isolated from urban Palestinian markets. 
Israeli food products continue to fill the shelves in 
Palestinian markets. 
 
SOME INCREASE IN FOOD PRICES 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Food prices increased in the WB/G during 2006, 
despite drastic reductions of livelihoods.  According to the 
report, for the first time in the ten years of WFP/FAO food 
security mapping in the WB/G, food prices in Gaza exceeded 
those in the West Bank in May 2006.  (Note:  Gaza prices have 
traditionally been lower than those in the West Bank due to 
Gaza's higher rate of unemployment and generally weaker 
economic situation.  End note.)  The report stated that 
rising prices in Gaza were caused, in part, by higher 
transportation costs brought about by the Israeli closure 
regime.  Rising prices were also caused by the inflow of more 
expensive Israeli products into Palestinian markets.  The 
effect of the prevalence of food aid on food prices in the 
WB/G is not clear from the study - it seemed to be fairly 
insignificant, however. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Note:  USAID's Private Enterprise Development (PED) 
program's December 2006 household survey concluded that 73 
percent of Palestinians reduced expenditures on food in 2006 
and that food prices did not increase markedly in 2006, but 
varied by commodity.  End note. 
 
NO ACUTE FOOD CRISIS 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (SBU) According to the report, acute food crises have not 
 
JERUSALEM 00000459  002 OF 002 
 
 
materialized in the WB/G, as strong social ties tended to 
prevent acute household hunger.  The report indicated that 
chronic malnutrition is on a steady, although slowly rising 
trend, and micro-nutrient deficiencies are of concern, 
particularly iron, iodine and Vitamins A and D, in both the 
West Bank and Gaza. 
 
REPORT'S RECOMMENDATIONS 
------------------------ 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The report underlined the need to improve 
agriculture in WB/G as a way to improve food availability. 
Closures, the destruction of agricultural lands, and the lack 
of water, all hinder the already minimal agriculture 
production from reaching local consumers.  Other 
recommendations include the need to protect livelihoods, 
create jobs, mitigate poverty, and improve the environment 
for food trade in the WB/G. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) The report highlighted the poor harmonization 
between actual needs and international assistance programs. 
The report also suggests that the USD 127 million in food 
assistance under the UN's Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP) 
for WB/G in 2006 could have been better targeted to feed the 
neediest Palestinian households.  (Note:  WFP handled USD 79 
million of the USD 127 million for food raised under the CAP 
in 2006.  End note.)  The report recommends that donors adopt 
standard criteria and methods to determine eligibility for 
food aid packages and that humanitarian efforts be reviewed 
in light of social equity. 
WALLES