Over 2 million Palestinians are living below the poverty line, and over half of Palestinian households are eating poorer quality food, according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) survey, "Impact of Israeli Measures on Economic Conditions of Palestinian Households, 2nd Round May-June 2001". The survey is a follow-up of a March survey.
The PCBS, which is considered to be a reliable and accurate source, cautioned that the data on poverty was based on information revealed by the households themselves about their income, a method that is considered to be problematic. Survey takers usually prefer relying on detailed studies of long-term household consumption and expenditures. The PCBS is currently conducting a survey using this method, which will be published in the future.
New priorities
Taking the Palestinian definition of the poverty line into consideration – the line was set at an income of NIS 1,642 per month for a family of two adults and four children – 64% of Palestinian households, with 2,121,500 individuals, are now living in poverty. As expected, the worst figures are in the Gaza Strip, where 79.9% of households are living below the poverty line, compared with 56.6% in the West Bank. Households in refugee camps constitute the poorest population (76.2%). There is no appreciable difference between urban and rural households.
The median monthly income has decreased from NIS 2,500 to NIS 1,300, but has risen from NIS 1,200 in March. In the West Bank, the median monthly income has decreased from NIS 3,000 to NIS 1,500, and the figure has plunged from NIS 1,900 to NIS 1,000 in the Gaza Strip. It should be noted that the Gaza Strip is traditionally poorer than the West Bank.
"We believe that the public is becoming used to the situation," survey conductor Louay Shabana told "Globes". "We cannot say that there has been an appreciable improvement compared with the March figures, but the Palestinian public is coping better with the conditions and reordering their priorities." Shabana thinks the Palestinian public was in shock during the first months of the disturbances, but the shock has passed. As a result of the ongoing disturbances, Palestinians began reorganizing their patterns of consumption.
The May-June survey was based on a random sample of 3,489 households, and 2,936 households completed the interview. 1,893 completed interviews were conducted with people from the West Bank and 1,043 completed inteviews were conducted with Gaza Strip residents.
14.2% (74,200) households reported they lost their sources of income during the al-Aqsa Intifada, compared with 10.7% of households in the March survey. 47.4% of households reported a loss of over 50% of their usual income during the al-Aqsa Intifada, compared with 49.2% in the March survey.
35% of Palestinian households reported a decrease in the quantity of food they consumed, while 63.1% reported no change. However, 54.9% of households reported a decline in the quality of the food they purchased, especially the quantity of the meat and dairy products they bought.
Emergency aid arriving, but no development aid
57% of Palestinian households reported receiving humanitarian aid in May-June, compared with 48.1% in the March survey. However, a much higher percentage - 79.1% - said they needed assistance.
67.1% of households reported they received less than $25 in aid throughout the Intifada, 76.8% reported receiving less than $50 and 86.4% reported receiving less than $100. Only 13.6% reported receiving $100 or more.
UNRWA is the most important provider of humanitarian aid, providing 63.6% of all aid. The Palestinian Authority is in second place, providing only 6.8%, considerably less than in March, due to its decision to cease providing NIS 600 to unemployed Palestinians. Assistance from relatives, friends, neighbors, political parties, and Al-Zakat (Muslim charity) committees accounts for most of the rest of the aid.
73.7% of assistance is in the form of food supplies, 15.4% is in cash, and the rest is provided in the form of clothing, health insurance and medicine. 4% of West Bank households and 0.9% of households in the Gaza Strip reported that they receive funds from relatives living abroad.
Shabana says, "The figures show that Arab assistance is very small and has no effect on the condition of Palestinian families. International aid is in the form of emergency aid rather than development aid. The Arabs must transfer funds for development and give real aid."
Population's needs
Between the March and May-June surveys, the number of households reporting that job creation was their first priority increased by 34.9%, the number reporting that they need financial assistance increased by 12.9%, and 6.6% stated that security was their first priority. The number of households reporting a need for food assistance declined compared with March. Unemployment in the PA areas is now 37-40%, compared with 10% before the outbreak of the Intifada.
Surprisingly, and belying reports about the boycott of Israeli goods, a slight decline was noted in the level of Palestinians attributing importance to a good's country of origin. Most said the decisive condition was price. Shabana says, "Because of the severe conditions, the public is only concerned with price, with quality as a secondary consideration. It's unimportant whether goods are Israeli or Palestinian; what is important is which is cheaper."
Published by Israel's Business Arena on 13 August 2001