World Food Programme halves food assistance to West Bank due to funding shortages

The World Food Programme is cutting its West Bank food assistance in half because it lacks the funds to maintain current support, even as food needs continue to grow.

The program said food needs in the Palestinian territory have doubled since 2023. About 900,000 people are now experiencing food insecurity, but the WFP has so far been able to support only 400,000 of them. Its latest quarterly food security analysis found that 76% of West Bank households have suffered a major drop in income, while food and fuel prices remain among the highest in the Middle East.

The pressure has forced many families to sell assets and cut both the size and quality of their meals. Around 12% of Palestinians in the West Bank have poor food consumption, according to the analysis, and about one-third of families cannot afford a nutritious diet. Rural communities and families in the southern West Bank face particular hardship.

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Families who were once thriving and earning a living from their land are now unable to afford enough food.

“Families who were once thriving and earning a living from their land are now unable to afford enough food,” said Shaun Hughes, the WFP's country director for the Palestinian territories. “At a time when WFP should be scaling up assistance to reach more people, we are being forced to make difficult decisions, prioritizing the most vulnerable while cutting assistance to others despite widespread needs. We urge the international community to act immediately and step up support for Palestinians.”

The Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics put unemployment among people aged 15 and older at 27.9%, while the average daily wage stood at NIS 134.3, just over half Israel's minimum daily wage of NIS 257.75. The article also noted that 140,000 Palestinian work permits in Israel were revoked after Hamas's Oct. 7 attacks on southern Israel. Gaza has faced cuts as well: in July, the WFP reduced the cash value of assistance for 375,000 people by 40%.

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At a time when WFP should be scaling up assistance to reach more people, we are being forced to make difficult decisions, prioritizing the most vulnerable while cutting assistance to others despite widespread needs. We urge the international community to act immediately and step up support for Palestinians.