West Bank and Gaza

Canada's Commitment
Results
Profile
For more information

Canada's Commitment

Canada's development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza and to Palestinian refugees is a key component of Canada's foreign policy in the Middle East. Learn more by visiting the Department of Foreign Affairs' Canada and the Middle East Peace Process webpage.

Canada is committed to the goal of a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East, and the creation of a sovereign, independent, viable, democratic and territorially contiguous Palestinian state living side by side in peace and security with Israel.

On December 17, 2007, at the Paris Conference of donors, Canada announced it would provide $300 million over five years for development assistance in the West Bank and Gaza, with $250 million coming from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA). (News release: Canada Supports Palestinian Reform and Development)

Earlier, on November 27, 2007, a Canadian announcement of support followed the renewal of direct peace talks between the Palestinians and Israel, for the first time in seven years, at the Annapolis Conference, hosted by US President George Bush in Maryland. (News release: Minister Bernier Statement on Annapolis Conference)

Canadian programming supports the overall goal of building a democratic, peaceful and prosperous Palestinian state as set out in the Palestinian Reform and Development Plan presented to donors at the Paris conference.

CIDA funding supports security and justice reform. This assistance to improve security and ensure respect for the rule of law will help the Palestinians meet their security obligations under the Quartet's Presentation of the Middle East Road Map for peace approved by the Quartet of Middle East mediators comprised of the United States, the European Union, the United Nations and Russia. CIDA is also working to improve the governance of public institutions involved in security and justice, helping them better plan and manage their responsibilities.

CIDA will also concentrate its activities on initiatives to bring prosperity and economic growth to the West Bank and Gaza, helping improve the climate for business and investment and strengthen the private sector so it is better able to create jobs and generate wealth. Projects in this sector are intended to bring hope to Palestinians who have faced almost a decade of conflict and economic collapse. As well, CIDA will continue to help meet the humanitarian needs of Palestinians through United Nations and other multilateral agencies.

In its continued commitment to humanitarian assistance for Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza and in response to the latest emergency in Gaza, Minister of International Cooperation Beverly Oda and Minister of Foreign Affairs Laurence Cannon announced a Canadian contribution of $4 million in a January 7, 2009 news release titled "Canada Provides Emergency Aid to Palestinians" in ortder to help ease the humanitarian situation in Gaza. Of the $4 million, CIDA is contributing $3 million to a United Nations appeal to help meet the Palestinians' urgent need for food, shelter and cash assistance for families for temporary accommodations, medical treatment and essential services. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is also receiving $1 million to help provide food, essential water, and sanitation services, and help build or rehabilitate water treatment facilities that serve about 400,000 Palestinians. Moreover, Canada is prepared to add to this support as the situation develops, and as humanitarian needs as well as access to beneficiaries by humanitarian organizations evolve.

In addition, CIDA continues to provide support to Palestinian refugees in the Middle East through its general program support to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA). Because of the extensive nature of our programming for Palestinian refugees, this activity is outlined in more detail on CIDA's Support to Palestinian Refugees webpage.

Due to the fact that a number of organizations listed as terrorist groups under Canadian law are active in the region, CIDA carefully analyzes and monitors aid recipients and works with trusted, well-established international and Canadian partners to ensure that its assistance does not provide either direct or indirect benefit to Hamas or any other terrorist groups. By following these due diligence measures, CIDA guarantees conformity with Canada's anti-terrorist legislation.

In 2007-08, CIDA's total disbursements amounted to $50.4 million. This included assistance to the West Bank and Gaza, support to Palestinian refugees in the region, and funding for projects related to the Middle East Peace Process.

---

Results

CIDA's humanitarian support in West Bank and especially in Gaza is delivered through UN and other Canadian and local organizations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross. By means of the United Nations Consolidated Appeal Process, CIDA is providing humanitarian assistance to Palestinian refugees through the work of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency, funds to women's health centres through the United Nation Population Fund, and counselling services through UNICEF for young people to help them better cope with the effects of the conflict. The program also supports the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). OCHA not only coordinates the Consolidated Appeal Process but also monitors restrictions on access and movement, which have a major impact on the Palestinian economy and the way the Palestinians live.

Activities to improve social well-being has been an important part of CIDA programming. As an example, UNICEF has received $2.1 million in CIDA funding to help identify more than 35 safe-play areas. Play areas are scarce in the West Bank and Gaza and the ongoing conflict makes safe play areas that are free of unexploded munitions even more limited. Children three to 15 years of age can undertake activities ranging from playing on swings to involvement in dramatic arts programs led by university students. Another UNICEF project with $2.5 million in total CIDA funding supports more than 20 youth centres for young people aged 15 and above. The centres offer remedial education, civic education, computer skills training, music and sports. In both cases, committees involving young people, parents and other community members identify proposed activities.

---

Profile

Living conditions in West Bank and Gaza have deteriorated significantly since 2000. The situation in Gaza, home to about 1.5 million people - 70 percent of them Palestinian refugees - has worsened since the takeover by Hamas in June 2007 and the closure by Israel of Gaza to all but incoming humanitarian shipments.

Gross domestic product (GDP) per capita in the West Bank and Gaza at the end of 2007 was nearly a third lower than in 1999. Almost 58 percent of Palestinians live in poverty and about half of them live in extreme poverty. Almost half are food insecure or at risk of becoming food insecure. Statistics Canada defines food insecurity as having "limited or uncertain access to enough food for a healthy, active life."

The rate of chronic malnutrition in children under five has increased, reaching almost 10 percent. About 8 percent of children have low birth weights. Newborn mortality accounts for about three quarters of all infant deaths. Notably in the Gaza Strip, the under-one-year and under-five-year mortality figures have increased by about 30 percent. One in three infants admitted to newborn care units in major Gaza hospitals dies. Anemia is common, with 55 percent of children under the age of three affected by the condition. Among pregnant women, the rate is 36 percent, and for nursing mothers, 46 percent.

Service delivery is strained by population growth; about half the population is younger than 15 years of age.

---

For More Information

• Stories from the Field (West Bank and Gaza)
• Canada Provides Emergency Aid to Palestinians, January 7, 2009
• Canada Reaffirms Support for Palestinian Reform, June 23, 2008
• Canada Reaffirms Support for a Democratic, Prosperous and Peaceful Palestinian State, May 2, 2008
• Canada Supports Palestinian Reform And Development, December 17, 2007
• Canada Provides Support to the New Palestinian Government, July 23, 2007
• Update: Canadian Aid Programs in the West Bank and Gaza, April 1, 2006