Title: Israel/Palestine – ICRC warns of growing emergency
Date & location: 6 June 2006, Deir Sina, East Jerusalem
Duration: 7 minutes
Produced by: Patrick Mounoud, Virginie Miranda
Source: ICRC – Access all.
Reference: V-F-CR-F-00920-A
Preview (RealMedia stream 56Kbs - 128kbs):
Newsfootage/israel-palestine_140606

For full details of the World feed, go to the EBU website and/or see below for timings and technical specification:

For broadcast tapes and information on footage: Virginie Miranda, International Committee of the Red Cross, Geneva,

Start at first frame
SHOWS

00:00 EAST JERUSALEM WITH DOME OF THE ROCK MOSQUE, MOUNT OF OLIVES, JERUSALEM
00:07 SHOT OF THE WEST BANK BARRIER
00:12 PAN FROM SETTLERS HOUSE TO THE QUNBAR FAMILY NEIGHBOURHOOD IN DEIR SINA, WITH THE WEST BANK BARRIER BEHIND IT. ABU DIS CITY IS BEYOND THE BARRIER.
00:20 PAN FROM WATCH-TOWER TO FENCE WITH BIRDS
00:30 ISSA AND HIS FATHER GO TO THEIR SHED TO MILK THEIR GOAT
00:53 ISSA AND HIS FATHER IN THEIR COURTYARD

01:01 INTERVIEW WITH MAHA SAMIH QUNBAR , WIFE OF ISSA
"We don’t know what to expect each time we want to go to the doctor or do our shopping. The situation here is dramatic. Life is very difficult for us now that the barrier has been built because there is no way past it. The people here are living under great pressure (22)".

01:23 INTERVIEW WITH ISSA
"This wall has broken our lives. Before, everything was alright, we were satisfied with the little we had., But since the wall was built , life is unbearable. It is like living in a prison, and we don't know where to go or what to do."

01:42 INTERVIEW WITH MAHA
"The most important thing for me now is to have a permit so that I can get to Makassad Hospital in case there is an emergency in the night". (11)

01:53 ISSA SHOWING HIS WEST BANK IDENTIY CARD

01:56 INTERVIEW WITH ISSA
"Before the ICRC came we were very frightened, there was always trouble with the army. They stopped us and called us by name ( to cross the barrier) Since the ICRC came, and talked to the administration, our names are on a list in the computer. It is better except that we have to walk more than two kilometres and when we arrive, we are so tired and vulnerable that they can do whatever they want with us". (44)


02:40 INTERVIEW WITH MAHA
"Every parent wants their child to live in a better situation than we are in, to have the freedom to move and not to live in a prison like this one."

02:51 ISSA AND HIS WIFE MAHA ON THEIR TERRASSE
03:19 ISSA LEAVING HIS HOME FOR WORK
03:42 ISSA CROSSING CLIFF HOTEL SECURITY GATE
03:51 ISSA WALKING ALONG THE WEST BANK BARRIER
04:03 ISSA BEING STOPPED BY A BARRIER GUARD AND SHOWING HIS WEST BANK IDENTITY CARD.
04:57 ANOTHER SOLDIER RETURNING HIS CARD
05:06 ISSA WALKING TOWARDS A DIFFERENT ENTRANCE, FOR RESIDENTS WITHIN THE BARRIER
05:10 ISSA UNDERGOES ANOTHER IDENTIFICATION CHECK
05:38 INTERVIEW WITH ELISA QUERCI, ICRC

"First of all, ICRC is always talking with the Israeli authorities and always repeat our position that the West Bank Barrier is illegal because it is built in the occupied territories and the people have the right of freedom of movement".

"The ICRC 's main concern is to work for the Qunbar family as well as the other Palestinians to start again their normal life, to live a life as normal as possible because these people they lost everything like they lost their jobs in Jerusalem, they don't have access to health, they have difficulties to go to school".

"The ICRC insists on the duty of the Israeli authorities to grant to Palestinians a normal life, to have freedom of movement, the right to enter in Jerusalem and find a job, to have access to health care and other basic services".

06:25 ELISA QUERCI TALKING WITH MOHAMMAD HUSSEIN HAMDAN QUNBAR (ISSA's UNCLE) AND HIS FAMILY ABOUT TAXES AND DECLARATION OF INCOME.
06:43 PAN FROM FAMILY COURTYARD TO WATCH-TOWER
06:55 VIEW OF THE BARRIER
07:00 ENDS


Palestinian territories: ICRC steps up aid, calls for action to avert major humanitarian crisis

Geneva (ICRC) – The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is increasing by roughly a quarter its 2006 budget for its activities in Israel and the occupied and autonomous territories, bringing the overall figure to more than 52 million Swiss francs.

The additional funding will provide the means to meet most acute needs of Palestinians affected by the current crisis, particularly in the faltering health-care sector. (...)

The ICRC is deeply concerned about the growing needs and the worsening security situation in the occupied territories, caused in large part by the decision earlier this year to withhold funds and other aid from the Palestinian Authority. Since the beginning of the year, the ICRC had repeatedly warned of such a deterioration.

Humanitarian organizations cannot replace the authorities in their role as provider of public services. As the ICRC has pointed out on previous occasions, the occupying power – in this case the State of Israel – is responsible for meeting the basic needs of the civilian population of the territories it occupies. Those needs include sufficient food, medical supplies and means of shelter. (...)

STORY OF THE QUNBAR FAMILY

For the Qunbar family, living right beside the West Bank Barrier in East Jerusalem is like living in the occupied territories.

This extended Bedouin family has seen its way of life change completely over the years. When the new security regulations were introduced and the West Bank Barrier built, the land they used for grazing their sheep was taken over, which meant they had to give up their sheep, and they lost their other livelihood because they could no longer earn money in Israel with their trucking business. All this means that they can no longer buy sufficient food and water or pay for basics like medical care.

Issa Ahmad Qunbar, 30, lives with his wife Maha, five months pregnant, in the same neighbourhood of Deir Sina as his father and six uncles. Deir Sina neighbourhood is situated in East Jerusalem behind the back slopes of the Mount of Olives and close to the West Bank city of Abu Dis, which is today cut off from it by the Barrier.

Since the building of the West Bank Barrier in their back yard, the Qunbar family has found itself trapped between the security road skirting the Barrier (for military use only) and a military checkpoint, the "Cliff Hotel" gate. This prevents visitors from entering the Qunbar's neighbourhood. In addition, two settlers' houses were recently built along the road that leads to their house.

Not only have they lost their land, problems have also arisen over identity cards. In 1967, Israel unilaterally drew the new boundaries of Jerusalem municipality and included Deir Sina, thus separating it from Abu Dis. For unknown reasons, some Arab residents of East Jerusalem were given West Bank identity cards.

As Israel considers Jerusalem to be an integral part of the country, all the people living in Jerusalem with West Bank identity cards are viewed as illegal residents, and cannot move freely in the city. As a result, the Qunbars have found themselves trapped in an illegal status.


NO WORK PERMIT – NO JOB OPPORTUNITIES

Before the West Bank Barrier was built, the Qunbar family had three trucks that they used to haul away the remains of wrecked houses. They also had a bulldozer. They worked independently in Israel and sometimes in the West Bank but now, since their vehicles had West Bank licence plates and those plates have been banned from the streets of East Jerusalem, the Qunbars have had to sell them.

Since he has a West Bank identity card, Issa can no longer go to Jerusalem to find work as he used to. People with West Bank cards are not allowed to enter Jerusalem without a work permit, which is very difficult to obtain.

In the extended Qunbar family (127 members), only eight men have an East Jerusalem card and are able to work there (while 23 have West Bank cards). Therefore the whole family is dependent on these eight men, who have their own family responsibilities and cannot meet everyone's basic needs. Everyone shares, but it is simply not enough.

For Issa, the road to work is littered with obstacles. He now has to go to the West Bank to find work. As a casual labourer he used to get two or three days a week. Nowadays, he is lucky if he gets one day a month – not nearly enough to live on.

Recently, after ICRC representations, the Israeli authorities told the Qunbars that their names would henceforth be on a list at that Olive crossing, so they are assured passage. However, to get to the crossing and back they may use only one road, which causes a two-kilometre detour. If caught elsewhere they will face problems. Despite this, Issa continues to try to enter the West Bank through gaps in the West Bank Barrier as long as the Barrier guards allow him to do so. The Barrier guard finds his name on the list and Issa can finally cross the Barrier to look for work.



ACCESS TO HEALTH CARE AND SCHOOL

Issa's wife Maha relies on Jerusalem's municipal health-care facility for prenatal care since there are no clinics nearby on the West Bank.

Lately, the ICRC was called by the family to help them with Maha, who was suffering prenatal complications and needed to go to the doctor twice. The ICRC arranged for a medical permit, but was issued for only one entry. This means that every time Maha needs to go to the doctor, she or her husband must approach the Israeli authorities to obtain a new permit. All this though the hospital provided a letter explaining the need for regular checks. The ICRC is trying to obtain from the authorities a three-month permit to enable Maha to go to the doctor and the hospital whenever she needs to.

Nowadays, residents with West Bank identity cards who need Jerusalem's health-care facilities must have a letter of invitation from their doctor or the hospital. Trying to get there without one means the risk of trouble with the authorities.

Transport to health-care facilities is also a problem. The other members of the Qunbar family with Jerusalem cards do not dare to take their West Banker relatives in their private cars since they risk a stiff fine and even confiscation of the car.

As a last resort people are sometimes obliged to call a doctor to their homes, which is extremely expensive and thus not sustainable.

Reduced access to health care leads patients to delay medical consultation, which can aggravate their illness, thus potentially increasing recovery time and costs.

Since their families can no longer afford to pay for a school bus, the neighbourhood's children have no choice but to make the arduous trip on foot. It takes a whole hour to reach the school, whereas in the past it took 10 minutes with the bus, taking them down the road that now serves the settlers' houses.

WATER SUPPLY AND GARBAGE COLLECTION

Like those with Jerusalem identity cards, members of the Qunbar family with West Bank cards rely on the city of Jerusalem for basic services such as water and garbage collection.

People wonder whether these services will be provided at all in future. Already there is no garbage collection. Though families have paid municipal property tax for many years, the situation is deteriorating fast, causing distress and a sense of unfairness.

For example, in July 2005, following construction of the West Bank Barrier which obstructed the water pipe connecting the Deir Sina houses to Abu Dis, the Qunbars asked to be connected to the Jerusalem municipal water service. After a series of difficulties, and at great expense, only Mohammad Hussein Hamdan Qunbar's house was finally connected to the network in October 2005. The other 24 apartments in the neighbourhood have no water and now rely on Mohammad Hussein's connection which raises the water price as water consumption is limited to a certain amount for each household.