WFP cuts West Bank food aid by half as funding crisis deepens
The World Food Programme (WFP) has announced that it will halve food assistance in the occupied West Bank due to severe funding shortages, even as growing settler violence and Israeli military operations increase humanitarian needs.
The UN agency currently provides food, vouchers and cash assistance to about 400,000 Palestinians, particularly in rural communities and the southern part of the West Bank. From this month, however, that support will be reduced to approximately 200,000 people.
WFP Country Director for Palestine Shaun Hughes said restrictions on movement, demolitions and widespread displacement had damaged Palestinian livelihoods and worsened food insecurity.
He said the situation called for increased humanitarian assistance rather than cuts to essential support.
The Israeli military body responsible for coordinating aid in the West Bank, COGAT, referred requests for comment to the Israeli military, which had not responded at the time of the report.
The funding crisis comes as major Western donors, including the United States, have significantly reduced foreign aid contributions since last year, with governments prioritising domestic spending and defence.
Meanwhile, violence and seizures of Palestinian land and water sources by Israeli settlers have increased in the West Bank since the Hamas-led October 7 attacks on Israel.
The UN and most countries consider Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank illegal under international law, while Israel disputes the classification of the territory as occupied.
Hughes said the West Bank had previously been viewed primarily as a human rights crisis rather than a food crisis, but worsening conditions were now changing that assessment.
He said restrictions were leaving Palestinians unable to freely access their land or jobs, making it increasingly difficult for families to afford food.
Other humanitarian organisations, including the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, also provide assistance in the West Bank, although it remains unclear whether they can expand their support amid their own financial difficulties.
The WFP also warned that its operations in Gaza, where it assists about 1.5 million people, are being affected by funding shortages. It said further reductions would be unavoidable unless additional funding is secured.
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