Palestinian families on the West Bank face acute food shortages amid worsening conditions
A West Bank shepherd reports that his family's livestock have been sold after their grazing land became a military zone, while a UN agency says a large share of residents now suffer from acute hunger.
In the West Bank, conditions have deteriorated sharply since the conflict escalated, prompting shepherd Salem al-Hathaleen to abandon his family's generations-old flock after Israeli troops declared his grazing fields a military zone. He now relies on selling the animals as a last resort. According to the World Food Programme, a significant fraction of West Bank residents are experiencing acute food insecurity, lacking access to sufficient and nutritious meals.
The agency cites several drivers: the near-total suspension of Palestinian work permits in Israel, heightened settler aggression and military operations that have displaced many, and soaring unemployment linked to the Palestinian Authority’s inability to pay salaries after Israel retained tax revenues. These pressures risk fostering child labor, gender-based violence, and radicalization. Nonetheless, WFP’s Samer Abdeljaber notes the region’s youthful, educated population and stresses that restoring livelihood opportunities could reverse the crisis.
Why it matters
Rising hunger in the West Bank threatens stability and human welfare across the region.
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