In a hearing held by AMAN Coalition with the Minister of Social Development, to discuss the role of the Ministry in managing the humanitarian aid file during the times of genocide
AMAN recommends complementary roles between the Ministry of Social Development and civil society organizations
Ramallah/Gaza – The Coalition for Integrity and Accountability (AMAN) held a hearing session to discuss the role of the Ministry of Social Development in promoting justice and integrity in relief operations in the Gaza Strip. The session was attended by Her Excellency, Minister of Social Development, Dr. Samah Hamad, who clarified the key procedures and measures taken by the Ministry under escalating challenges to deliver humanitarian assistance to our people in the Gaza Strip during the ongoing genocide.
The session began with remarks by Issam Haj Yassin, AMAN Coalition’s Executive Director, in which he welcomed Dr. Hamad’s response to participate in the session. He also appreciated the Ministry’s pioneering role, openness to civil society, and readiness to answer public inquiries. He raised some questions related to the Ministry’s prominent interventions in the displaced communities and the availability of an updated database that is shared and used by all organizations. Other questions related to the coordination among stakeholders of the aid file and possible receipt and treatment of complaints. Haj Hussein also reiterated the importance of building a response and crisis and disaster preparedness system under the current deteriorating conditions in the Gaza Strip. He additionally stressed the lessons learned from previous experiences because they help to prepare for what comes next, as a people under occupation, a victim of daily violations by the colonial system with its government, army, and settlers.
Dr. Hamad: The Ministry provides 18 services
In turn, Her Excellency, Minister Dr. Samah Hamad explained that the Ministry did not stop performing its role even during the war, which continues to date. She mentioned that the Ministry provides 18 services in partnership with the protection networks of civil society organizations, which number 42 organizations. The Ministry also cooperates with international organizations to pursue its disbursing of financial aid to the targeted groups, poor families, people with disabilities, battered women, children, care for orphans, the elderly, and other groups. Dr. Hamad referred to the service purchase file noting that the government, even under the financial siege, repaid NIS 6 million out of NIS 16 million of accumulated debt to these organizations since 2014. This is considered an achievement in light of the financial blockade imposed by the occupation power on the Palestinian Authority and represents an important step to ensure the flow and availability of services in all geographic areas. MoSD continues consolidating its partnerships and cooperation with many partners and donors to increase its services.
MoSD staff in the Gaza Strip
Speaking of the situation in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Hamad explained that the Ministry continues to deliver humanitarian aid to the Strip, but aid shrank after the closure of the Rafah Crossing Point on 7th May 2024. She added that the Ministry had 500 staff members on the ground in the Gaza Strip, a third of whom work fully in the field. Furthermore, other seconded human resources and a network of volunteers from the World Food Program and UNICEF also distribute humanitarian aid. The Minister reiterated the importance of developing a volunteer program in the Gaza Strip.
Three main services including food parcels, non-food parcels, and cash payments
Dr. Hamad explained that the relief operations carried out by the Ministry in the Gaza Strip fall under three categories, namely: food parcels, non-food parcels including hygiene, tents and caravans, and the last one is cash payment. The Poverty Combatting Department of the Ministry coordinates with the Projects Department to supervise these operations by relying on the UN organizations operating under the cash transfer program. These organizations manage cash payments to households. The Minister mentioned that the Ministry started a link on its page with a simple registration form, which enabled it to record 320,000 Gaza households. The head of household fills out the form to validate their data in cooperation with UNICEF, the World Food Program, and UNRWA.
E-portfolios from donors directly to the beneficiaries
Dr. Hamad added that cash is delivered in the form of an e-portfolio through companies working with Palestinian banks. Donors, as such, transfer cash directly to the beneficiaries after the submission of lists and their categories to UN organizations. It is worth noting that the sums allocated before the war amounted to NIS 754 per household and increased to NIS 1000 after the war. Furthermore, the Ministry launched the “live-saving” program targeting 340,000 households since the new condition left many families in poverty and in need of help and relief. The major challenge, as explained by Dr. Hamad, is the continually changing and unstable nature of the displacement communities because of the ongoing genocide, shelling, and displacement from one shelter to another. Dr. Hamad added that all the sums mobilized to relieve Gaza are minimal compared to the escalating urgent needs.
Procurement of Palestinian Products Launch
Another challenge mentioned by Dr. Hamad was the suspension of the trade line at the end of last August, and the accumulation of aid on the Egyptian and Jordanian sides, which created a state of chaos and exploitation that arose among the merchant community in the Strip, and the spread of famine among citizens, which prompted the government to activate the line of purchasing Palestinian products from the West Bank to deliver them to the Strip, which is subject to significant restrictions from the occupation power.
During 2024: The Ministry paid two cash transfers to poor families
As for the cash transfers in the West Bank, which were provided at certain rates between the government and the donor; the government was able last April - through the European Union - to pay 15 million euros to 720,500 families, according to the multidimensional poverty equation, documented in the Ministry's social registry, noting that the outstanding problems are being addressed through 12 directorates. In addition, the government recently paid an amount of 12 million shekels from the direct government budget, which included 31 thousand families, according to three programs: the program designated for poor families, under which the family is granted amounts between 250-600 shekels per month, and the two programs prepared according to the rights-based approach for people with disabilities and the elderly, where the individual is granted 250 shekels, in addition to the basket of additional services provided to the family in addition to the financial allocation, such as exemption from health insurance, school fees, and purchase vouchers.
The Ministry of Social Development is in the process of developing a new unified registry in the Gaza Strip
The Minister also indicated that the best way, in the Ministry’s view, is to develop a unified database (registry) that is binding on all parties, to facilitate the coordination mechanism between institutions, which gives hope for relief and early recovery, as the Ministry is working to complete it with the Red Crescent Society and a number of civil society institutions to ensure that there is no duplication.
60 trucks at maximum enter Gaza daily!
The challenge also lies in the amount of materials and trucks entering the Strip due to the occupation’s restrictions on materials and the number of trucks, as Dr. Hamad said that the Gaza Strip needed 600 trucks per day before the war, while what entered during the war is close to 60 trucks, from the open crossings between the north and Kerem Shalom, and that the number barely exceeds 10% of the Gaza Strip’s needs.
50 thousand orphans in the Gaza Strip
Regarding women’s needs, the ministry, in turn, reactivated the protection network, where the first shelter and protection center for abused women was established in mid-July, where more than 60 cases of violence were sheltered. As for orphans, the genocide left behind painful numbers, as according to the data there are 50 thousand children who are orphans of one parent (29 thousand orphans before the war, while about 21 thousand orphans have been registered so far). The ministry has worked to launch the “Hope for the Future” program, to receive information from institutions wishing to sponsor, in addition to working to identify shelter centers from workers on the ground. Preparedness and Response Plan in the West Bank
She added that the Ministry had also worked on preparing a preparedness and response plan in the West Bank, which included two scenarios, prepared based on participatory consultations with civil society institutions in each governorate, including the popular committees in the camps, and was implemented within a week, at a cost of 6 million shekels.
Various Comments
Khaled Farsakh from the State Administrative Audit and Control Bureau (SAACB) commented, referring to the recommendations submitted by the Bureau regarding the government’s plan for relief in Gaza, which are: preparing a national legislative framework that addresses disaster response, response, recovery, and responsibility procedures, before, during and after the disaster, in addition to having a strategy to reduce the risks of war, and a preparedness plan based on risk assessment, in which key stakeholders participate, in addition to having a national structure and coordination of capabilities in order to respond to disasters in an organized manner in a way that enhances the exchange of information and expertise, which is crucial for the distribution of roles, not to mention providing appropriate financial support for that.
Dr. Nader Abu Sharkh, Vice President of Palestine University and member of the Board of Directors of the Aman Coalition from the Gaza Strip, made practical recommendations to develop the process of managing the distribution of aid, calling for the formation of a central oversight committee, including an external review body among its members, which will send reports to the ministry for follow-up, to ensure the delivery of aid and enhancing citizens’ confidence. He also recommended the use of technology through digital aid management systems to facilitate the delivery and fair distribution of aid, in addition to preparing emergency plans to maintain citizens’ security and enhancing the role of transparency and social responsibility through the presence of periodic reports to reduce the theft of aid by some. He also recommended creating a partnership between the Ministry of Development and Palestinian banks to reduce the exploitation of citizens, noting that a large financial commission is paid to exchange companies. Fayez Hijazi addressed the complaints submitted by citizens due to the lack of aid reaching them fairly, although many of them meet the required conditions. In this regard, Dr. Hamad explained that the ministry has activated the 189 line to receive complaints, and that it is being processed to respond more, not to mention the ministry’s search for sustainable solutions for Gazans residing in the West Bank. Dr. Azmi Al-Shuaibi, Advisor to the Board of Directors of the Aman Coalition for Anti-Corruption Affairs, summarized the Aman Coalition’s recommendation that the role of the Palestinian government be limited to supervision, setting policies, providing financial capabilities as much as possible, and transferring work mechanisms to decentralized local bodies, which in turn work on the ground and prepare the necessary database as an approved reference for citizens.
