UN: Israel occupation ruining Palestinian lives

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has condemned Israel’s oppressive occupation and its damaging effects on Palestinians’ everyday lives, expressing concerns about the regime forces’ use of lethal force against Palestinians.

In its 2016 annual report released on Wednesday, OCHA estimated that some 4.8 million Palestinians were affected by the Israeli occupation, two million of them “in need of humanitarian assistance and protection.”

“The prolonged occupation, with no end in sight, cultivates a sense of hopelessness and frustration that drives continued conflict” in the region, the report said.

“The occupation denies Palestinians control over basic aspects of daily life…. Their ability to move unimpeded within their own country, to exit and return, to develop large parts of their territory, build on their own land, access natural resources or develop their economy is largely determined by the Israeli military,” it added.

The report came days ahead of the 50th anniversary of the Tel Aviv regime’s occupation of the West Bank and East Jerusalem al-Quds during the 1967 war.

Last week, thousands of Israelis staged a protest rally in Tel Aviv to voice their support for an independent Palestinian state and call for an end to the Israeli occupation.

Elsewhere in its report, OCHA said the number of casualties in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict had dropped in 2016 compared to 2015.

However, Palestinian civilians are still “subjected to threats to their lives, physical safety and liberty from conflict-related violence, and from policies and practices related to the Israeli occupation,” it added.