Editor’s Note: This article is part of an ongoing series on food security around the world.
Last year, the United States curtailed its humanitarian aid to the Palestinian territories by cutting hundreds of millions of dollars in direct development assistance and funding to the United Nations. That has exacerbated a humanitarian crisis, with aid organizations on the ground reporting that they are no longer able to provide critical food aid to vulnerable households in Gaza and the West Bank. Lana Abu-Hijleh is the local director for one such aid group, Global Communities, based in the West Bank. In an interview with WPR, she discusses the impact of U.S. aid cuts on food security and the difficult situation facing Palestinians who previously relied on American assistance.
World Politics Review: How important has U.S. development assistance been in sustaining food aid and other basic services for vulnerable Palestinians?