NRC in Palestine

NRC's operation

We ensure that Palestinians affected by, or threatened with, forced displacement in Gaza and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have access to assistance and protection.

Our operations – rooted in respect for human rights and the responsibility for all actors to uphold international humanitarian law (IHL) – serve Palestinians who have been impacted by the occupation and blockade by providing high quality humanitarian assistance for those underserved and most vulnerable, challenging policies that bring about violations of IHL, and being a strong advocate and clear voice for the people we seek to serve.

Education

Many children in the occupied Palestinian territory have seen or experienced traumatic events and subsequently suffer from nightmares, which affects their ability to learn and thrive. Additionally, in the territories, education systems are impacted by economic strains and the effects of conflict. We work to ensure that Palestinian children have access to quality education and psycho-educational programmes. Our teams:

• train teachers on effective classroom management strategies and generalised psychosocial support (PSS) techniques that can be easily integrated into instruction
• train counsellors to support students suffering from nightmares
• assist teachers and school staff in developing child-centred teaching and learning approaches
• support parents and school communities in establishing or reinvigorating Parent Teacher Associations
• support youth resilience through the Youth Education Pack (YEP) curriculum to contribute to skills development and access to livelihoods opportunities
• provide information to students, parents and teachers about their rights and referral mechanisms for further support, in collaboration with our ICLA team
• provide emergency resources for vulnerable schools to enhance teaching and learning, as well as protect against attacks on education
• provide remedial teaching to children who are facing learning difficulties
• deliver regular mental health and psychosocial support sessions to children living through conflict in formal and informal displacement sites

Information, counselling and legal assistance (ICLA)

ICLA aims to strengthen the ability of Palestinians affected by the occupation to engage with relevant Israeli legal authorities to claim their rights and entitlements and obtain remedies. We work to protect people and communities who have been, or are at risk of being, forced to leave their homes. We provide legal information, training, counselling and assistance for those affected by discriminatory policies and practices. We also work to strengthen the capacity of the Palestinian Authority and civil society to support the individuals and communities to claim their rights. Our teams:

• work with Israeli and Palestinian NGOs and private lawyers to provide effective legal aid, including coordination through the Legal Task Force and Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Technical Working Group
• provide legal services that protect people from demolition, eviction and confiscation orders, revocation of residency rights, access restrictions, and settler violence and discrimination of services in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem
• provide legal counselling and assistance helping people access their civil, travel, family/guardianship and other documents and claim their HLP rights in Gaza
• provide capacity building and technical services and work closely with national and international stakeholders to influence positive policy change through research and advocacy

 Livelihoods and food security

NRC has focused on basic needs and food security activities in emergency responses. Our team works to:

• provide multi-purpose cash to vulnerable households affected by the economic crisis and emergencies
• include internally displaced people and vulnerable communities in decision-making processes
• seek opportunities for self-reliance and income generation so that people can better support themselves based on our newly adopted market-based programming approach
• make market linkages between youth and education programming to ensure employment readiness and outcomes
• increase the emergency preparedness and response capacities relating to key livelihoods stakeholders
• improve coordination between communities and humanitarian organisations 

Protection from violence

NRC in Palestine is committed to ensuring that our programmes actively contribute to keeping vulnerable people in Gaza safer. Our teams:

• provide facilitated referrals to basic needs and specialised service providers, including child protection and gender-based violence
• provide psychosocial counselling through implementing partners
• provide psychological first aid and psychosocial support within displacement sites and distribution sites
• implement the Civilian Self-Protection (CSP) programme to equip communities to prevent violence, building a protective environment that reinforces the respect of human rights
• through Individual Response Services (IRS), implement activities to support people experiencing violence to recover and have their safety improved
• raise awareness with community governance structures and site management structures around protection principles and safe referrals
• provide cash and material assistance to address protection concerns
• provide site management support for site managers in the collective site
• monitor displacement sites throughout Rafah, Khan Younis and Middle Areas

Shelter and settlements

We provide access to adequate shelter for the most vulnerable people in Gaza. Our teams:

• provide shelter for households living in substandard war-damaged homes
• provide support and technical assistance to people rehabilitating their war-torn homes to ensure that families have adequate shelter and rehabilitation meets minimum safety measures
• distribute essential household materials, including mattresses and blankets for households to meet their basic needs
• support families affected by escalations in hostilities and the economic crisis with cash-for-rent to prevent eviction and exploitation

Water, sanitation and hygiene promotion (WASH)

We help vulnerable communities access safe, sufficient, and affordable hygiene and water facilities in Gaza. Our teams:

• provide safe and sufficient drinking and domestic water supply, as well as sanitation facilities, including bathrooms, toilets, sinks and water network supplies to vulnerable households
• improve peoples’ access to public services and mitigate against winter flooding through community infrastructure projects
• respond to flood emergencies
• distribute hygiene items to vulnerable households, students and schools, and provide awareness sessions to improve social and environmental health

Cluster and other coordination support

We play an important role in humanitarian coordination in Palestine by leading the Shelter Cluster, leading the Legal Task Force, co-leading the Housing, Land and Property (HLP) Area of Responsibility and managing the West Bank Protection Consortium as well as the Gaza Protection Consortium.

Policy, protection and research

We provide protection and policy analysis to a range of actors in the occupied Palestinian territory, promoting principled humanitarian assistance in accordance with international law. We engage closely with international decision-makers and advocate for the protection and rights of displaced and vulnerable peoples.