USAID West Bank and Gaza Active Citizenry Activity (ACA) Monthly Report #16 January 2024

As of the end of January 2024, the war on Gaza has continued for nearly four months, with Israel's air, sea, and ground assault causing widespread destruction and displacement. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) reported that 1.7 million people have been forcibly displaced, with over 1 million people squeezed into an overcrowded space in Rafah governorate. The cold and rainy weather has exacerbated the suffering, making living conditions unbearable for all Gazans, especially internally displaced persons (IDPs). The situation in the West Bank has also deteriorated, with Palestinians subjected to Israeli military incursions and attacks by settlers. The Palestinian Ministry of Health reported that 382 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli forces and settlers, including 94 children, since October 7. At least 4,836 Palestinians have been injured, including 660 children. The total number of Palestinians killed, injured, arrested, or reported missing since October 7 is estimated to be over 109,698. The Active Citizenry Activity (ACA) team has continued to work closely with West Bank civil society organization (CSO) partners to adjust implementation schedules in light of the current situation. Activities postponed due to the war have been conducted, and CSO partners are generally on track based on their revised grant implementation plans. The ACA team has also provided support to CSO partners, including demand-driven capacity strengthening workshops and assistance with finalizing policies and institutional documents. The ACA has awarded grants to 27 partner CSOs with a combined value of $4.4 million. These grants are designed to support the civil society sector, Palestinian citizens, media organizations, and other relevant stakeholders to become more active in decision-making and advocacy for citizens' rights and demands. However, the current war on Gaza has caused ACA to pause all activities in Gaza, and eight grants are on hold. The ACA team will focus its efforts on the remaining 19 grantees and 112 cooperating community-based organizations (CBOs) in the West Bank serving over 23,000 Palestinians. The grant decision committee (GDC) convened its eleventh meeting on January 25 to review recommendations for pending grant full applications (GFAs) and grant summary applications (GSAs). The meeting results showed that two GFAs were accepted with comments, two GFAs were accepted with conditions, and one GFA was rejected. All eight GSAs from Gaza were approved but put on hold, while five West Bank GSAs were approved conditionally. The GDC endorsed the recommendation to reject two other GSAs. Formal invitations to submit a GFA were issued on January 4 for 12 successful GSA applicants, and the codesign process is underway.