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GENEVA, Switzerland: The United Nations\u2019 food agency warned Tuesday that funding cuts were forcing it to slash the number of aid recipients in the West Bank in half, warning of dire consequences.<\/strong><\/p>\n The World Food Programme said that from this month it would be reducing the number of people it reaches with food aid in the Palestinian territory from 400,000 to 200,000.<\/p>\n \u201cWFP is being forced to reduce the number of people we assist in the West Bank by half,\u201d Shaun Hughes, the agency\u2019s representative in the Palestinian territories, told reporters in Geneva.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is happening as the food needs in the West Bank are more than double what they were two years ago,\u201d he warned, speaking from London.<\/p>\n He pointed out that food insecurity had not traditionally been a major problem in the West Bank.<\/p>\n But he argued that since the Gaza war began in October 2023, \u201cintensified settler violence, prolonged and escalating Israeli military operations, severe movement restrictions, demolitions and widespread displacement in the West Bank have eroded Palestinian livelihoods and contributed to increased food insecurity.\u201d<\/p>\n The WFP said that its latest quarterly food security analysis found that 76 percent of households in the West Bank had experienced a significant decline in income, with many families forced to sell assets and reduce the number and quality of their meals to survive.<\/p>\n The analysis found that a third of families could not afford a nutritious diet due to the rapidly deteriorating economy, the agency said, adding that those living in rural areas and in the southern West Bank governorates were the most affected.<\/p>\n \u201cFamilies who were once thriving and earning a living from their land are now unable to afford enough food,\u201d Hughes said.<\/p>\n Israel has occupied the West Bank since 1967.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n