INTRODUCTION

Since 2000, UNRWA has delivered emergency programming in West Bank and Gaza with the aim of protecting vulnerable refugee population from the worst effects of the countermeasures which Israel has deployed against the intifada. The first six months of 2005 have borne witness to a welcome decrease in deaths and injuries on both sides of the conflict and an end to the widespread practice of home demolitions in Gaza. T he disengagement of Israel forces from Gaza is a further welcome development and will have a major impact on the personal security and quality of life of those Palestinians living in the enclaves and in the areas bordering settlements, army bases and the so-called "Philadelphi corridor" along Gaza's border with Egypt.

However in the face of these positive developments, no improvement has been noted, or is forecast in the short-term, in the macro-economic indicators in oPt. The internal closure regime remains the biggest inhibitor of economic revival in the West Bank and the completion of the barrier's route around Jerusalem is near. Israel has marginally relaxed its restrictions on the number of workers entering Israel but no significant increase is planned in the post-disengagement era. The future potential of access to Gaza by sea and air routes remains latent.

In the light of its experience over the past five years, the Agency remains convinced, of the value of its emergency programming. Trust in the Agency among Palestinians in Gaza remains very high, as was demonstrated by a survey conducted by FAFO, the independent Norwegian research foundation, between 3 August and 9 September. Some 78 percent expressed confidence in UNRWA, compared with 24 percent for the Palestinian Legislative Council and the Palestinian Authority Council of Ministers.

UNRWA's conviction about the need for its emergency programme requires validation. In addition to the usual quantitative information, in this report the Agency reviews the changes in the situation over the past six months and includes the results of a number of focus groups and personal interviews. This research was undertaken by external researchers in mid-2005 and their results vividly convey the positive impact which emergency programming has had, and continues to have, on the lives of Palestine refugees in this transitional period.

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