Palestinian Territory, Occupied
Publications
Situation and Priorities
Social protection situation
Social protection has become a central tool to respond to lifecycle risks and threats of poverty faced by Palestinian society. Through the Palestinian National Cash Transfer Programme (CTP) and its other social assistance programmes, the Ministry of Social Development (MoSD) reaches more than 115,000 of the most vulnerable Palestinian households with essential cash and services. Humanitarian interventions are also numerous and many have become structural over time, with the combined budget of these programmes totalling more than the budget for the CTP itself. Despite widespread coverage of social assistance interventions, recurrent financial crises from both the government and development partners have led to reductions or severe delays in payments over extended periods in recent years. The social assistance system is highly dependent on external support – which, in combination with the fragmented nature of the system and the inadequacy of transfer values, limits the potential impacts.
Meanwhile, coverage of contributory social insurance remains extremely limited in OPT, depriving the government of an otherwise effective tool for risk-pooling and mitigating lifecycle risks contingencies among its population. Today, only public sector workers benefit from contributory social protection benefits.
However, longstanding efforts to introduce a social security system (social insurance) for workers of the private sector continue with renewed focus in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis.
The roll-out of social insurance schemes is essential for the long-term financial sustainability of the system, whilst moving towards social allowances and lifecycle-based transfers will help protect vulnerable groups over time. In 2022, with the technical and actuarial support of the ILO, a revised draft of the social security law has been finalized and agreed amongst the tripartite partners, to be tabled for the President’s approval. The new revised draft provides for the introduction of an unemployment insurance benefit for private sector formal workers in OPT as well as several other improvements from the previous draft have been introduced and were guided by ILO legal and actuarial advice.
In the short term, coordination across the humanitarian development nexus and improvements to the CTP will be necessary to ensure the situation of the poor and vulnerable does not worsen any further. Strengthening the Palestinian Authority’s programmes towards a comprehensive social protection system is key to unlocking the system’s full potential and identifying opportunities to close gaps in social protection coverage and adequacy.
COVID-19 and other crises
Both the Ministries of Social Development (MoSD) and Labour (MoL) mobilized external financing and distributed cash to affected households and individuals in the wake of the COVID-19 crisis. The households supported through these programmes are now being incorporated into the regular CTP caseload where eligible. These government’s response to COVID-19 was supplemented by international organizations, such as the World Food Programme (WFP) and UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) who provided food parcels, hygiene kits and other support.
Since COVID-19, the OPT has experienced escalations in the Gaza Strip in May 2021 and August 2022, as well as rising prices due to the Ukraine crisis and other global factors. Whilst humanitarian programmes have responded to recent crises in the Gaza Strip in May 2021 and August 2022, as well as rising prices due to the Ukraine crisis and other global factors, recurrent financing constraints have limited the ability of the CTP to adapt to changing circumstances in recent years. Recent analysis was undertaken through a UN joint programme to measure the effects of the impact of crises on poverty dynamics, with these findings being translated into recommendations for future programming.
The social and economic impact of COVID-19 and later crises has reinforced the importance of having a robust social protection system in place, and has opened the door for the introduction of new shock-responsive social protection features. Additional technical assistance is still required to mobilize support for the systemic reforms needed around financing, including from domestic and external sources, and management of specific lifecycle risks (particularly old age and disability, as prioritized by MoSD) through targeted social allowances.
Government and social partner priorities
- Improve the effectiveness and coherence of the social protection system, including through improved coordination at the humanitarian-development nexus
- Engage in a broad-ranging national dialogue for a social security system for workers of the private sector and have the revised draft law ratified by the President.
- Move toward the introduction of a national Palestinian social protection floor for all, that prioritizes social protection for the management of lifecycle risks through the ILO’s rights-based approach (ILO Social Protection Floors Recommendation, 2012 (No. 202), with a particular focus on the launch of social allowances for Persons with Disability and Older Persons.
ILO Projects and Programmes
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Social Security project
03.11.2023 - 31.12.2025 USD 140,073 Kuwait
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Strengthening nexus coherence and responsiveness in the Palestinian social protection sector
01.07.2021 - 31.08.2024 USD 1,648,053 European Union
Results
Please consult individual results below for more information on ILO contributions to concrete results in Palestine over the past years. In addition to the results below, in 2018 the ILO supported the Palestinian Authority to initiate a national dialogue on developing and financing a national social protection floor.
Funding gaps / Support the ILO
US$ 10,000,000
Strengthen social assistance for persons with disability and older persons
US$ 1,000,000
Develop a social protection strategy
US$ 10,000,000
Legal and effective coverage extended for social security systems
ILO Experts
Luca Pellerano
Momin Badarna
