(22 May 2002)

1. Various exteriors of World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse
2. Wide interior of aid in sacks in warehouse
3. Various of police holding back people who are charging towards food
4. Women outside waiting
5. Various of men picking up grain bags and walking out
6. Pan as man wheels grain and oil past on trolley
7. Various of people collecting aid in warehouse
8. Queue of people waiting
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Khaled Mansour, World Food Programme spokesman
"Many people in the Palestinian territories have lost their jobs. Tens of thousands of people. The agricultural products in the Palestinian territories are unable to proceed either to Israel or to other countries. Poverty has increased. About 50 per cent of the Palestinian population is living under the poverty line, earning less than 2 (US) dollars a day. What we will do over the coming eight months is provide 9000 tonnes of food to those half million people because we are trying to avoid the increasing rates, the alarming increasing rates of malnutrition and hunger among adults and among the children in the Palestinian territories."
10. Various of people carrying sacks out of warehouse
11. Men outside walking away with bags

STORYLINE:

The United Nations food agency has launched an emergency operation to help feed about half a (m) million Palestinians living in deteriorating conditions due to the Mideast conflict.

The World Food Programme plans to provide about 700-thousand tons of food, including flour, rice, sugar and vegetable oil to Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza Strip until the end of the year.

In the last 20 months of conflict, an estimated 180-thousand Palestinians have lost their jobs because of tightened security measures which have severely restricted their movements.

The Palestinian Authority also suffered heavy losses in a recent military operation by Israel which has left it unable to run its social welfare programmes effectively.

Israeli troops entered the West Bank and the Gaza Strip following a series of Palestinian suicide bombings.

The programme will also provide food aid to about 10-thousand people in hospitals and social institutions, including children and the elderly.

According to a World Bank study, up to half of all Palestinians live below the poverty line, earning less than two U-S dollars a day.

The W-F-P says its eight-month operation is still short of food worth about 18 (m) million U-S dollars and an appeal for assistance has been made to donors.

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