Oscillating Needs and the Aid Apparatus

This chapter traces transformations in the humanitarian-aid apparatus for Palestinian refugees over seventy years, looking particularly at rations provision and development projects. The overall trend has been from more comprehensive services to a reduced basket, but this trajectory has been regularly interrupted by new crises. Each change has been contested. Refugees have protested the poor quality and insufficient quantity of food. They have objected to the investigations that became increasingly a part of determining eligibility for ever more limited aid. Humanitarian development began with planning for infrastructure projects that would settle refugees, but in the face of opposition from multiple parties and practical limitations, this has come to focus on small-scale capacity building efforts.