Thursday, 14 June 2012
A man holds a bottle filled with water from the Gaza Strip
that is unsuitable for drinking during an event in Gaza City to mark
the fifth anniversary of the tightening of the blockade. (AFP)
Fifty international NGOs and United Nations agencies on Thursday
called on Israel to lift its Gaza blockade, first imposed in June 2006
and ratcheted up a year later.
“For over five years in Gaza, more than 1.6 million people have been under blockade in violation of international law. More than half of these people are children,” said a statement signed by Oxfam, Amnesty International, Medecins du Monde, Save the Children, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and others.
“The government of Israel is facing mounting international criticism for the Gaza blockade,” said the statement, timed to mark the fifth anniversary of the tightening of the blockade.
“For over five years in Gaza, more than 1.6 million people have been under blockade in violation of international law. More than half of these people are children,” said a statement signed by Oxfam, Amnesty International, Medecins du Monde, Save the Children, UNICEF, the World Health Organization and others.
“The government of Israel is facing mounting international criticism for the Gaza blockade,” said the statement, timed to mark the fifth anniversary of the tightening of the blockade.
“We are calling for the blockade
to be lifted,” Maxwell Gaylard, U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the
Palestinian territories, told reporters in Gaza, calling for an end to
the “collective punishment of Gaza residents.”
Filippo Grandi, commissioner general of UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, added: “What Gaza needs is real development but because of the blockade we have to concentrate on humanitarian work, that's a waste of money.”
“The blockade is also counterproductive because it does not bring the security it is purported to bring.”
Oxfam data submitted with the statement said that, since 2007, “nearly 30 percent of Gaza’s businesses have closed and an additional 15 percent have laid off 80 percent of their staff.”
It said 80 percent of Gazans are dependent on aid.
Israel first imposed the blockade in June 2006 after militants there snatched one of its soldiers. The captive, Gilad Shalit, was finally freed last October in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
The blockade was tightened in June 2007 after the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in the strip, ousting forces loyal to Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas.
It has been eased somewhat, but severe restrictions on the movement of goods and people remain in place.
Filippo Grandi, commissioner general of UNRWA, the U.N. agency for Palestinian refugees, added: “What Gaza needs is real development but because of the blockade we have to concentrate on humanitarian work, that's a waste of money.”
“The blockade is also counterproductive because it does not bring the security it is purported to bring.”
Oxfam data submitted with the statement said that, since 2007, “nearly 30 percent of Gaza’s businesses have closed and an additional 15 percent have laid off 80 percent of their staff.”
It said 80 percent of Gazans are dependent on aid.
Israel first imposed the blockade in June 2006 after militants there snatched one of its soldiers. The captive, Gilad Shalit, was finally freed last October in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian prisoners.
The blockade was tightened in June 2007 after the Islamist Hamas movement seized power in the strip, ousting forces loyal to Western-backed president Mahmud Abbas.
It has been eased somewhat, but severe restrictions on the movement of goods and people remain in place.
No comments:
Post a Comment