Gaza ‘On Point of Explosion’ Warns UN
Gaza is about to reach a “point of explosion” that could lead to another breakout by the desperate Palestinian population, trapped by an Israeli economic blockade, the most senior UN official in the territory has warned.
Thousands of Palestinians surged across the border with Egypt last January after breaching the border fence in order to buy basic supplies which were no long obtainable in the Gaza Strip. John Ging, Gaza head of the UN Relief and Works Agency which supports Palestinian refugees, said yesterday that the breakout last January “was predicted, but the causes were not addressed”. Now, he said, “pressure is building again and coming to a point of explosion”.
In testimony via videolink to the Commons International Development Committee, Mr Ging said the main problem was access in and out of Gaza.
Describing humanitarian conditions in Gaza as “shocking” and “shameful” because of the lack of basic supplies, he said the closures imposed since last June, when Hamas seized control of the territory, were having a “devastating effect” on the civilian population. Israel only allows minimal amounts of food, medicine and fuel to pass unimpeded through the crossing points, while petrol and diesel deliveries were halted completely last month following an attack by Palestinian militants on a fuel terminal in which two Israeli workers were killed.
The UN was forced to temporarily halt food distribution to up to 800,000 Palestinians in Gaza for the first time at the end of last week as a result of the fuel shortages which have had a knock-on effect on electricity and water supplies and sewage treatment.
Mr Ging said the “number one issue” was access for non-food and non-medical items. Supplies of cement and steel, and even items for printing schoolbooks, are subject to a lengthy process by Israel which cites security reasons. Mr Ging, who met the Middle East envoy Tony Blair on Tuesday, noted that the former prime minister’s “pet project” of a water treatment plant in Gaza was at a standstill because construction materials had not been allowed through.
Addressing the same committee session, Adam Leach, regional director of Oxfam, said that the international community’s response had been “wholly inadequate” as it had failed to take “robust” decisions needed to remove the movement restrictions and secure the opening of the crossings.
Israel is expected to come under international pressure on the issue of Palestinian access to and from Gaza and within the West Bank at a series of meetings on the Palestinian economy involving the donor community in London tonight and tomorrow. The Israeli government says the restrictions are needed because of the risk of militant attacks against Israel proper. However, Mr Ging said that in Gaza, “this approach has not worked. It has not inhibited those who are firing the rockets but has crushed the population”.
Twelve small Palestinian factions, including Islamic Jihad, were reported yesterday to have agreed to a ceasefire with Israel starting in the Gaza Strip after Egyptian-brokered talks. However, Israel has been sceptical about a ceasefire and last week rejected an offer from Hamas for a six-month Gaza truce, out of fears that the Islamic militants would use the period to rearm.
An Israeli warplane yesterday attacked a metal foundry in Rafah, on the border between Gaza and Egypt border, killing a local commander of Islamic Jihad and wounding three people.
LibDem MP Sarah Teather, who was in Gaza last week, yesterday described how a delegation of four MPs had to seek refuge in the lavatories at the Erez crossing after a Palestinian rocket landed close to the building. She said she was “really appalled” by conditions in Gaza.
*Israeli troops were unable to identify Reuters cameraman Fadel Shana as a journalist before they fired at him, the Israeli army said yesterday, citing preliminary results of an investigation.
© 2008 The Independent
Economic warfare to drive the Palestinians into increased mortality, total desperation, and finally exodus is the point, as far as the Zionists are concerned. They are getting closer and closer all the time.
Naturally, Israel has to refuse Hamas offer for a temporary truce. Since the government of Israel (as well as the U.S.) condemned Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Hamas, this could lead some to consider that the former president’s talks may have been fruitful.
One might then draw the conclusion that both governments acted too hastily in objecting to said talks.
At this stage of the game, we must remember that “saving face” must take priority over any peace settlement.
I’m not taking any sides here with Israel, Palestine or the Hamas terrorist group. I’m just telling it like it is, which our government leaders fail to do more often than not.
Naturally, Israel has to refuse Hamas offer for a temporary truce. Since the government of Israel (as well as the U.S.) condemned Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Hamas, this could lead some to consider that the former president’s talks may have been fruitful.
One might then draw the conclusion that both governments acted too hastily in objecting to said talks.
At this stage of the game, we must remember that “saving face” must take priority over any peace settlement.
I’m not taking any sides here with Israel, Palestine or the Hamas terrorist group. I’m just telling it like it is, which our government leaders fail to do more often than not.
The Gaza Strip is a Zionist concentration camp.It is that by design. After 80 years of terror, torture, murder and genocide of Palestinian men (it didn’t just start in 1948), women and children by the Zionist Jews, nobody should be surprised at their current hateful vicious treatment of the darker-skinned helpless Palestinian Goyim.
Indeed, our government is following the Zionist model in Iraq. Wonderful.
This American Girl has been speaking with Gus, a civil engineer in Gaza who is but one of the 1.5 million open air prisoners there, who told me in February:
“The Israelis tell the media they are letting electricity in, but it’s not true. Although, today was a big day, we had electricity for six hours; it’s been only two or three hours a day that we have been having electric. It’s hardest on the children, and they are all afraid in the dark. All they have is candle lights and they all worry if the Israelis are going to start the bombing again.”
Gus has worked as a Civil Engineer in Gaza for the last ten years, but since Hamas was democratically elected in 2006, he has been forced to not report to his job if he wants to feed his family.
“The Abbas government in Ramallah pays us to stay home. If we go into work, they will cut our salary and prices keep going up, the black market is taking over. Flour, sugar and beans have gone up 35% and there is never enough petrol. It’s been freezing last five days and all we have is charcoal and we burn old shoes for warmth.
“The only ones who are going into work are in the Ministries of Health and education. Hamas pays them with assistance from charities and individual support. Doctors make less than $1,000.00 a month and teachers around $300.00. Minimum wage is $200.00 and there is not much work anyway; just clerks and low level positions. Our infrastructure is hell and everyone is upset and angry, but not at Hamas.
“We have been living under siege for two years now. We live like primitives in third world conditions, like in Africa. The International world needs to understand we are human beings under siege and all we want is what every human being wants; we want to have dreams, but Gaza is a nightmare.”
I phoned Gus back a few days later and he told me, “Today was our lucky day; we had electric for twelve hours! But a five minute walk away and they only had it for four hours today.
“The Ministry of Power is paid by Hamas, but Israel never allows enough gas and supplies in to keep up the maintenance. Our infrastructures are bankrupt and Israel allows barely a trickle of gas into Gaza a day.”
The one and a half million people of Gaza are caught in a situation that requires WISDOM, not might, and they require ethical and moral courage and not the power of weapons of destruction.
The children of Gaza are TERRORIZED, just as the children of S’derot are by the violent insanity of a tooth for a tooth mentality that cycles violence for violence.
The situation in Gaza has moved from difficult to tragic, to catastrophic!!!
It Is WAY past Time For Action by all people of good will to stand up together for what is right.
The daily needs of the people of Gaza must be guaranteed, for humans have RIGHTS and nations and states have OBLIGATIONS!
The root cause of all the ongoing and escalating pain of both sides caught in the conflict in the Land we call Holy is the ongoing, immoral and brutal illegal Israeli Occupation of Palestine, now in it’s 40th year.
The ONLY way to end the pain for all is to end the occupation, to ensure equal human rights for all and uphold international law.
Eileen Fleming, Reporter and Editor WAWA:
http://www.wearewideawake.org/
Author “Keep Hope Alive” and “Memoirs of a Nice Irish American ‘Girl’s’ Life in Occupied Territory”
Producer “30 Minutes With Vanunu” and “13 Minutes with Vanunu”
Humans, actually, have only the ‘Rights’ that they are capable of seizing and keeping…no-more and no-less.
Who reached-out to help the Amer-Ind’s in the earlier-days of Imperialist-American Expansions? Who helped the Spanish/Mexicans/Hawaiians/Cubans/’Ricans/Filipinos — during-and-later? Who helps the 1.25 billion poor-Muslims, or all the now-starving/poisoned of Africa/India/Asia/S&C-America?
The Palestinians need to ’stop waiting for blessed-relief’ — it is NOT coming (they simply ‘lost’ the PR/propaganda-war, irrevocably and decisively, and long-ago).
[Did they ever have a Prayer? Since even 1885?]
Hi MeAlsoToo, Are you saying that 6 million Jews who died in the Holocaust deserved it? That one lets the non-militarised die? Wallenberg and Schindler shouldn’t have bothered? Are you saying that the racism, colonialism and genocide that has plagued history is alright? I don’t see why you bother looking at a website dedicated to a progressive community.
You obviously aren’t offering a prayer to Palestinians, only death. Indeed your common dreams are with Hitler. Perhaps you could help your dream along by building a few ovens at Sderot to burn the evidence of the destruction of the 1.5 million people of Gaza in the future.
pontificatinpapa May 1st, 2008 4:59 pm
“Naturally, Israel has to refuse Hamas offer for a temporary truce. Since the government of Israel (as well as the U.S.) condemned Jimmy Carter’s meeting with Hamas, this could lead some to consider that the former president’s talks may have been fruitful.”
Israel doesn’t want peace, it wants more land.
But, shouldn’t we be protesting China about Darfur and Tibet instead? Why are you talking about Palestinians? Who are they?
4thefuture. The essay is about Palestinians! Read it. That’s why we are talking about Palestinians. You go protest to China if you can speak Chinese.
The Western world has no moral credibility to criticise anyone while the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians continues (and also while attempts to erase their identity, like Mr 4thefuture’s, continues too).