WORLD HAS BETRAYED GAZA CIVILIANS: RIGHTS GROUPS
COMMENTARY ARCHIVES, 23 Dec 2009
The world has "betrayed" civilians in the Gaza Strip by failing to end a blockade of the Hamas-run enclave, 16 rights groups, including Amnesty International and Oxfam, said Tuesday [Dec 23 2009].
"The international community has betrayed the people of Gaza by failing to back their words with effective action to secure the ending of the Israeli blockade which is preventing reconstruction and recovery," said the report.
Israel and Egypt have allowed only vital humanitarian aid into the territory since the Islamist Hamas seized power there in June 2007.
"It is not only Israel that has failed the people of Gaza with a blockade that punishes everybody living there for the acts of a few," said Jeremy Hobbs, executive director of Oxfam International.
"World powers have also failed and even betrayed Gaza’s ordinary citizens. They have wrung hands and issued statements, but have taken little meaningful action to attempt to change the damaging policy that prevents reconstruction."
The groups said that Israel had allowed only 41 truckloads of construction materials into Gaza since a devastating 22-day war launched by the Jewish state nearly a year ago ended with mutual ceasefires on January 18.
"Little of the extensive damage the offensive caused to homes, civilian infrastructure, public services, farms and businesses has been repaired" because of the shortages, the report said.
Some 1,400 Palestinians and 13 Israelis were killed during the war, which flattened portions of Gaza, an impoverished territory where the vast majority of the population relies on foreign aid.
Israel controls all but one of Gaza’s border crossings, the Rafah terminal with Egypt, which Cairo rarely opens.
"Sick, traumatised and impoverished people are being collectively punished by a cruel, illegal policy imposed by the Israeli authorities," said Kate Allen, director of Amnesty International UK.
"Israel’s responsibility to protect its citizens does not give it the right to punish every man, woman and child of Gaza," she added.
The groups also urged rival Palestinian factions to create a unified government capable of delivering aid, and said militant groups should refrain from rocket attacks from Gaza.
"Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups, too, must maintain their current de facto cessation of violence and permanently cease all indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel," Hobbs wrote.
The report called on European foreign ministers to visit Gaza to see the damage for themselves and urged the EU to do all it can to lift the blockade.
Other groups signing the report include: Broederlijk Delen, CAFOD, CCFD Terre Solidaire, Christian Aid, Church of Sweden, Diakonia, Finn Church Aid, Medical Aid for Palestinians, medico international, medico international schweiz, Mercy Corps, MS ActionAid Denmark, Trocaire, and United Civilians for Peace.
GO TO ORIGINAL – FRANCE24
(Join the BDS (Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions) campaign toprotest the Israeli barbaric siege of Gaza, illegal occupation ofPalestine, the apartheid wall, and its inhuman and degrading treatmentof the Palestinian people: DON’T BUY products whose BARCODE starts with 7 2 9, which indicates that it is produced in Israel. DO YOUR PART! MAKE A DIFFERENCE! 7 2 9)
DISCLAIMER: The statements, views and opinions expressed in pieces republished here are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of TMS. In accordance with title 17 U.S.C. section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. TMS has no affiliation whatsoever with the originator of this article nor is TMS endorsed or sponsored by the originator. “GO TO ORIGINAL” links are provided as a convenience to our readers and allow for verification of authenticity. However, as originating pages are often updated by their originating host sites, the versions posted may not match the versions our readers view when clicking the “GO TO ORIGINAL” links. This site contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.
Read more
Click here to go to the current weekly digest or pick another article:
COMMENTARY ARCHIVES: