Red Cross demands Mid-East action

Red Cross workers negotiate access for an injured Palestinian in Gaza

The International Committee of the Red Cross has called for immediate political action to contain the "deep crisis" in the West Bank and Gaza.

The statement was an unusual departure from its normally non-political stance.

The ICRC said the measures imposed by Israel had denied the Palestinian population the right to live a normal and dignified life.

But the Israeli government insisted it was co-operating with the Red Cross to ensure the flow of humanitarian aid.

"We are committed to making sure that the people of Gaza continue to receive vital humanitarian and medical support," Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev said.

But the Israeli government also said restrictions could not be eased too quickly, because Palestinian militants would then try to carry out more attacks.

The ICRC says humanitarian assistance cannot possibly be the solution in Gaza and the West Bank.

Its statement comes just days before a major donor conference in Paris.

Why do we call for political action? Because actually we do not think that humanitarian aid can solve the problem

Beatrice Megevand Roggo
ICRC

The BBC's Imogen Foulkes in Geneva says politics is not usually a word which features in the language of the international Red Cross - the famously neutral organisation tends to work quietly in conflict zones, and when it does speak, it speaks of numbers of injured treated, or numbers of detainees visited.

But the ICRC now says that life in the West bank and Gaza Strip has become so dreadful that no amount of humanitarian aid can really help.

'Situation perpetuated'

"Why do we call for political action? Because actually we do not think that humanitarian aid can solve the problem," said Beatrice Megevand Roggo, ICRC director of operations for the Middle East.

READ THE ICRC REPORT IN FULL at link below.

"In Gaza the whole strip is being strangled, economically speaking, life there has become a nightmare. And for that there is no solution that can be provided by humanitarian organisations.

"We can try to put patches on problems, but we do not have the key to a lasting solution that would address the roots of the problem."

In fact the Red Cross and other UN aid agencies are pouring money into Gaza; senior aid officials, our correspondent says, privately fear they may be perpetuating a situation which really should not continue.

'Dignity denied'

Together with its statement calling for political action, the Red Cross has issued a report called Dignity Denied which paints a harrowing picture of life for the Palestinians - suffering an economic blockade which denies them jobs, medical care, and even food.

"The 1.4 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip continue to pay for conflict and economic containment with their health and livelihoods," the report says.

"In the West Bank, the establishment of Israeli settlements affects every aspect of Palestinians' lives and leads to the loss of much land and income, together with recurrent violence by settlers. Exhausting movement restrictions hinder access to work and have led to unprecedented levels of unemployment and poverty.

"Only prompt, innovative and courageous political action can change the harsh reality of this long-standing occupation, restore normal social and economic life to the Palestinian people, and allow them to live their lives in dignity."

The ICRC says it recognises Israel's right to take measures to defend itself.

"[But this] needs to be balanced against the Palestinians' right to live a normal and dignified life," said Ms Roggo.

Also on Thursday, the World Bank said increased aid and Palestinian government reforms will have no real effect unless Israel eases restrictions on travel and trade.

At the donors conference on Monday in Paris, governments are being asked to provide the Palestinians with US $5.6bn over the next three years.

 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7141875.stm

In other words, it's time for the world to stop sitting idly and watching the Zionists enact their 'final solution' to the 'Palestinian question'.

Palestinian civilians 'hostage' to worsening conflict: Red Cross
Published: Thursday December 13, 2007


Palestinians have become a "hostage to the conflict" between militants and the Israeli armed forces and are bearing the brunt of the hostilities, the international Red Cross warned on Thursday.

"The Palestinian people are paying an exceedingly high price for the continuing hostilities between Israel and Palestinian factions," said Beatrice Megevand Roggo, head of Middle East operations for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

"Their situation is made even more difficult by intra-Palestinian rivalries. The Palestinian population has effectively become a hostage to the conflict," she said.

The ICRC said the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has been run by the Islamist Hamas militia since June, is "alarming," with Israel's decision to cut fuel supplies adding further hardship to the beleaguered population.

"The (Gaza) Strip has been progressively sealed off since June: imports are restricted to the bare minimum and essential infrastructure, including medical supplies and water and sanitation systems, is in an increasingly fragile state," it noted.

The ICRC said that immediate political action was needed to resolve the crisis and that humanitarian aid on its own was not sufficient.

It urged Israel to "respect its obligations under international humanitarian law, to ease restrictions on movement in the Gaza Strip and West Bank and to lift the retaliatory measures that are paralysing life in Gaza."

Israeli troops killed six militants in Gaza on Tuesday during a military incursion, with the chief of staff warning that the time was "approaching" for a major offensive in the coastal strip.


 http://rawstory.com/news/afp/Palestinian_civilians_hostage_to_wo_12132007.html

Another Cancer Patient Dies Due to Israeli Gaza Siege
Medicine, Water and Fuel Shortages
Mohammed Omer, BBSNews
bbsnews.net/index.php?topic=mideast

Collective Punishment Violates Israeli Law, Not Just International Law
 http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?11540C

Israeli Knesset okeys declaring "special situation" in Gaza border area
www.chinaview.cn 2007-12-19 19:08:55 Print

JERUSALEM, Dec. 19 (Xinhua) -- Israeli Knesset (parliament) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee Wednesday authorized declaring a "special security situation" in Sderot and other communities along the border with Gaza Strip, local media reported.

The declaration, triggered by the ongoing Qassam rocket attacks, would require Israeli defense establishment and the Home Front Command to take active part in providing assistance and guidance to the region's residents, local daily Ha'aretz said in its online report.

The declaration essentially transfers emergency authority from the state to the army. Therefore, the Israel Defense Forces Southern Command can determine whether or not schools will remain open, and the Home Front can order factories containing dangerous materials to close their doors.

On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that Israel must get prepared for the possible retaliatory attacks by militants in Gaza Strip following series of Israeli air strike since Monday night, killing at least 11 Palestinian militants.

He said he hoped that the successful Israeli military strikes against the rocket launchers and mortars continue to prevent rocket attacks against the western Negev.

The Israel Defense Forces on Tuesday continued its assault on Gaza Strip militants responsible for the Qassam rocket attacks that batter southern Israel on a daily basis.

The strikes are IDF's most deadly military response in months to the frequent attacks from the Hamas-controlled territory.

Abu Hamza, Islamic Jihad spokesman in Gaza Strip hinted that his group would carry out suicide attacks in Jewish towns in Gaza periphery in response to the Israeli military operation, Israel Radio reported.

 http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2007-12/19/content_7281386.htm

Palestinian Patient dies due to the Israeli siege on Gaza
Palestinian Information Center
 http://www.uruknet.info/?p=m39356&hd=&size=1&l=e