Trapped – Collective Punishment in Gaza
Zionist Extremism Key Impediment to Peace | 14.08.2008 00:45 | Anti-racism | World
The silence of world 'leaders' in the face of this International Crime, the creation of the world's largest Concentration Camp, truly displays the absolute corruption and madness of our times.
Trapped – collective punishment in Gaza
Amnesty International
12 August 2008
"The Israeli siege has turned Gaza into a big prison. We cannot leave, not even for medical care or to study abroad, and most of what we need is not available in Gaza. We are not living really; we are barely surviving and the outlook for the future is bleak." – Fathi, a Gaza resident
The blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip over a year ago has left the entire population of 1.5 million Palestinians trapped with dwindling resources and an economy in ruins. Some 80 per cent of the population now depend on the trickle of international aid that the Israeli army allows in. This humanitarian crisis is man-made and entirely avoidable.
Even patients in dire need of medical treatment not available in Gaza are often prevented from leaving and scores of them have died. Students who have scholarships in universities abroad are likewise trapped in Gaza, denied the opportunity to build a future.
The Israeli authorities argue that the blockade on Gaza is in response to Palestinian attacks, especially the indiscriminate rockets fired from Gaza at the nearby Israeli town of Sderot. These and other Palestinian attacks killed 25 Israelis in the first half of this year; in the same period Israeli forces killed 400 Palestinians.
However, the Israeli blockade does not target the Palestinian armed groups responsible for attacks – it collectively punishes the entire population of Gaza.
(And, since it was initially imposed before the attacks began, despite warnings from Israel's defense staff that the policy would provoke them - and Israeli politicians said they intended to "cripple Hamas" - Israel's explanation of the Collective Punishment is a lie. This is yet one more part of Israel's program of trying to make life for the Palestinians so unbearable, that they abandon their fight for justice.)
In April 2008, Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the UN Secretary General, called on Israel to restore fuel supplies to Gaza and allow the passage of humanitarian assistance and commercial supplies.
"The collective punishment of the population of Gaza, which has been instituted for months now, has failed," he said.
(But it has succeeded from an Israeli point of view. They've been allowed to commit a massive War Crime, which has brutalized hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and the world community hasn't done anything to stop it.)
Though a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has held in Gaza since 19 June 2008, the Israeli blockade remains in place.
Economic collapse and poverty
Israel has banned exports from Gaza altogether and has reduced entry of fuel and goods to a trickle – mostly humanitarian aid, foodstuff and medical supplies. Basic necessities are in short supply or not available at all in Gaza. The shortages have pushed up food prices at a time when people can least afford to pay more. A growing number of Gazans have been pushed into extreme poverty and suffer from malnutrition.
Some 80 per cent of the population now depends on international aid, compared to 10 per cent a decade ago. The restrictions imposed by Israel have resulted in higher operational costs for UN aid agencies and humanitarian organizations. Food assistance costs the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) US$20 per person per day compared to less than US$8 in 2004.
Gaza’s fragile economy, already battered by years of restrictions and destruction, has collapsed. Unable to import raw materials and to export produce and without fuel to operate machinery and electricity generators, some 90 per cent of industry has shut down.
(Israel lhas also destroyed much of Gaza's agricultural production, in attacks the media, for the most part, never reports. This has destroyed the Gazans' ability to produce their own food.)
Essential services jeopardized
The fuel shortage has affected every aspect of life in Gaza. Patients’ hospital attendance has dropped because of lack of transport and universities were forced to shut down before the end of the school year as students and teachers could not continue to travel to them. Fuel-powered pumps for wells and water distribution networks are often not working.
Medical facilities in Gaza lack the specialized staff and equipment to treat a range of conditions, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. In addition, hospitals are now under ever greater pressure, as they face shortages of equipment, spare parts and other necessary supplies as a result of the blockade.
With the ceasefire holding, the suffering in Gaza has fallen off the international news agenda. However, Amnesty International members continue to campaign, calling:
on the Israeli authorities to immediately lift the blockade, allow unhindered passage into Gaza of sufficient quantities of fuel, electricity and other necessities; and allow those who want to leave Gaza to do so, notably patients in need of medical treatment not available in Gaza and students enrolled in universities abroad, and also to allow them later to return.
on Palestinian armed groups not to resume rockets and other attacks on Israeli civilians.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/trapped-collective-punishment-gaza-20080812
Warnings Pour in For Israel to Cease Collective Punishment
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10555S
Red Cross Condemns Gaza Collective Punishment (the First Round)
winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?8994S
As Predicted: Gaza Reoccupation Planned
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/388658.html
As Predicted: Israel Attacks Gaza
http://www.alaanasnews.blogspot.com/2007/12/as-predicted-israel-attacks-gaza.html
Israel Destroys Gaza Interior Ministry, Blocks UN Aid
today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2008-01-18T
UN Condemns 'Cowardly Israeli War Crime'
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/389828.html
Probe: At Least Half of Palestinians Killed by IDF Were Civilians
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/944276.html
Israeli Attacks on Palestinians, Killings, Doubled Since Annapolis
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m40008&hd=&size=1&l=e
UN Condemns Collective Punishment of Gaza
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/389757.html?c=on#c187937
It's All Right, I'm Only Bleeding
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10557S
Israel, World Jewry Drift Apart
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10554S
Israel Guilty of Ethnic Cleansing
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/215186.php
UN: Israel Must Halt Use of Excessive Force
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/215185.php
Rights Group: More than 50% of Gaza casualties were civilians
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/960338.html
Joint Statement Against the Israeli Airstrikes on the Gaza Strip http://www.alternativenews.org/news/english/joint-statement-against-the-israeli
Amnesty Int'l Condemns IDF for Reckless Disregard of Life in Gaza
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/392935.html
U.N. Chief Condemns Israel After Bloody Day in Gaza
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/392791.html
Israel's Goals: Regime Change, Reoccupation
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/215188.php
Bay of Pigs in Gaza: Gaza Crisis Made in USA
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/215187.php
Avnery: "I Came, I Saw, I Destroyed!"
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?12874S
How to Become an Israeli Journalist
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?12885S
U.S. Media Coverage of Israel-Palestine Conflict
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0502/S00151.htm
Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land
http://www.freedocumentaries.org/film.php?id=169
Jewish Groups Condemn Collective Punishment of Gaza
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10877S
Iran Jewish MP criticises "anti-human" Israel acts
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080507/tpl-uk-israel-palestinians-1948-iran-43a8d4f.html
A Human Rights Crime In Gaza
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?14547S
Poll Reveals Neo-Con Zionist Groups Unrepresentative
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?14454S
Western Jews Revolt Against Zionist Bully Tactics
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/6119/index.php
Zionism's Support Faltering
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?6297S
Child Victims of a War the World Doesn't Want to Know About
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/9026/index.php
As Predicted: Israel Rejects Hamas Truce Offer
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397561.html
As Predicted: Israel Rejects Truce, Calls Offer 'Failure'
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8882/index.php
Real Diplomacy: Carter Meets Hamas
israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8877/index.php
No Peace Without Hamas
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8876/index.php
Hamas ready to accept Israel as its neighbour: Carter
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8874/index.php
Calling Israel's Bluff: Hamas Offers Truce, Negotiations
israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8898/index.php#Comment-19179
Olmert Pays Lip Service to Peace Deal, While Planning Gaza Assault
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399277.html
Amnesty International
12 August 2008
"The Israeli siege has turned Gaza into a big prison. We cannot leave, not even for medical care or to study abroad, and most of what we need is not available in Gaza. We are not living really; we are barely surviving and the outlook for the future is bleak." – Fathi, a Gaza resident
The blockade imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip over a year ago has left the entire population of 1.5 million Palestinians trapped with dwindling resources and an economy in ruins. Some 80 per cent of the population now depend on the trickle of international aid that the Israeli army allows in. This humanitarian crisis is man-made and entirely avoidable.
Even patients in dire need of medical treatment not available in Gaza are often prevented from leaving and scores of them have died. Students who have scholarships in universities abroad are likewise trapped in Gaza, denied the opportunity to build a future.
The Israeli authorities argue that the blockade on Gaza is in response to Palestinian attacks, especially the indiscriminate rockets fired from Gaza at the nearby Israeli town of Sderot. These and other Palestinian attacks killed 25 Israelis in the first half of this year; in the same period Israeli forces killed 400 Palestinians.
However, the Israeli blockade does not target the Palestinian armed groups responsible for attacks – it collectively punishes the entire population of Gaza.
(And, since it was initially imposed before the attacks began, despite warnings from Israel's defense staff that the policy would provoke them - and Israeli politicians said they intended to "cripple Hamas" - Israel's explanation of the Collective Punishment is a lie. This is yet one more part of Israel's program of trying to make life for the Palestinians so unbearable, that they abandon their fight for justice.)
In April 2008, Robert Serry, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process and Personal Representative of the UN Secretary General, called on Israel to restore fuel supplies to Gaza and allow the passage of humanitarian assistance and commercial supplies.
"The collective punishment of the population of Gaza, which has been instituted for months now, has failed," he said.
(But it has succeeded from an Israeli point of view. They've been allowed to commit a massive War Crime, which has brutalized hundreds of thousands of innocent people, and the world community hasn't done anything to stop it.)
Though a ceasefire between Israeli forces and Palestinian armed groups has held in Gaza since 19 June 2008, the Israeli blockade remains in place.
Economic collapse and poverty
Israel has banned exports from Gaza altogether and has reduced entry of fuel and goods to a trickle – mostly humanitarian aid, foodstuff and medical supplies. Basic necessities are in short supply or not available at all in Gaza. The shortages have pushed up food prices at a time when people can least afford to pay more. A growing number of Gazans have been pushed into extreme poverty and suffer from malnutrition.
Some 80 per cent of the population now depends on international aid, compared to 10 per cent a decade ago. The restrictions imposed by Israel have resulted in higher operational costs for UN aid agencies and humanitarian organizations. Food assistance costs the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) US$20 per person per day compared to less than US$8 in 2004.
Gaza’s fragile economy, already battered by years of restrictions and destruction, has collapsed. Unable to import raw materials and to export produce and without fuel to operate machinery and electricity generators, some 90 per cent of industry has shut down.
(Israel lhas also destroyed much of Gaza's agricultural production, in attacks the media, for the most part, never reports. This has destroyed the Gazans' ability to produce their own food.)
Essential services jeopardized
The fuel shortage has affected every aspect of life in Gaza. Patients’ hospital attendance has dropped because of lack of transport and universities were forced to shut down before the end of the school year as students and teachers could not continue to travel to them. Fuel-powered pumps for wells and water distribution networks are often not working.
Medical facilities in Gaza lack the specialized staff and equipment to treat a range of conditions, such as cancer and cardiovascular disease. In addition, hospitals are now under ever greater pressure, as they face shortages of equipment, spare parts and other necessary supplies as a result of the blockade.
With the ceasefire holding, the suffering in Gaza has fallen off the international news agenda. However, Amnesty International members continue to campaign, calling:
on the Israeli authorities to immediately lift the blockade, allow unhindered passage into Gaza of sufficient quantities of fuel, electricity and other necessities; and allow those who want to leave Gaza to do so, notably patients in need of medical treatment not available in Gaza and students enrolled in universities abroad, and also to allow them later to return.
on Palestinian armed groups not to resume rockets and other attacks on Israeli civilians.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/feature-stories/trapped-collective-punishment-gaza-20080812 Warnings Pour in For Israel to Cease Collective Punishment
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10555S Red Cross Condemns Gaza Collective Punishment (the First Round)
winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?8994S
As Predicted: Gaza Reoccupation Planned
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/388658.html As Predicted: Israel Attacks Gaza
http://www.alaanasnews.blogspot.com/2007/12/as-predicted-israel-attacks-gaza.html Israel Destroys Gaza Interior Ministry, Blocks UN Aid
today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=topNews&storyid=2008-01-18T
UN Condemns 'Cowardly Israeli War Crime'
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/389828.html Probe: At Least Half of Palestinians Killed by IDF Were Civilians
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/944276.html Israeli Attacks on Palestinians, Killings, Doubled Since Annapolis
http://www.uruknet.de/?p=m40008&hd=&size=1&l=e UN Condemns Collective Punishment of Gaza
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/01/389757.html?c=on#c187937 It's All Right, I'm Only Bleeding
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10557S Israel, World Jewry Drift Apart
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10554S Israel Guilty of Ethnic Cleansing
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/215186.php UN: Israel Must Halt Use of Excessive Force
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/215185.php Rights Group: More than 50% of Gaza casualties were civilians
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/960338.html Joint Statement Against the Israeli Airstrikes on the Gaza Strip
http://www.alternativenews.org/news/english/joint-statement-against-the-israeli Amnesty Int'l Condemns IDF for Reckless Disregard of Life in Gaza
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/392935.html U.N. Chief Condemns Israel After Bloody Day in Gaza
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/03/392791.html Israel's Goals: Regime Change, Reoccupation
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/215188.php Bay of Pigs in Gaza: Gaza Crisis Made in USA
http://la.indymedia.org/news/2008/03/215187.php Avnery: "I Came, I Saw, I Destroyed!"
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?12874S How to Become an Israeli Journalist
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?12885S U.S. Media Coverage of Israel-Palestine Conflict
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0502/S00151.htm Peace, Propaganda, and the Promised Land
http://www.freedocumentaries.org/film.php?id=169 Jewish Groups Condemn Collective Punishment of Gaza
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?10877S Iran Jewish MP criticises "anti-human" Israel acts
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20080507/tpl-uk-israel-palestinians-1948-iran-43a8d4f.html A Human Rights Crime In Gaza
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?14547S Poll Reveals Neo-Con Zionist Groups Unrepresentative
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?14454S Western Jews Revolt Against Zionist Bully Tactics
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/6119/index.php Zionism's Support Faltering
http://winnipeg.indymedia.org/item.php?6297S Child Victims of a War the World Doesn't Want to Know About
https://israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/9026/index.php As Predicted: Israel Rejects Hamas Truce Offer
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/04/397561.html As Predicted: Israel Rejects Truce, Calls Offer 'Failure'
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8882/index.php
Real Diplomacy: Carter Meets Hamas
israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8877/index.php
No Peace Without Hamas
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8876/index.php
Hamas ready to accept Israel as its neighbour: Carter
www.israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8874/index.php
Calling Israel's Bluff: Hamas Offers Truce, Negotiations
israel.indymedia.org/newswire/display/8898/index.php#Comment-19179
Olmert Pays Lip Service to Peace Deal, While Planning Gaza Assault
http://www.indymedia.org.uk/en/2008/05/399277.html
Zionist Extremism Key Impediment to Peace