A slow agony

Gaza’s current situation has worsened since Israel invaded the West Bank in 1967. This is the concluding remark of a report drawn up by eight NGOs of the UK including Save the Children, Christian Aid, Cafod, Amnesty International, Trocaire and Care International. For a long time Jerusalem’s Caritas has been denouncing the tragic conditions of 1.5 million inhabitants of the Strip suffering the consequences of Israel’s embargo of goods and movement of people, forced to unemployment and desperation. A few days ago, the Parish Priest of Gaza, Manuel Musallam conveyed to Sir his desperate appeal on the slow agony of the Strip: “food is not sufficient, there is no water, electricity is supplied only few hours a day. Stores are empty, people are unemployed, medicines are hard to get. Children cry and are desperate. The international community is silent”. Follows a summary of the report. No access. Today it’s practically impossible to go in and out of Gaza. This doesn’t only concern people but also and especially goods. According to the Report, water, electricity, food and medicines are far from being guaranteed. The most evident result is that economy is on the verge of collapse. Money flow is scarce there’s food shortage too. Also the prices of consumer goods like flower, milk and rice are surging. During May-June 2007 the prices of these products increased by 34%, 30% and 25%. The decrease in the number of lorries entering Gaza (from 250 to 45) gives the picture of the situation. Increasing poverty. In these conditions, say the NGOs, the number of people living in a state of total poverty underwent dramatic increase: 80% of the families living in Gaza depend on humanitarian aid (63% in 2006). According to estimates, in 2008 1.1 million people (two thirds of the overall number) will be depending on food aid. This is only the reflection of the collapse of the economy of the Strip of unemployment is near 40%. The private sector, granting 53% of all employment in Gaza, was devastated, 3500 firms out of 3900 went bankrupt and were forced to shut down, while 75 thousand out of 110 thousand workers are unemployed. The bloc caused the interruption of 95% of industrial activity in Gaza. What is produced cannot be exported. In order to meet the needs of Gaza’s families, 500 lorries carrying imported goods should be allowed to enter along with other 200 with exports for the next six months and then gradually increase up to 600/700. Hospitals gone haywire. Fuel and energy restrictions are seriously affecting also hospitals, which undergo electricity cuts for 8-12 hours a day. While in January 2007 89.3% of the patients could access medical care out of the Strip, in December of the same year figures dropped to 64.3%: an unprecedented decrease. According to data collected by WHO, and diffused by NGOs, in October-December 2007 this restriction caused the death of 20 patients including 5 children. Suffering of children. Gaza today is without infrastructures, since they were destroyed with the bloc. The Israeli government obstructs energy maintenance and water distribution, and impedes spare parts imports. For this reason, hospitals don’t have enough energy to power life-saving devices, while each day between 40 to 50 % of sewage is dumped in the sea since processing plants are without fuel. Approximately 25-30% of Gaza’s population is without tap water, while before the embargo all homes had running water. Those who suffer the most from this humanitarian crisis are especially women, old people and children, the latter representing 56% of the population. In the past 5 months 2000 were unable to attend school, which had begun despite reduced hours and scarce school books. End of the embargo. Israeli politicies, denounce the NGOs, dismantled economy and impoverished Gaza’s inhabitants, like a sort of collective punishment which goes against international humanitarian law. Israel is granted the right to defend its citizens from the attacks of Palestinian rockets, but this policy isn’t bringing expected security. On the contrary, international pressure on Israel to end the embargo and resume dialogue with all Palestinian political leaders (including Hamas) can contribute to negotiations for a just and sustainable peace.