More than half Gaza population are children

Israel’s Gaza Blockade Continues To Suffocate Daily Life

Posted by Jon King on Jan 23, 2010

Tagged with: amnesty international, blockade, gaza, human rights, israel, new world politics, operation cast lead, palestine

Amnesty says blockade punishes people not militants…

Amnesty International: Israel’s Gaza Blockade Continues To Suffocate Daily Life

Suffocating: The Gaza Strip Under Israeli Blockade

On first year anniversary of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza, human rights organization charges that blockage does not target armed groups but punishes entire population…

Israel must end its suffocating blockade of the Gaza Strip, which leaves more than 1.4 million Palestinians cut off from the outside world and struggling with desperate poverty, Amnesty International said one year on from the end of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza.

Amnesty International’s new briefing paper Suffocating: The Gaza Strip Under Israeli Blockade gathers testimony from people still struggling to rebuild their lives following Operation “Cast Lead”, which killed around 1,400 Palestinians and injured thousands more.

“Israel claims that the ongoing blockade of Gaza, in force since June 2007, is a response to the indiscriminate rocket attacks launched from Gaza into southern Israel by Palestinian armed groups,” said Malcolm Smart, Middle East and North Africa Director, Amnesty International.

“The reality is that the blockade does not target armed groups but rather punishes Gaza’s entire population by restricting the entry of food, medical supplies, educational equipment and building materials. The blockade constitutes collective punishment under international law and must be lifted immediately.”

As the occupying power, Israel has a duty under international law to ensure the welfare of Gaza’s inhabitants, including their rights to health, education, food and adequate housing. During Operation “Cast Lead”, from December 27, 2008 to January 18, 2009, thirteen Israelis were killed, including three civilians in southern Israel, where dozens more were injured in indiscriminate rocket attacks by Palestinian armed groups.

GAZA_BLOCKADE_2 In Gaza, Israeli attacks damaged or destroyed civilian buildings and infrastructure, including hospitals and schools, the water and electricity systems. Thousands of Palestinian homes were destroyed or severely damaged. An estimated 280 of the 641 schools in Gaza were damaged and 18 were destroyed. More than half of Gaza’s population is under the age of 18 and the disruption to their education, due to the damage caused during Operation “Cast Lead” and as a result of the continuing Israeli boycott, is having a devastating impact.

Hospitals have also been badly affected by the military offensive and the blockade. Trucks of medical aid provided by the World Health Organization have been repeatedly refused entry to Gaza without explanation by Israeli officials.

Patients with serious medical conditions that cannot be treated in Gaza continue to be prevented or delayed from leaving Gaza by the Israeli authorities – since the closure of crossings leading into and out of Gaza, patients have been made to apply for permits, but these permits are frequently denied. On November 1, 2009, Samir al-Nadim a father of three children, died after his exit from Gaza for a heart operation was delayed by 22 days.

Read Full Article HERE…

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