Israel legally obliged to open Gaza crossings, peace and humanitarian agencies say 

Date: 19 / 06 / 2007 Time: 12:29

Bethlehem - Ma'an - 

The continued closure of the crossings in and out of the Gaza Strip is causing growing concern amongst international humanitarian aid agencies. Food and medical supplies are running low and the lack of gas could result in a sanitation crisis, Friends of the Earth Middle East has warned.

The international agency Oxfam has appealed to the European Union to put pressure on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza in accordance with international humanitarian law.

"Around eighty per cent of Gazans are reliant on food aid, all of which must enter through crossings that Israel controls," Oxfam warned in a press release. "Gazan fuel depots also report they are running short of supplies."

Elena Qleibo, a Program Officer for Oxfam in Gaza said: "Israel must open the borders to allow food, fuel and medical supplies to enter Gaza. Doctors have told me they are already running short of basic medical supplies like syringes and gloves. Shops are running short of food. Unless Israel allows humanitarian access, Oxfam and other agencies will not be able to provide urgently needed supplies."

The lack of medical supplies means hospitals are only dealing with emergency cases.

"The hospital is overcrowded with the injured. We have stopped normal activities and we are only doing emergency work," Dr Jouma al-Saka, from Gaza's main Shifa Hospital, told the UN's IRIN humanitarian news agency.

People needing access to health services must demonstrate that their needs are critical, UNRWA Senior Liaison Officer Saahir Lone said in a press release from the United Nations Department of Public Information. That meant that “regular prenatal care and maternal care might not be happening, which can be serious if you have a pregnancy with a complication in the making”, Mr. Lone noted.

Jeremy Hobbs, Executive Director of Oxfam International, dded: "European governments must lift their destructive financial boycott which has contributed to the violence. The civilians of Gaza and the West Bank need humanitarian support and basic services. They should resume European aid to capable institutions in Gaza and the West Bank as soon as practically possible."

Israel's legal and moral obligation

Gush Shalom, the Israeli peace bloc, has charged the government of Israel with being "legally and morally obliged to keep open the border crossings".

“It was the state of Israel which decided to keep in its hands all the keys for entry into and exit from the Gaza Strip, and deny to Gazans the right to have a direct contact with the outside world by land, sea and air. As long as this is the policy implemented by the Government of Israel, it is legally and morally obliged to keep open the border crossings, completely regardless of the identity of the government holding power in the Strip," the spokesman for Gush Shalom, Adam Keller said in a press release.

"Ehud Olmert and all his ministers, the old and the new, will bear the full responsibility for the grave humanitarian results of continuing to keep the passages closed."

Eight Israeli human rights organisation working in the Palestinian territories also issued a press release urging the government of Israel to open the crossings to prevent a humanitarian crisis on Israel's doorstep.

"We call upon the state of Israel to fulfill its obligation under international law and to open the borders of Gaza to the outside world. We call upon the State of Israel to allow those whose lives are in danger to leave the Gaza Strip immediately and to enter the West Bank . We call upon the State of Israel to allow the sick and injured to access needed medical treatment in Israel and Egypt . We call upon Israel to open the land borders with the Gaza Strip to allow the entrance of humanitarian supplies, especially fuel, medicines and essential supplies," the eights agencies said (B'Tselem, Gisha, Physicians for Human Rights, Public Committee against Torture in Israel, HaMoked, Yesh Din – Volunteers for Human Rights, and Rabbis for Human Rights).

Gush Shalom: Israel to blame

Gush Shalom also blamed the Israeli government for encouraging the Palestinian civil war. "The government of Israel has engaged in open and blunt efforts to foment civil war among the Palestinians," the press release says. "Ministers and senior military officers repeatedly spoke of sending arms to Muhammad Dahlan and his troops, presenting them to their people as despicable collaborators. Directly, the death and destruction in Gaza over the past week are the work of Palestinian factions which acted irresponsibly and caused great damage to their own people – but the government of Israel is not without blame. Those who push their neighbors to civil war cannot avoid responsibility even when the results are not as expected."

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