Israel blocking aid deliveries to Gaza, says UN official

UN chief: Israel blocking aid deliveries to Gaza

Date: 28 / 10 / 2007 Time: 18:58

Bethlehem – Ma'an –

The Israeli occupation government's plan to cut electricity and fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip will worsen an already dire humanitarian situation, the United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator said Saturday.

"The squeeze was tightening all the time," said John Holmes, who is also Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, noting that while the UN had been able to get more than 3,000 truckloads of humanitarian aid into Gaza in July, only 1,508 truckloads made it through last month.

The Israeli occupation government has kept closed Gaza's main crossing point for goods, Karni, since June, Holmes said, with only one conveyor belt available twice a week. One of the two smaller crossing points for goods, Sufa, is also expected to be closed by the end of this month. The major crossing point for people, Rafah, has also been closed since June.

Holmes also said the number of Palestinian patients allowed to cross into Israel for health care had fallen from 40 a day in July to less than five a day in September.

"Denial of freedom of movement for medical reasons would appear to be a breach of international humanitarian law," he said.

He called on The Israeli occupation government to lift its economic blockade on Gaza and relax its restrictions on humanitarian aid, in part to improve the chances of progress at Israeli-Palestinian talks scheduled to take place in the United States next month.

Given the conditions inside both Gaza and the West Bank, the population increasingly depends on outside aid to survive, he said.

"That is not a good situation for their livelihoods, their dignity and the possibility of their participating in any kind of peace process."

France Deplores Israeli Adopting Actions against Palestinian Civilians

PARIS, October 29, 2007 (WAFA) -

France condemned Monday Israel’s decision to adopt sanctions that would affect Palestinian civilians in Gaza Strip through imposing restrictions on the supply of power and fuel.

Spokesperson of the French foreign ministry Pascale Andreani told reporters that such measures have a "direct impact on the already alarming humanitarian situation" among civilians in Gaza.

She added that the Palestinian civilians should not be taken as "hostages nor punished in a collective manner." She called on Israel to "avoid any action that might aggravate the situation of the civilian population".

Meanwhile, Andreani affirmed that her country also condemns the firing of rockets from Gaza.

The Israeli occupation government declared on Sunday that it had started cutting down fuel supplies to Gaza and closed one of the passageways through which food, medicine and other supplies are transported into the strip.

This action comes within the framework of a decision taken by the Israeli occupation government to impose sanctions in light of continued rocket attacks from the strip.

South African Archbishop harshly condemns Israeli occupation

Monday October 29, 2007 20:26 by Saed Bannoura - IMEMC saed at imemc dot org

In a speech given this weekend in Boston, in the United States, renowned Archbishop Desmond Tutu soundly rebuffed the Israeli state for engaging in what he termed as ‘apartheid’ against the Palestinian people.

European Commissioner warns Israel against "collective punishment" in Gaza

Monday October 29, 2007 13:25 by john smith - 1 of International Middle East Media Center - IMEMC Editorial Group johnsmithimemc at gmail dot com

The European Commissioner for External Relations, Benita Ferrero-Waldner, on Monday warned Israel against initiating a policy of collective punishment on the residents of the Gaza Strip by cutting fuel and electricity supplies to the coastal region.

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