Israeli occupation government seeking destruction of Palestinian society in Gaza through the siege, says Mustafa Al-Barghouthi

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Date: 25 / 04 / 2008 Time: 12:31

Ramallah -

"Thousands of lives are at stake in Gaza. Israel's siege is pushing a whole society towards collapse." This was how Dr. Mustafa Barghouthi MP, Secretary General of the Palestinian National Initiative, on Friday described the situation in the Gaza Strip, which has reached dramatic levels following the latest Israeli fuel cuts.

Food assistance for 650,000 Palestinians is about to stop, 50,000 vaccines for babies are at risk of being spoiled, and sanitation services for half a million inhabitants have been halted.

"The Gaza Strip is now back to the extreme situation it faced in January," he added.

Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants suffer from deep poverty, fuel and electricity cuts and malnutrition, and are under constant military attack by Israel.

"International agencies are closely monitoring and reporting on the situation on the ground in Gaza. We know to the day when hospitals will shut down, when people will run out of food, when sewage will begin flowing into the streets once more. There can be no doubt about what Israel is doing in Gaza, and yet it continues to be given free reign to do so," said Dr. Barghouthi.

"The Israeli government's policy against the Gazan people is clear: choke them near to the point of strangulation, release the grip just long enough to let them catch their breath, and then tighten it once again, never allowing them to recover from the shock."

Dr. Barghouthi underlined that the actions of the Israeli government are aimed at producing irreversible damage to the very fabric of Palestinian society in Gaza. "This is about breaking the will of a people," he said.

Israel continues to evade a very serious possibility for a comprehensive and reciprocal cease-fire, explained Dr. Barghouthi. This folly will not bring security to anyone. The international community must oblige Israel to lift the siege on Gaza and to enter real negotiations for peace. This is the only way to provide genuine security to Israelis and Palestinians alike, he concluded.

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