UN: Gaza blockade "unprecedented;" hardship "unacceptable"

Date: 19 / 12 / 2008  Time:  09:31
Bethlehem - Ma'an -

The United Nations peace envoy to Jerusalem called for calm in Gaza on Thursday in a statement sent to Ma'an.

"Priority must be to ensure calm in and around Gaza and urgently improve humanitarian conditions... a major escalation of violence would have grave consequences for the protection of civilians in Israel and Gaza," said UN peace envoy Robert Serry in Jerusalem.

Observing the humanitarian situation in Gaza, Serry noted that, "The unprecedented level of closure of crossing points into Gaza has caused unacceptable hardship to the civilian population."

Detailing the security, humanitarian and development dimensions of the Gaza crisis, Serry said that "it is also a deep political crisis, threatening the unified basis on which a future Palestinian state must rest, and the two State solution itself."

On the West Bank he said, "It is critically important to pursue specific action items to continue improving conditions on the ground."

He also noted that, "despite the adversities on the ground (in the West Bank), the efforts of the Palestinian Authority, together with unprecedented donor support and improved Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation, are enhancing security and creating prospects for economic improvements."

But Serry also said that the UN will continue "to call on Israel to implement its Roadmap commitments. We urge any new Israeli government to decisively address the question of settlement expansion, which threatens the two state solution itself."

Addressing the political process he said, "We must protect, preserve, and where possible advance, the three tracks of the Annapolis process -- negotiations, institution-building, and phase 1 roadmap implementation and set the stage for a decisive push for peace in 2009."

Serry concluded by saying, "The challenge now is to turn the promise of peace into a reality. I am convinced that this can and must be done. The diplomatic process and improvements on the ground must reinforce each other and move swiftly forward."

"A comprehensive peace in the region, with an end of occupation and the creation of a Palestinian state living at peace with Israel at its heart, is possible, necessary and urgent," he added.

UNRWA Suspends Food Aid to Gaza Refugees Due to the Siege

Thursday December 18, 2008 12:26 by Rami Almeghari - IMEMC

The United Nations Works and Relief Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), on Thursday suspended food aid to more than 750,000 registered Palestinian refugees in the Gaza Strip.

In a press statement, emailed to press outlets, the UNRWA stated that the food aid delivery to Gaza will be suspended due to the fact that its warehouses have been run out of basic items, such as wheat, amidst the current siege that is creating a full blown crisis.

The statement explained that all crossings leading to the Gaza Strip have been closed by Israel for the last six weeks at a time when more than half of Gaza's 1.5 million residents are dependent on its food aid.

Last month, the UNRWA ran out of essential food assistance to Gaza's population, as Israel imposed a restrictive closure on the coastal region. UN officials have warned of a looming humanitarian crisis unless crossings are reopened.

During a special interview with IMEMC's correspondent in Gaza last month, UNRWA's operations director, Jhon Ging, described the situation in Gaza as miserable, calling for an end to violence and counter violence in the territory.

Israel says it will not reopen Gaza crossings regularly until homemade shell fire from Gaza onto nearby Israeli towns stops. Most recently, Gaza-based factions hinted at ending a six-month truce deal with Israel in response to an Israeli army assassination of the leader of the armed wing of the Islamic Jihad, Abu Mujahid, in the West Bank city of Jenin on Monday night.

Tomorrow, the six-month ceasefire deal officially ends, as the situation is growing more tense, with Israeli warplanes attacking Gaza. A 47-year-old Palestinian man was killed, and his son and daughter were injured when a rocket from an Israeli fighter plane demolished his house last night.

Homemade shell fire out of Gaza wounded three Israelis in the nearby town of Sderot.

UN envoy to peace process urges stepped-up efforts

Date: 19 / 12 / 2008  Time:  10:06
Bethlehem - Ma'an -

With the goal of reaching an Israeli-Palestinian peace deal by the end of this year out of reach, a top United Nations envoy on Thursday stressed the need to step up efforts, according to a statement.

“We must set the stage for a decisive push for peace in 2009,” UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Robert Serry told an open debate of the Security Council, in which some 35 speakers participated.

“We must protect, preserve, and where possible advance, the three tracks of the Annapolis process,” he said, referring to negotiations, institution-building and implementation of the commitments of the parties under the so-called Road Map peace plan.

At their meeting in November 2007 in the United States city of Annapolis, leaders of the two sides agreed to immediately launch good-faith negotiations to try to conclude a peace treaty by the end of 2008 that resolves all outstanding issues.

While UN officials have conceded that this target will not be reached, they have called on the parties to intensify their negotiations based on the principle of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security

At its meeting on Monday in New York, the diplomatic grouping known as the Quartet – comprising the UN, European Union, Russia and the US – affirmed the need to bolster the political process and address the challenges on the ground.

This was followed by the Council’s adoption on Tuesday of a resolution calling on both parties to fulfill their Road Map obligations, and to refrain from any steps that could undermine confidence or prejudice the outcome of negotiations.

“An important platform for peace has been established in 2008, due to the efforts of the parties and the support of the international community,” noted Mr. Serry. “The challenge now is to build on this platform and turn the promise of peace into a reality… The diplomatic process and improvements on the ground must reinforce each other and move swiftly forward.”

Regarding the situation on the ground, he reported that there were 30 rocket attacks in the past two days on Israeli towns and at the crossings through which civilians, UN workers and all goods entering the Gaza Strip must pass. He condemned those attacks and called for their immediate cessation.

Israel has cited rocket and other attacks by militants in Gaza against Israeli civilians as the reason for closing border crossings into Gaza for almost two months now. The closures have worsened the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip, which is home to an estimated 1.5 million Palestinians.

Mr. Serry noted that, because of the closures, half of Gaza City’s population receives water only once a week for a few hours. In addition, UN projects in Gaza, worth over $150 million, remain suspended due to a lack of materials.

“A priority must be to ensure calm in and around Gaza and urgently improve humanitarian conditions,” he stressed.

The UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) reported today that, due to irregular border access and a lack of wheat flour, it has been forced to suspend its food distribution activities as of today until further notice.

“All crossings for goods into the Strip are closed and no humanitarian supplies, fuel and other needed commodities are being allowed to enter,” the Agency said in a news release.

A total of 750,000 refugees in Gaza depend on food aid from UNRWA, which, on average, distributes food to about 20,000 refugees per day.