Breaking the Gaza
Siege: Craven governments
shamed by a brave band of volunteers
By Stuart Littlewood
Redress, August 7, 2008
Stuart Littlewood wonders whether Israel will allow the “Free
Gaza” boat of humanitarian supplies to reach its destination, and
reminds us of Israel’s litany of violations of its international
humanitarian, legal and political obligations.
Will the “Free Gaza” boat, which is about to sail from Cyprus,
succeed in running the gauntlet and delivering its desperately
needed cargo of medical supplies to the besieged enclave of Gaza?
On board, we are told, will be some 60 Palestinians, Israelis and
Internationals from 15 countries, all determined to break the
cruel blockade and see a modicum of justice done, albeit in this
small way. Those 60 volunteers represent the hopes and good wishes
of millions of civilized people who are sick of the despicable
conduct of Israel and those cowardly leaders of the Western world
who stooge for the lawless regime and bring universal contempt down
on their own once-great nations.
Will Israeli gunboats turn back this peaceful, humanitarian mission?
Will they board the vessel, beat up the crew, humiliate the
passengers and confiscate any “goodies” they find? Will they simply
open fire, as they often do on Gazan fishing boats even if they are
nowhere near Israeli waters? Israel’s navy thinks nothing of
shelling Gaza’s beach where children play.
Or will they have a sudden attack of human decency and let the
voyage proceed to its destination unmolested?
Right-thinking people may be wondering why there is no international
action to ensure the freedom boat's safe and uninterrupted passage
to Gaza, considering that it will be sailing through international
waters and Palestinian territorial waters. Any attempt to stop the
vessel would surely contravene maritime law and breach the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The
latter is an important set of undertakings and Israel happens to
be one of the 137 states that are party to it.
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Article 1 states:
1. All peoples
have the right of self-determination. By virtue of that
right they freely determine their political status and
freely pursue their economic, social and cultural
development.
2. All peoples may, for their own ends, freely
dispose of their natural wealth and resources... In no case
may a people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.
This of course includes fishing and Gaza's off-shore gas
resources.
3. The states that are party to the Covenant,
including those having responsibility for the administration
of non-self-governing and trust territories, shall promote
the realization of the right of self-determination, and
shall respect that right, in conformity with the provisions
of the Charter of the United Nations.
Article 2 requires states to guarantee that
the rights enshrined in the Covenant will be exercised
without discrimination of any kind as to race, colour, sex,
language, religion, political or other opinion, national or
social origin, property, birth or other status.
Quartet, please note.
Article 6 says that the states
recognize the right to work, which includes the right of
everyone to the opportunity to gain his living by work which
he freely chooses or accepts, and will take appropriate
steps to safeguard this right.
Article 12 recognizes the right of
everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of physical and mental health, and requires the states
to take the necessary steps to provide for the healthy
development of the child; improvement of all aspects of
environmental and industrial hygiene ... and conditions
which would assure to all medical service and medical
attention in the event of sickness.
Article 16 requires States to submit
reports on the measures which they have adopted and the
progress made in achieving the observance of the rights
recognized... Where can we read Israel's reports on the
steps they have taken to promote the realization of these
rights for the people of occupied Palestine?
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For those who accept the fundamentals of human rights and count
themselves members of the human race, nothing could be more
straightforward than implementing this covenant. But the appalling,
dragged-out situation in Gaza and the West Bank begs the question:
has Israel or any of the Western powers read and understood the
charter?
Gaza is further mired in a tangle of unjust and capricious
impositions. Something called the Gaza-Jericho Agreement signed in
1994 was superseded by the infamous Interim Agreement of September
1995, which contains provisions for maritime activity zones off the
coast of Gaza. As the Israeli B'Tselem human rights organization
explains, Israel agreed to allow fishing boats from Gaza to go 20
nautical miles from the shore (except for a few areas where entry is
prohibited), but in practice the boats were permitted no more than
10 miles. Then, following the so-called disengagement from Gaza and
the capture of Corporal Shalit in 2006, Israel unilaterally reduced
the area for fishing to just three nautical miles from the shore.
The fishing industry in Gaza, which normally provides jobs for some
3000 registered fishermen and vital food for the population, has
been devastated.
Under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,
territorial waters in any case extend 12 nautical miles, and Article
89 (Invalidity of claims of sovereignty over the high seas) says:
“No state may validly purport to subject any part of the high seas
to its sovereignty.” How did the interim agreement square with these
laws?
It was simply a device for enabling the Israelis to weave a tangled
web of security in Gaza's coastal waters, which left them completely
in charge and able to dictate what happens off-shore and who may
come and go. Being of an interim nature this maritime strangulation
was not expected to last beyond 1999, but Israel acts as if it
is permanent. "Indeed," says B'Tselem, "Israel has maintained total
and sole control of Gaza's airspace and the territorial waters, just
as it has from the time when the occupation of the Gaza Strip began
in 1967."
As part of the Oslo peace process Israel agreed to the construction
of a seaport for Gaza. Work started in 2000 but later that same year
Israel bombed the project when two Israeli occupation soldiers were
killed in Ramallah. The flow of funds from donor states dried up,
and no more work has been done. In 2005 Israel again agreed to let
construction go ahead and, so that foreign investors would not be
put off, guaranteed cooperation in setting up the necessary security
arrangements and undertook not to interfere in the running of the
port. As before, these proved to be empty promises and Israel's
refusal to deliver on its obligations is not only a further
infringement of the right to freedom of movement, but an
insurmountable obstacle to Gaza’s trade.
So many other rights hinge on freedom of movement but Israel denies
this freedom as a matter of policy. "In the occupied territories,
restrictions on movement imposed by the Israeli army have frustrated
the efforts of Palestinian farmers to grow and sell crops, and have
denied Palestinians access to jobs and to health and education
facilities," says an Amnesty International report. "Blockades and
other restrictions – including a 600-kilometre fence/wall under
construction since 2002 – are imposed to keep Palestinians away from
Israeli settlements and roads used by Israeli settlers. These
settlements are illegal under international law and have deprived
the local Palestinian population of water, land and other key
resources."
“Disengagement” from Gaza was only a pretence – Israel still
occupies Gazan airspace, coastal waters and airwaves , keeps Gaza's
borders sealed, carries out air-strikes and makes incursions with
troops and armour whenever it pleases. An urgent task for the
international legal system is to insist that Israel, in its capacity
as the occupier of the West Bank and Gaza, ensures the safety and
well-being of the local residents and maintains normal living
conditions. But as always in relation to Israel any legal rulings or
charter obligations, if they are to have the slightest effect, need
to be enforced by a determined international community that's not
afraid to impose sanctions.
In the meantime, what fate awaits the fragile mission of this plucky
little “Free Gaza” boat as it sails towards danger in the Eastern
Mediterranean? Do the mighty powers of the West believe in the
principles of freedom and kindness enough to provide a protective
escort?
There’s no sign of it so far. Nor is there any likelihood that they
will uphold the International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights on behalf of the imprisoned Gazans. On recent
performance the nations of the West are "all mouth and trousers", as
we say in England. They spout high-sounding words but renege on
their duty. In Palestine’s case they haven’t delivered in 60 years,
to their eternal shame.
Stuart Littlewood is author of the book Radio
Free Palestine, which tells the plight of the Palestinians under
occupation. For further information please visit
www.radiofreepalestine.co.uk.
http://www.redress.cc/palestine/slittlewood20080804
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