Archives for July 2022

June 2022 marked 15 years of the blockade of The Gaza Strip. The Israeli government has imposed a severe closure regime and blockade on the civilian population of Gaza since June 2007.

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In line with this 15 year milestone of the blockade, The UN OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) has released a collection of key facts and figures that summarise the impact the blockade has had on Gaza and the Gazan people.

Gaza Strip | The humanitarian impact of 15 years of the blockade – June 2022

To view the Fact Sheet online click here.

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The OCHA has also released an accompanying map of The Gaza Strip and its borders. This map shows in detail the geography and infrastructure of Gaza, and the on-the-ground restrictions and points of access. This is a fantastic complementary resource, to demonstrate and visualise the reality of the blockade for the Gazan people.

Gaza Strip access and movement | July 2022

To view the Map online click here.

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On this page is a collection of updates from The United Nations OCHA (United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs), The United Nations and The United Nations Security Council covering the period of escalated hostilities in The West Bank, The Gaza Strip and Israel in May 2021. The updates are arranged into a timeline to provide a chronological overview of the events as reported by the UN.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #12 covering 12:00 21 May – 12:00 23 May

To read online click here.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #11 covering 12:00 20 May – 12:00 21 May

To read online click here.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #10 covering 12:00 19 May – 12:00 20 May

To read online click here.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #9 covering 12:00 18 May – 12:00 19 May

To read online click here.

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UN statement on the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel | 18 May 2021

To download the PDF click here.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #8 as of 12:00, 18 May 2021

To read online click here.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #7 As of 12:00, 17 May 2021

To read online click here.

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UN Security Council briefing | 16 May 2021

To download the PDF click here.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #6 as of 12 :00 16 May 2021

To read online click here.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #5 as of 12:00 15 May 2021

To read online click here.

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Escalation in the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and Israel | Flash Update #4 as of 12:00, 14 May 2021

To read online click here.

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Escalation in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #3 as of 12:00, 13 May 2021

To read online click here.

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Escalation in East Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #2 as of 17:00, 12 May 2021

To read online click here.

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Escalation in the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and Israel | Flash Update #1 as of 17:00, 11 May 2021

To read online click here. 

20^th July 2022

Since June 2007, consecutive Israeli governments have imposed a severe closure regime and blockade on the civilian population of Gaza. This has been a devastating chapter in the decades-long fragmentation imposed on the Palestinian people, which continues to undermine their fundamental rights. The punishing effect of this sustained policy has been to further isolate its 2.1 million people, a majority of whom are refugees, denied their right to return to their homes since the ‘Nakba’ (‘catastrophe’) of 1948.

In 2010, then-UK Prime Minister David Cameron called Gaza a “prison camp” and demanded an end to the closure. Eleven years later, UN Secretary General António Guterres stated, “if there is a hell on earth, it is the lives of children in Gaza”. These observations are fully consistent with the closure of Gaza being deemed illegal under international law, including by the International Committee of the Red Cross and UN human rights experts, on the basis that it constitutes “collective punishment”.

With its sweeping restrictions on the entry and exit of people and goods, the deliberate policy of closure has resulted in the de-development of Gaza’s economy, repeated humanitarian crises, and socio-economic conditions which continue to deteriorate year-on-year. Gaza’s essential civic and welfare infrastructure, already gravely inadequate for the needs of a growing population, has struggled to function. In 2021, rolling power cuts averaged 11 hours per day, while 78% of piped water is unfit for human consumption. Livelihoods have been ruined, with farmers, fishermen and other business sectors finding it impossible to provide for their families and communities. Today 62% of Palestinians in Gaza require food assistance and 59% are living in poverty.

Shortages of essential equipment, electricity, specialist staff and medical supplies mean that the healthcare system cannot meet people’s needs. Permits to exit Gaza for vital medical treatment in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, or abroad, are routinely rejected or delayed. Many patients have died following the denial or delay of their application. At the same time, the precarity of Gaza’s economy and civilian infrastructure has been exacerbated by Israel’s repeated military offensives since 2008. Essential infrastructure necessary for the welfare of Palestinians, including healthcare facilities, schools and universities, have been destroyed or damaged. Recurrent attacks that impact civilian objects are emboldened by the systemic impunity that prevails for apparent serious violations of international law.

The past fifteen years of the imposed closure on Gaza, with its severe humanitarian, human rights and political consequences for Palestinians in Gaza and the Palestinian people as a whole, has been enabled and sustained by the failures of the international community.  It is time for the UK Government to demonstrate its consistent support for the rule of law and the rights of peoples under military occupation and urgently uphold its legal and moral duties to the Palestinian people.

We call on the UK Government to take urgent action, in cooperation with the international community, to pursue the immediate and complete end to the closure of Gaza; to ensure the sustained and regular flow of people and goods into and out of the Strip; and to support genuine investigations into, and legal accountability for, violations of international humanitarian and human rights law committed by all relevant parties. We also call on the UK Government to immediately restore UK assistance to Palestinians, which it has cut at a moment of urgent need. As a priority, the UK Government must reverse its cuts to UNRWA and work internationally to ensure the Agency receives sustainable funding and the rights and dignity of Palestinian refugees are upheld.

Statement signed and endorsed by the following 16 agecies:

abcd Bethlehem

caabu

Medical Aid for Palestinians

Friends of Birzeit University

christian aid

CAFOD

War On Want

Sabeel-Kairos UK

Lawyers for Palestinian Human Rights

amos trust

Embrace the Middle East

Quakers in Britain

Welfare Association

Islamic Relief

Friends of Nablus

Interpal