Israel is subjecting the people of Gaza to collective punishment. They also suffer physical and mental abuse. The Israeli government’s denial that its actions have interfered with UNRWA’s (UN Relief and Works Agency) ability to provide assistance to the needy of Gaza — which is close to the entire population — is beyond compare. Israel’s sealing of the border has rendered the UN agency unable to replenish storage facilities. UNRWA has run out of food. Its warehouses are empty.
And the Israeli claim that Hamas authorities in Gaza have orchestrated an artificial crisis for political reasons is just as ludicrous. Is Israel implying that UNRWA is making all this up? The agency’s ability to provide assistance to some 80 percent of Gaza’s 1.5 million people is being severely crippled, and UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon is calling on Israel to allow urgently, the steady and sufficient supply of fuel and humanitarian assistance and this is all make-believe?
Actually, it would appear the other way around; Israel has concocted this real humanitarian crisis out of the blue. Not a single Israeli has been injured in the two weeks of fighting that led Israel to close its borders. Yet, over the last six days, Israel has all but closed its crossings with the Gaza Strip. No food has been allowed in for the United Nations’ aid distribution centers on which most Gazans rely. There is no fuel allowed into Gaza for its power station. Add to the mix: No journalists are being allowed into Gaza to cover the story. The UN has described the fuel shortages as real and serious. One can only side with an UNRWA spokesman that it is shameful and unacceptable that the largest humanitarian actor in Gaza is being forced into yet another cycle of crisis management. But that might not be all. While he won’t spell it out, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak appears to be saying that Israel’s military may soon conduct a wide-scale operation. Although Israel has withdrawn its troops from Gaza, a siege would prove it is still under occupation. As if Israel is listening. A range of international organizations and rights groups have urged Israel to ease this punishing blockade on Gaza. Not only has Israel been unimpressed but going by Barak’s comments, it might take measures to a higher, violent level.
At the outset of the cease-fire five months ago, Gazans hoped that the strict sanctions imposed on them would be eased. That has not happened and in the past few days things have gotten worse, and it could get worse. Again, when reading Barak’s lips on the closure, while he is good enough not to starve Gazans, he might set a deadline of a year to find resources elsewhere. This is another layer of reality to take into account. International donors have pledged to provide for various Palestinian needs before and after Israel’s withdrawal. However, the promises of funds have always outweighed the actual aid flow.
Gaza is a prison. What Israel is doing is is in breach of Geneva Conventions, and the US and EU are colluding in it with their silence. Israel is trying to batter and beat a whole people just to crush Hamas. For five months a truce in Gaza has largely held. During that time, the opportunity for confidence-building measures was not taken by Israel that instead used a minor breach of the truce as an excuse to virtually strangle the city. That’s the truth.
