Border closures prevent exports and imports; the result is Gazan factories closed, construction halted and farm output was also affected; farmers have no income, 65,000 factory jobs were lost as well as 121,000 in construction-related projects; the Palestinian Federation of Industries reported 95% of Gaza's industry was shuttered; Israel also banned coastal fishing throwing Palestinian fishermen out of work and cutting off a vital food source; in addition, without resources, Gaza City's municipal employees haven't been paid since March 2007; over 80% of Gazans live below the official poverty line, and conditions are dire and worsening.
3. Health care
Here, too, the situation is dire; everything is in short supply or unavailable, including 91 "key" drugs; seriously ill patients are prohibited from leaving the Territory (with few exceptions) for care unavailable inside; the World Health Organization said that restrictions caused an increasing number of patients to die; the Israeli NGO, Physicians for Human Rights, reported 44 deaths since June 2007, and in November alone, 13 Palestinians died; also in November, Gazan hospitals couldn't perform surgery because Israel prevented the importation of anesthetics.
4. Education
Gazan children in UNRWA schools "lag behind refugee children elsewhere;" in addition, students are prevented from studying abroad, and in November 670 of them were denied permission for foreign study, including six Fulbright scholars.
5. Fuel, energy and water
Gaza depends largely on Israel for supply; with restrictions, power outages are frequent, and basic facilities like hospitals are severely hampered; insufficient power for pumping also affects the water supply; as a result, 210,000 people only have access to it one or two hours a day; sewage is also a major problem; facilities are in disrepair and overflows are frequent and cause severe potential health problems; Dugard called the situation "catastrophic" under Israel-imposed restrictions.
F. Legal consequences of Israel's actions
Israel calls its attacks defensive, but it's not how Dugard sees them; he questions their proportionality, the IDF's failure to distinguish between military and civilian targets, and their directly attacking civilians to inflict collective punishment; he further states: "It is highly arguable that Israel has violated the most fundamental rules of international humanitarian law, which constitutes war crimes in terms of Article 147 of the Fourth Geneva Convention and Article 85 of the Protocol Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949....relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts."
Further, the siege "violates a whole range of obligations under both human rights and humanitarian law," including the right of everyone to "an adequate standard of living for himself and his family (that includes) adequate food, clothing and housing;" above all, "Israel has violated the prohibition on collective punishment of an occupied people" as covered in Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention; its government is guilty of using "indiscriminate and excessive....force against civilians and civilian objects" as well as denying all sorts of freedoms and essential needs.
Gaza is "no ordinary state;" It's "occupied territory in whose well-being all States have an interest....are required to promote (and are obliged) to ensure compliance by Israel (in accordance with) international humanitarian law....;" failure to do so makes other states complicit in the siege; they and Israel also violate international law.
Human Rights in the West Bank and Jerusalem
In the Fatah-controlled West Bank, Israel made "some (modest) gestures of rapprochement," but did nothing to dismantle the occupation's infrastructure. On the contrary, it continues to expand "the instruments that most seriously violate human rights - military incursions, settlements, the separation wall, (free movement) restrictions, the Judaization of Jerusalem, and the demolition of houses."
A. Military incursions
Since June 2007, they've intensified in the West Bank; in November alone, the IDF conducted 786 raids, killed one person (plus at least two others he didn't report), injured 67 others and made 398 arrests; in addition, public and private properties were damaged; curfews were imposed, and "countless innocent civilians" were terrorized by security forces and dogs; in all cases, these actions violate international laws that prohibit them.
I am a 72 year old, retired, progressive small businessman concerned about all the major national and world issues, committed to speak out and write about them.
It is the Palestinians that have no right to exist. It is time for Israel to stop being a Jewish state. It is time for massive emmigration to the U.S. Too many people. Not enough water.
by
John Hanks (1 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 1047 comments)
on Thursday, March 20, 2008 at 5:32:10 PM
