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Writers Articles And Opinions |
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30 December 2009 By Stephen Lendman A December
2009 report prepared by Oxfam International, Amnesty
International UK, United Civilians for Peace,
Christian Aid, and a dozen other international NGOs
(called NGOs below) titled, "Failing Gaza: No
rebuilding, no recovery, no more excuses" is
hard-hitting and to the point.
It says a year after Operation Cast Lead, extensive
damage hasn't been repaired and thousands "are being
prevented from rebuilding their shattered society."
It's not from a lack of commitment or enough resources
with over $4 billion in pledged aid. It's because
Israel blocks goods and equipment from entering Gaza.
The world community and Arab world do nothing to stop
them, so much of the Strip still lies in ruins.
Following Hamas' January 2006 electoral victory, all
outside aid was cut off. Sanctions and an economic
embargo were imposed, and the democratically elected
government was falsely designated a terrorist
organization and isolated. Stepped up repression
followed as well as regular IFD attacks, killings,
targeted assassinations, property destruction, and
more. Gazans have been imprisoned ever since.
Since June 2007, the Strip has been under siege,
described in an August 2009 OCHA report ("Locked In:
The Humanitarian Impact of Two Years of Blockade on
the Gaza Strip") as a:
"protracted human dignity crisis with negative
humanitarian consequences." At its heart is the
"degradation (of) living conditions," the erosion of
livelihoods, the lack of vital services in the areas
of health, water, sanitation and education, and the
collapse of essential infrastructure in the wake of
Operation Cast Lead.
Gazans can't leave, export anything, or live freely on
their own land. In addition, Israel lets in restricted
amounts of essential goods, far too inadequate to
relieve the grave humanitarian crisis by design to
essentially starve its residents into submission, or
perhaps eliminate as many of them as possible by slow
motion genocide.
In addition, all materials needed to rebuild are
prohibited, including cement, glass, wood, gravel,
steel bars, spare parts, and more. In May, the
Palestinian Chamber of Commerce reported unemployment
reached 65%, poverty 80%, and the longer the siege
continues, the higher these figures go. Further, 96%
of Gaza's industrial capacity was destroyed and
closed, and well over 80% of the population is
aid-dependent. Yet most get below minimal amounts of
virtually everything.
International Responsibility
Expressing alarm and frustration, the NGOs say:
"Israel has the primary responsibility to end the
blockage." So does the world community to stop the
illegal collective punishment of 1.5 million people.
"The people of Gaza have been betrayed (by powerful
nations) which can and must do far more to end the
illegal and inhumane blockade:" an unconscionable
grievous crime against humanity.
The NGOs' report focuses on what the international
community can do, especially the EU as "a major funder
of humanitarian and development programmes in
(Occupied Palestine) and Israel's largest export
market."
Thus far, its nations have abstained, as have others
able to help. In a March 2008 report, many of the NGOs
warned that the siege caused the most deplorable
conditions in Gaza since the 1967 war and occupation.
Then in September, they examined the Quartet's record
(the US, Russia, EU and UN), warning that:
"if the cessation of violence ends, the consequences
for civilians - both in terms of violent attacks
against civilians and the humanitarian situation -
will be dire. To this end, all Quartet members should
demonstrate robust, public support for the cessation
of violence and take further steps to deepen it."
The two and a half year siege, compounded by Operation
Cast Lead's mass killings and devastation "left a
legacy of destruction and loss. It is time to allow
the people of Gaza to begin to pick up the shattered
pieces of their lives and rebuild, by ending the
blockade that prevents them. There must be no more
excuses."
Israel's Agenda: Siege and Blocked
Rebuilding
Before the blockade, on average 70 daily Gazan
truckloads were exported and 583 let in with essential
and other goods. During the siege's first two years,
about one-fifth of previous amounts got in while
nearly all exports were prohibited.
Currently, Israel lets in only about 35 categories of
items compared to 4,000 pre-siege. Yet no published
list exists, so there's no consistency on what is or
is not allowed as well as amounts. For example, fruits
entering one day are prohibited on another as
luxuries, and the same qualification applies to
virtually everything as pure harassment and collective
punishment.
Also, needless delays are imposed. For shelter kits,
on average 85 days; health and pediatric kits, 68; and
household items like bedding and kitchen utensils, 39.
Construction Materials
Banning them prevents essential rebuilding of houses
and other structures. As a result, thousands of homes,
factories, businesses, schools, hospitals, mosques,
and other structures, totally or partly destroyed, are
affected. So are razed agricultural lands, destroyed
farms, fields, crops, olive trees, and irrigation
systems depriving farmers of their livelihoods and
Gazans essential food in amounts to sustain health.
Pre-siege, construction materials comprised over half
of Gaza's imports, around 7,400 truckloads monthly.
After June 2007, it dropped to an average 31, and in
the past year, it's a bare four loads a month trickle.
Case-by-case exceptions are made but in small amounts,
then cancelled merely to harass. For example, a
promised cement shipment to rebuild Gaza's flour mill
was denied for no apparent reason, and most entering
is smuggled through Gaza's tunnels into Egypt. But
it's too little and at inflated prices so unaffordable
for most people.
Exceptions permitted "demonstrate how possible it is
to allow (in everything needed. Gazans) desperately
need (a) systematic, large-scale reconstruction
operations - and (a) change of policy that would allow
this. Piecemeal and patchwork initiatives simply make
no impact on the scale of the destruction which people
in Gaza are living with a year on" from the war.
The Cost: No Reconstruction, No
Recovery
International assessments of Gaza's destruction range
from $659 - $892 million. Others estimate $1 billion
or more because so much of the Strip was affected,
including homes, agriculture, government and private
structures, and vast amounts of infrastructure. The
war's toll left an estimated 600,000 tons of rubble,
most still in place, and clearing it entails 200,000
or more person-days to complete.
Homes
The UN estimated around 53,000 homes sustained minor
damage, but over 15,000 were destroyed or heavily
damaged, displacing 100,000 residents forced to live
with relatives, in tents, or if lucky in habitable
rented apartments. Many are still there.
Industry and Jobs
Hundreds of private factories and businesses were
destroyed or severely damaged, amounting to millions
in losses not recovered. Gaza got a double blow. "Not
only is cement largely denied by the blockade, but
according to the UN, 19 of Gaza's 27 ready mix
concrete plants were also either badly damaged or
destroyed....including (its) only cement packaging and
storage plant."
Agriculture
Pre-siege, it was substantial, producing up to 400,000
tons annually. A third included tomatoes, peppers,
strawberries, flowers and fruit, much of it in
greenhouses. Farms supplied a portion of Gaza's food
needs and employed over 40,000 people or 13% of its
workforce. The war took its toll destroying an
estimated 17% of tillable land, including open fields,
olive, date, and other fruit orchards. In addition,
bombing and bulldozing demolished greenhouses,
livestock shelters, irrigation channels, wells and
pumps "on a huge scale."
Then in May, Israel declared a 300-meter "buffer zone"
no-go area around Gaza's perimeter (in some places
extending up to two km) affecting up to one-third of
the Strip's agricultural land and putting half or more
of it all out of production.
Power
The war caused extensive long-term damage on top of
earlier attacks putting it on the verge of collapse.
During the conflict, Gaza's main power station closed
for 10 days for lack industrial diesel from Israel. In
addition, most power lines supplying electricity from
Israel and Egypt were destroyed, causing a 75% or
greater shortfall.
During the offensive, one million Gazans had no power,
and a half million no running water. In addition,
sewage couldn't be treated so it was dumped into the
Mediterranean polluting beaches or ran in streets
causing a severe health problem.
Bombing destroyed transformers, pylons, cabling, and
the main stores and vehicles of the Gaza Electricity
Distribution Company (GEDCO). While key power lines
are restored, 90% of residents endure power cuts of
four - eight hours daily. Affected are homes and all
other facilities, including hospitals forced to rely
on back-up generators, themselves vulnerable for lack
of spare parts.
Industrial fuel is also restricted causing the power
plant to switch on and off when it's designed to stay
running. As a result, it's wearing out and may end up
beyond repair.
Water and Sanitation
Its infrastructure is badly damaged enough to need
millions for restoration. Over 30 water network km
were damaged or destroyed. Most are partly repaired,
but nothing in Gaza functions properly given shortages
of everything, including spare parts.
The conflict also destroyed or damaged 6,000 rooftop
water tanks, 840 household connections, and key
storage tanks throughout the Strip. A lack of cement
prevents rebuilding. Generator imports also are
prohibited, essential to supply water during power
outages that increase in winter. Besides water
stoppages, lost pipe pressure pollutes groundwater
sent through them to households compounding the
ongoing health crisis.
Health
The WHO estimated that the war destroyed or damaged
half of Gaza's 122 health facilities, including 15
hospitals, 41 primary care centers, and 29 ambulances.
Most now function but far short of optimally given the
siege's constraints. There's a chronic shortage of
everything, including specialized medical personnel to
deal with severe war injuries requiring extensive or
complicated surgeries as well as the proper equipment
to perform them.
Education
Besides the siege's affects, war destruction greatly
exacerbated a bad situation, unrelieved by an
inability to rebuild. As a result, in the past year,
82% of government schools and 88% of UNRWA ones
operated on double shifts to accommodate Gaza's
children.
During the war, 18 schools were destroyed, and at
least another 280 damaged, affecting thousands of
students. "To date, almost nothing has been rebuilt or
repaired as a result of the" construction materials
ban also affecting textbooks and other educational
supplies. New schools are needed and damaged ones
repaired to begin to restore Gazan education to
normality.
Israel's Siege
Isolating Gaza isn't new. Since 2000, it's been
subject to closures, but near totally since mid-2007
in defiance of international law. By enforcing Gaza's
blockade, "Israel is violating the absolute
prohibition on collective punishment in international
humanitarian law...."
Responsibility of the International
Community, Especially the EU
As the occupying power, Israel is obligated under
international law to assure the safety and well-being
of civilians - "protected persons" as defined by
Fourth Geneva's Article 4.
At the March 2009 donor's conference, over $4 billion
in reconstruction aid was pledged, of which $1 billion
came from EU countries. "The EU and the rest of the
international community have again taken
responsibility for repairing damage cause by (Israel),
but failed" to see it's delivered.
For their part, EU nations haven't sought compensation
for damage to their funded projects, estimated at tens
of millions in 2000.
Fourth Geneva obligates third parties to conform to
international law in all respects. So far, effective
action is absent despite the May 2008 Quartet's call
for a "new approach" on Gaza. None followed nor from
the Security Council's January 8 Resolution 1860
(adopted 14 in favor with Washington abstaining)
calling for an "Immediate, Durable, Fully Respected
Ceasefire in Gaza Leading to Full Withdrawal of
Israeli Forces (followed by) Unimpeded Humanitarian
Assistance" and reopening of Gaza's crossings.
So far, the Security Council has done nothing to
implement its order, only binding on Israel if
enforced. Yet, the EU expressed clear opposition to
the siege, most recently at a December Foreign Affairs
Council session saying:
"the continued policy of closure is unacceptable and
politically counterproductive. It has devastated the
private sector economy and damaged the natural
environment, notably water and other natural
resources."
It also called for "an immediate, sustained and
unconditional opening of crossings for the flow of
humanitarian aid, commercial goods and persons to and
from Gaza," but keeps abstaining from backing its
words with action. It also hasn't recognized the siege
as "collective punishment" under international law,
leaving its statements toothless, disingenuous, and
contemptible.
So while its members extend new economic and trade
privileges to Israel (after freezing their upgrading
during the war), it denies Gazans the basics of life
and contemptuously sells Israel weapons to batter them
again. Also, few of its officials visited Gaza to view
the devastation and assess its affects first.
In fact, the Quartet contributed to Gaza's isolation
by not recognizing Hamas, the Occupied Territory's
elected government, not Fatah under Mahmoud Abbas and
the appointed prime minister, Salam Fayyad, who
usurped it in the West Bank illegitimately.
Diplomatic Initiatives and Plans
"The international community appears to have accepted
the blockade, seeking little more than small
concessions." Yet in May 2009, the UN formulated a
specific plan to deliver construction materials for a
number of stalled health, housing, and education
projects. It guaranteed Israel's security in return
for letting it proceed. Then negotiations got diverted
to a few pilot projects, not the full package, so:
"almost nothing has been allowed into Gaza under this
plan....The international community's failure to do
enough (perhaps nothing beyond rhetoric) to halt the
blockade is a sign of the wider failure to hold all
parties to account for violations of international
humanitarian law."
In June 2009, Jimmy Carter, like others with similar
comments, said:
"Tragically, the international community largely
ignores the cries for help, while the citizens of Gaza
are treated more like animals than human
beings....Never before in history has a large
community been savaged by bombs and missiles and then
deprived of the means to repair itself. The
responsibility for this terrible human rights crime
lies in Jerusalem (under Netanyahu), Cairo (under
Mubarak), and Washington (under Obama who treats
Palestinians as contemptuously as George Bush and the
worst Republican extremists)."
Call to Action
Stopping this outrage demands action, what the NGOs
urgently call for, saying "no more excuses." They want
the Quartet, EU, and international community to commit
to ending the siege, pressure Israel to assure it,
have its government compensate Gazans for their
losses, and hold guilty parties accountable under
international law. Otherwise, they'll be "no
rebuilding, no recovery," and no measures to prevent
further attacks or to end decades of illegal
occupation.
Israel's Counteroffensive
Israel, of course, responded, like it always does when
cornered with no credible defense, so it attacks
critics like respected human rights groups, accusing
them of organizing a campaign of false allegations,
misinformation, and malicious personal attacks.
It also uses Zionist front groups like the
Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor to disseminate propaganda,
debase the legitimate human rights community, and
promote a pro-Israeli agenda defending the
indefensible.
It countered with its own report titled, "Trojan
Horse: The Impact of European Government Funding for
Israeli NGOs," with its president, Gerald Steinberg
saying:
"These (international NGOS) continue to exploit moral,
legal and humanitarian principles in order to promote
political warfare against Israel. Many of the claims
in (their) report are not supported by credible
evidence, and reflect double standards. Through this
systematic bias regarding Israel, these NGOs have lost
respectability, and the European governments that fund
such attacks share responsibility for this abuse."
Never mind the array of respected human rights
organizations, jurists, and activists universally
condemning Israel's war crimes, documenting them
extensively in detailed reports, and calling for
accountability.
Never mind Israeli officials fearing arrest in
European cities, advised to contact the Judge Advocate
General's office prior to traveling, and a UK arrest
warrant issued for former foreign minister, Tzipi
Livni, for war crimes under the universal jurisdiction
principle, by which nations may prosecute alleged
criminals for offenses committed outside their
borders.
According to Richard Goldstone, former South African
Constitutional Court justice and head of the UN Human
Rights Council's Goldstone Commission, its precedent
was Israel's Adolph Eichman seizure, trial, conviction
on 15 charges (including crimes against humanity and
the Jewish people), death sentence, and June 1, 1962
hanging.
Despite Israel's denial, coverup, and protestations,
plus help from what James Petras calls the "Zionist
Power Configuration (ZPT)" and supportive front groups
like NGO Monitor, the evidence is clear, extensive,
and conclusive. Israeli officials committed decades of
the most grievous crimes of war and against humanity
against defenseless Palestinian civilians, Operation
Cast Lead one of the worst, but many others also
particularly horrendous that still continue near
daily.
Those responsible must be held accountable under the
law, the same as Adolph Eichman and convicted Nazis at
Nuremberg. Globally, people of conscience, including
many thousands of Jews, demand and deserve no less.
A Final Comment
On December 27, B'Tselem launched a "public campaign"
to lift the Gaza siege, saying:
"This is necessary to rehabilitate the Gaza Strip from
the destruction wrought by the hostilities....The
siege has led to economic collapse, isolating one and
a half million Gazans....and reduc(ed) most of them to
poverty and a life of unemployment, extremism and
hopelessness."
Most of them need outside aid. Many thousands are
still homeless, and can't rebuild because materials
can't enter. "Not only is the siege unlawful and
immoral, it is also utter folly." Hamas is more
popular than ever. Global outrage keeps building for
resolution and an end to the occupation. Yet one year
after Operation Cast Lead, there's been no
accountability for Israel's lawlessness nor justice
for a beleaguered, oppressed people. No longer can
this outrage be tolerated nor should it.
Stephen Lendman is a Research Associate of the Centre
for Research on Globalization. He lives in Chicago and
can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also
visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and
listen to the Lendman News Hour on
RepublicBroadcasting.org Monday - Friday at 10AM US
Central time for cutting-edge discussions with
distinguished guests on world and national issues. All
programs are archived for easy listening.
http://republicbroadcasting.org/Lendman
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