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Memorandum submitted by Christian Aid
March 2008
'I just can't cope. I don't know what to do. None of my sons can find work. There is no money to buy food. I have 25 mouths to feed but nothing to give them. I rely on the kindness of friends and neighbours, but I can't continue like this. I've never been so desperate. Somebody has to help us,' a tearful grandmother In Gaza told Christian Aid.
The humanitarian situation in Gaza, including access to fuel, food and health services
The situation for 1.5 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip is worse now than it has ever been since the start of the Israeli military occupation in 1967, as detailed in the recent multi-agency report, The Gaza Strip: a humanitarian implosion, to which Christian Aid contributed. The vast majority of the population are dependent on food aid, fuel shortages threaten essential services and water supply, sick people cannot leave Gaza to receive medical treatment, and the economy has effectively collapsed.
In response to the election of Hamas in 2006, its de facto takeover of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 and the ongoing and indiscriminate firing of rockets into Israel, the Israeli government has imposed severe restrictions on access of goods and people to and from Gaza. The population of Gaza feels that it has been cut off from the outside world.
This situation Is not the result of a natural disaster, but due to a lack of international political will to solve a political aisle that has bedevilled the region for decades. The root cause of the escalating crisis in Gaza, and continuing insecurity for both Palestinians and Israelis, relates to the failure to address the underlying causes of the conflict and the continuing disregard of international law.
As the head of UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) recently warned, 'Gaza is on the threshold of becoming the first territory to be intentionally reduced to a state of abject destitution, with the knowledge, acquiescence and - some would say - encouragement of the international community.'
Today over 80 per cent of Palestinians in Gaza live in absolute poverty, compared to 83 per cent in 2008, and approximately 20 percent in 1998. Year on year, the people of Gaza are getting poorer in spite of exponential increases in international aid.
Since Hamas took power last June, Gaza has been subjected to severe restrictions on movement that have allowed in only a drip-feed of aid, preventing a full-scale humanitarian emergency but keeping the population in a perpetual state of economic crisis. In effect, Gaza is under blockade.
The blockade also affects fuel supplies, which leads to an erratic and unreliable supply of power from Gaza's only power plant. This sometimes leaves homes, hospitals and factories without electricity. The lack of fuel also has implications for Gaza's water supply and sanitation infrastructure, which has led to untreated sewage flowing through the streets and into homes.
1,627 patients were denied permits for health treatment outside Gaza in 2007. Overall, 18.5 per cent of applicants were denied permits in 2007. The monthly figures paint a dramatic picture of a sharp decline in those receiving permits throughout the year. In January 2007 89.3 per cent of patients were granted permits, but by December this figure had declined to 64.3 per cent (source: World Health Organisation).
However, these statistics fail to show those who were granted a permit but were turned back at the border, and those whose permits have not been refused but 'delayed' - sometimes for months - whilst their serious medical conditions deteriorate.
Physicians for Human Rights Israel, a Christian Aid partner organisation, estimates that, since the beginning of 2008, at least four patients have died due to deterioration in their medical conditions after their travel permits were delayed or denied (Source: PHRI).
The current mechanism between the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli authorities at Erez Crossing (including a recent development whereby patients have been sent by Shuttle bus to Jordan or Egypt) functions only partially - with long delays, problems of transparency with procedures and no right of appeal.
Hamas and Egypt have recently set up a temporary agreement regarding access to medical treatment. A number of people am now receiving treatment in Egypt and Jordan under this agreement. However, this system Is neither comprehensive nor permanent It doe not serve all residents of Gaza and does not allow people to access treatment in Israel or the West Bank.
According to PHRI, the government of Israel, which still controls access points for the Gaza Strip, must establish a transparent and fair system to ensure access of patients to medical centres outside Gaza. Such a system is urgently needed in order to save lives.
Progress In the Middle East Peace Process Since Annapolis and the Paris donor conference
Since the Annapolis conference, any progress that may have been made in dialogue between the Israeli government and Palestinian Authority has been overshadowed by violence. Whether in the streets of Gaza or in the Mercaz Harav yeshiva in Jerusalem, innocent civilians are paying the price of the political impasse that persists.
The international optimism expressed during and after the Annapolis conference in December 2007 is misplaced. By failing to address the situation in Gaza, and excluding Hamas as a major party to the conflict, the conference only reinforced Israel's policy to isolate Gaza and undermined the credibility of the process itself.
International support must be given to the efforts of interlocutors, such as Egypt, that are attempting to broker a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel. However, there is also an urgent need for intra-factional Palestinian dialogue and reconciliation in order to put a credible and effective peace partner and, thereby, process with Israel. The way out of the current political impasse is the re-establishment of an OPT-wide representative Palestinian administration.
Violence continues from both sides, with each claiming that they are acting in self-defence. Israel states its blockade on Gaza is necessary in order to prevent rocket attacks on Israel, including those on civilian areas such as the town of Sderot. Christian Aid recently met with the mayor of Sderot during with he detailed the severe impact that the attacks have had on the town's population, which, in our opinion only underlines the fact that the current policy is not working.
In addition, and similarly against the word and spirit of the Annapolis conference, Israel has continued to declare new settlement expansion. For example, on 9 March 2008, 330 new housing units were announced for the Settlement of Givat Zeev. Israel has yet to dismantle any of the outposts in the West Bank, which are illegal even under Israeli law, and there has been no reduction in the number of roadblocks and checkpoints in the West Bank, from which East Jerusalem Is increasingly isolated.
Political developments in the OPTs since June 2007 and the role of the Quartet
Christian Aid maintains that members of the Quartet (and the Middle Eastern countries involved in the negotiations) have an obligation, as states parties to the Geneva Conventions and other international human rights treaties, to ensure respect for International law. They should use these prerogatives as a positive force for change and insist that the Israeli government and the Palestinian Authority (PA), as well as Hamas and other Palestinian Armed Groups, adhere to their human rights and international humanitarian law commitments.
Christian Aid is concerned that the Annapolis conference diminshed the potential political impact that the Quartet can have. The statement from the conference defined the US role, but did not clearly define those of the remaining members of the Quartet
We welcomed President Bush's statement during his recent visit to the region, calling for 'an end to the occupation that began in 1967', as an important recognition that the occupation remains the main obstacle to a viable solution to the conflict in the Middle East.
This needs to translate into genuine pressure on the Israeli government to dismantle all the physical aspects of the occupation throughout the occupied Palestinian territories. This, together with an agreement that guarantees the full sovereignty of both Palestinians and Israelis, will be an important step towards peace with justice.
However, Christian Aid is concerned that President Bush has suggested to the Palestinians that United Nations Resolutions in response to the occupation - for example Resolution 242, which emphasised the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war and called for Israel's withdrawal from territories occupied; and Resolution 194, which deals with the rights of the Palestinian refugees - are not the way to help solve the conflict.
Such suggestion fails to recognise or understand the full extent of what is required to end the occupation and ignores the fact that, for a solution to be viable and to bring lasting peace, international law cannot be ignored.
In its 2007 report Israel and Palestine: a question of viability Christian Aid established how any peace process needs to be guided by international law in order to ensure credibility and bring an end to impunity of actions that violate rights and law.
The international community has repeatedly voiced a commitment to a viable Palestinian state, but what that means has never been properly defined. To redress this, Christian Aid established a checklist that shows what must happen to bring about a viable solution to end the occupation and lead to justice for both the Israelis and Palestinians.
The report defines viability as 'the necessary conditions that allow sustainability and growth to flourish'. The checklist includes: control over natural resources, such as land and water; freedom of movement; security for all and control over the collection and use of financial resources.
President Bush also reiterated his concession, originally made to former Prime Minister Sharon, that the large settlement blocs, including those around East Jerusalem, would remain inside Israel under any peace deal. Their presence results in daily and systematic human rights violations of those Palestinian trying to get on with their daily life.
It is worth noting the official UK position on the settlement issue, with which we concur: 'Settlements are illegal under international law. Phase one of the Quartet Roadmap calls on Israel to freeze all settlement expansion, including natural growth, and to dismantle settlement outposts erected since March 2001. Settlement activity around east Jerusalem, and throughout the West Bank, threatens the territorial contiguity of any future Palestinian state, and combined with the construction of the barrier on occupied Palestinian land, is an obstacle to peace.'
Calling for an end to occupation is positive. Calling for a selective end to occupation, which ignores the legal obligations of the occupier, does not help the Palestinian leadership convince the Palestinian people that this is a sincere development.
The international community, the Israelis and the Palestinians are pursuing strategies that are failing the people of the region. Without tangible changes on the ground, no amount of aid can stimulate the Palestinian economy or deliver security for either people. A new strategy is required that recognises the importance of engagement and non-violence, respects human rights and international laws.
The response of the UK government to the changing situation, and in particular the contribution of the Department for International Development
The UK, together with their European partners are pouring millions of pounds into a situation that has no hope of recovery until the blockade of Gaza is brought to an end and a political solution found that addresses the conflict throughout the IOPT. As aid continues to increase and the situation continues to deteriorate, as demonstrated below, we argue that this is not an effective use of taxpayers' money.
Poverty levels continue to climb and the UN predicts that dependency on humanitarian aid 'will sharply rise above and beyond the current level of 80 per cent of the population.'[1] According to the World Food Programme, the mean household monthly income dropped by 22 per cent in less than four months, between June and September 2007. During the same period the number of households in Gaza earning less than US$1.2 per person per day soared from 55-70 per cent (the National Deep Poverty Line is US$2.3 per day).
Only concerted political action, which lifts the siege on Gaza and seeks a viable solution that delivers an end to occupation and security for all, will actually change people's lives and pave the way to economic recovery, political stability and peace.
The UK's 'quiet' diplomacy has not been sufficient to bring an end to the worsening humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. Christian Aid notes Secretary of State, Douglas Alexander's, increased pledge of £2 million to the ICRC, but asserts that although welcome and necessary, what Gaza desperately needs Is systematic access to the outside world.
The Israeli policy of isolation is not new, and Gaza has been subject to closures since the early 1990s. In November 2005, afer much negotiation, Israel and the Palestinian Authority concluded an agreement on movement and access (AMA) for Gaza. The aim of the agreement was to enable the people of Gaza to move, to trade, to live ordinary lives. However, it has never been properly implemented.
Christian Aid recommends that
· concrete provisions are made within the current peace negotiations that actively focus on ending the isolation of the Gaza Strip
· the UK government and EU actively promote plans for the reopening of the Gaza crossings, in line with the Agreement on Movement and Access, brokered by the US and EU in 2005
· the UK government and the international community help facilitate the process of dialogue and reconciliation between Palestinians towards the re-establishment of a unified Palestinian Authority, in order to lead to a credible and effective peace process with Israel
· the UK government and EU abandon the failing policy of non-engagement and begin political dialogue with all Palestinian parties
· it is ensured that all parties to the peace process commit to pre-conditions for peace negotiations, including a cessation of violence, security for all and an end to settlement expansion.
' [1] UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, The closure of the Gaza Strip: the economic and humanitarian consequences, OCHA Special Focus, December 2007 |