AL-HAQ ACTION ALERT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Ref.: 01.2008E
21 January 2008
End the Siege of the Gaza Strip
On Sunday 20 January 2008, Israel’s ongoing siege of the
Gaza Strip, including the blocking of fuel supplies, forced
Gaza’s only power plant to shut down, plunging over 800,000
Palestinians into darkness. According to the
General-Director of the plant, the shortage of electricity
caused by the lack of fuel will affect the provision of
medical care and water and sanitation services.
On Sunday morning, the Gaza Coastal Municipalities
Water Utility, which normally operates 130 wells as
well as sewage treatment plants, stated that if the
fuel supply is not restored by Tuesday, these
services will cease to function throughout the
Gaza Strip. Since Friday 18 January, Israel has
also closed all Gaza’s border crossings and
blocked all humanitarian aid, except in exceptional
circumstances. With some 80 percent of Gaza’s
population requiring food aid, the impact of these
measures will be catastrophic. This escalation
has also been accompanied by an intensifying
of Israeli military attacks on the Gaza Strip in the
first 19 days of 2008, costing the lives of 69
Palestinians, including four children and eight
women, and the injury of over 190.
Israel’s current policy in relation to the Gaza Strip and
its 1.5 million inhabitants constitutes an unmitigated
violation of international humanitarian law including,
but not limited to, Israel’s obligation as an Occupying
Power to, at a minimum, ensure the basic needs
of the population under its effective control, and the
prohibitions on collective punishment, coercion and
unlawful reprisals.
Israel’s current policy and recent actions have shown a
casual disregard for the lives and dignity of the 1.5 million
Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, treating their suffering
and the violation of their fundamental rights as little more
than an inconvenience that will earn gentle reprimand
from the international community and Palestinian National
Authority, but will otherwise be irrelevant. With the
intolerable conditions and constant state of fear that
the Gazan population is now forced to live under, it
is time for this position to change. Israel must not be
allowed to shield itself from the implementation of
its international legal obligations, nor should the
international community shy away from enforcing
such implementation. Inarticulate fears of disrupting
a “peace process” that exists only in vague declarations
and diplomatic handshakes, that treats the Gaza
Strip as separate from the rest of the Occupied Palestinian
Territory (OPT) and Palestinians as a divided people,
cannot be an excuse for allowing the continued siege
of the Gaza Strip. In fact, if any “peace process” is to
succeed, the conclusion reached must embody a
sense of justice. This requires, as an unavoidable
starting point, that the fundamental rights of all
parties be recognised and protected.
Al-Haq therefore calls upon,
Israel to immediately cease all military operations in the
Gaza Strip and to end its policy of collective punishment,
including the opening of border crossings to allow the
movement of goods and people, and restoring the
supply of fuel and humanitarian aid.
The Palestinian Liberation Organisation to establish
Israel’s obligations under international law in respect of
the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, including
ending the collective punishment and ensuring
access to essential medical services, food and
water and sanitation, as an integral part of any
negotiations.
regional organisations and individual states to
take concrete measures, including economic and
diplomatic sanctions, to ensure Israel’s compliance
with international law.
All international agencies, including the UN, present
in the OPT to actively draw the attention of international
decision makers to the impact of Israeli policies on the
Palestinian civilian population of the Gaza Strip.
The UN Secretary-General immediately bring the
situation in the Gaza Strip to the attention of the
Security Council.
Concerned individuals and civil society groups to raise
Israel’s violations of international law with elected officials
in their home counties.
Palestinian armed groups to immediately cease
the launching of rockets targeting civilian population
centres in Israel.
- Ends
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