Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations, The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies.

Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations,

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The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations, Beirut, Lebanon, www.alzaytouna.net

A Call for International Action to Lift the Siege

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Gaza Strip is an occupied territory by international law. The Fourth Geneva Conventions that relate to the protection of civilians under any occupation by a foreign power points out that:

“No protected person may be punished for an offence he or she has not personally committed. Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited… Reprisals against protected persons and their property are prohibited…”

Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations, www.alzaytouna.net

Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations,

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Gaza Strip is suffering since mid June 2007 from a tight Israeli closure and collective punishment, which is about to result in a humanitarian catastrophe …

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The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

• Gaza Strip• The Closure• The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

– Food/Poverty– Water– Health/Medicine– Trade– Industry– Power

• Current Developments

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Gaza Strip

• Occupied Palestinian Territory, by international law

• Area: 363 km2

• Population ~ 1.5 million (July 2007 est.) including around 1 million refugees.

• Borders: – 11 km land, with Egypt– 51 km land, with “Israel”– 40 km coastline

• Israeli occupation & control over land, sea and air access.

‘ ’

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The Closure

• Collective punishment, siege, closures, blockades, etc… all these terms are not new in the Israeli practices since ever.

• Checkpoints, control of crossings, sea, water, airport bombed, raids on vital facilities, official institutions, markets, factories…

• Always used, but not as severely as today:– Al-Intifada 2000– After Hamas’s victory in the elections– After Hamas’s control over Gaza

• Today the closure is so tight and the siege is so harsh that even basic essential humanitarian needs of food, medicine, and clean water are lacking.

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Gaza today is isolated like never before. There is misery and fear on every single Palestinian face you see here.

BBC's Matthew Price

9/8/2007

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Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations,

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The Humanitarian Crisis in Gaza

The United Nation’s Office of Coordination

for Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) released by the

end of 2007 very alarming figures about the humanitarian crisis

in Gaza.

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OCHA reports (December 2007 and January 2008) stated that,

since mid June 2007:

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Food/Poverty

- No goods other than basic foods and medicines are being allowed into the Gaza Strip; Supplies of many stocks that are not considered absolutely essential are fast running out.

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- Basic items including wheat grain, vegetable oil, dairy products and baby milk are in extremely short supply.

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- Latest figures show poverty in the Gaza

Strip has already reached unprecedented levels with around eight

out of ten households living below the poverty line. Of these, 66.7% of Gazan households are living in deep poverty.

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- According to World Food Programme (WFP), of the 62% of households who stated a drop in spending, 93.5% cut back on food buying overall, leading to a 98% reduction in the purchase of meat and an 86% fall in the purchase of dairy products.

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- Unemployment is set to rise above 50% in the

Gaza Strip by the middle of 2008, if

current trends continue. Joblessness in the

Gaza Strip stood at 37.6% in the third

quarter of 2007.

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- The UN currently provides food ass-istance to 80% of the population in

Gaza Strip.

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- Food aid in Gaza is dispensed by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) to 850,000 refugees and WFP to 300,000 non-refugees. UNRWA has sufficient reserves of food but almost ran out of sacking and bags required to distribute food. WFP has very limited stocks of food for 120,000 of their beneficiaries and on 23/1/2008, only 10,000 people were given a portion of their rations.

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Water

- In December 2007, Gaza's water authority (the Coastal Municipalities Water Utility, CMWU) received 50% of its fuel needs.

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- As of 21/1/2008, the CMWU had only enough fuel to pump water from 40 out of its 130 wells, and to pump sewage at 21 out of its 33 pumping stations. At least 40% of Gazans had no running water during this time, while 30% of the population (450,000) still had no water by 23 January 2008.

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Lack of access to clean water will lead to children falling sick, AP, January 2008

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Health/Medicine

- Availability of medical supplies at Ministry of Health (MoH) facilities: 105 of the 416 essential drugs (25.2%) and 203 of the 596 essential medical supplies (34%) were at zero availability in December due to the lack of financial resources. These drugs include six first-line pediatric antibiotics and oncology drugs needed by 135 patients.

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- Approximately 1,000 different spare parts for medical and non medical equipment remain unavailable in MoH stocks and on the local market and cannot be imported into Gaza due to the current import restrictions.

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- The standard of healthcare in the Gaza Strip is deteriorating rapidly. The majority of diagnostic laboratory equipment, for example MRI and x-ray equipment, at Ministry of Health facilities are no longer functioning, and cannot be repaired due to the inability to import spare parts.

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- Israeli raids continued, regardless of the suffering and closure, and with the lack of necessary medicine and sufficient healthcare facilities, civilians injured suffered even more. Raids targeted civilians, power facilities, factories, and markets…

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Trade

- Due to the import restrictions of equipment and spare parts, 40% of Gaza's municipality vehicles and 600 containers need urgent

replacement. The market square is empty, Alzawieh

Market, Gaza, June 2007

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- The import of agricultural products was 36.6% less from June to December 2007 compared to the same period in 2006. The export of agricultural products was 89.6% less from June to December 2007 compared to the same period in 2006.

Grocery store in Gaza, bombed

by an Israeli raid, May 2007

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- Projects, including those funded by the World Bank and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), have been on hold since mid-June due to the inability to import the required parts and equipment such as pipes, valves, water and waste water pumps and electromechanical spare parts.

- None of the industrial sector's goods have been exported since mid-June 2007.

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Imports & Exports (May05-Nov07)

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Industry

- The Gaza Strip's private sector, which generates 53% of all its jobs, has been hardest hit by the closure and the resulting lack of raw materials and trade opportunities. More than 75,000 workers out of approximately 110,000 employed by the private sector have been temporarily laid off.

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Gaza, June 2007, Al-auda biscuit factory is closed due to a shortage in cocoa. 350 employees, supporting

2,450 dependents – are since then thrown out of work.

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- Nearly 90% of all industrial establish-ments (3,500 out of 3,900) have shut down since mid-June 2007, either temporarily or permanently, including the most significant factories located at Karni Industrial Zone.

Production lines halted. A Factory in Gaza, June 2007.

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- Only 10% of the Gazan Strip's industries (400 establishments) remain partially functional at a low capacity (below 20%) and after five months of closures, are shortly expected to run out of raw materials.

A factory in Gaza Strip, bombed by an Israeli raid, May 2007

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- The Gazan construction sector is currently paralyzed, mainly due to shortages in basic building materials such as cement, aggregates and steel, on which it is entirely dependent.

- By the end of November 2007, all construction factories (438) had shut down.

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Power

- By the end of January 2008, a new crisis aggravated in the Gaza Strip. The fuel that was used to empower the only remaining power station in Gaza was running out.

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- Gaza uses 200 megawatts of electricity; Israel supplies 60% of this, and Egypt 8%;

The remaining 32% is produced by Gaza's power station; Israel supplies the fuel oil for the Gaza power

station.

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- 20 January:

Gaza's only power plant shuts down.

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- 22 January: Israel eases restrictions on a limited amount of fuel.

Current Developments

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- 22 January: Egyptian border guards disper-se Palestinian protest against closure

Current Developments

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- 23 January: Border wall breached by civilian Palestinian crowds

Current Developments

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- Today: Is the crisis over?

- Were few days of opening the crossing enough for re-constructing what years of closure and suffering aggravated?

- Were these few days enough taking into consideration that now everything might go back to what it was before or even worse?

- Isn’t it time yet for our action towards ending the Israeli occupation, giving the Palestinians their humanity, justice, and Giving them freedom…

Current Developments

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Lift the Siegeon Gaza Strip

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Prepared by: Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations,

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OHCA Reports:

Gaza Strip Humanitarian Fact Sheet, December 2007

The Closure of the Gaza Strip: The Economic and Humanitarian Consequences, December 2007

Gaza Closure: Situation Report, 18-24 January 2008

Gaza Closure: Situation Report, 29 January 2008

Gaza Humanitarian Situation Report: Power Shortages in the Gaza Strip, 8 January 2008

All reports are available online at the Report Centre, OCHA website for the occupied Palestinian Territory, (last accessed 4/2/2008), url:

http://www.ochaopt.org/?module=displaysection&section_id=97&static=0&format=html