Pam Bailey in Gaza
There was a time when activist groups that focused on helping the Palestinians in Gaza reserved their harshest language and protests for Israel, which long has prohibited both air and sea traffic in and out of Gaza; tightly limited exchanges through its Erez terminal; and banned exports altogether. While movement in and out of Gaza via the Egyptian terminal at Rafah was restricted as well, it nonetheless was a critical lifeline for Palestinians needing to travel, and for humanitarian aid. Likewise, members of the Egyptian government often played a constructive role in facilitating negotiations between the various Palestinian factions, as well as with international parties.
However, in the two months since the Egyptian military took control, it has made clear it will no longer serve as that “bridge”. In fact, as the military and other opponents of ousted President Mohamed Morsi increasingly blame Palestinian “elements” for growing unrest and violence, particularly in the Sinai Peninsula, the interim government of Egypt has increasingly allied itself with Israel in strategy and actions – becoming just as much Gazans’ gaoler as its neighbour to the east. As The Washington Post reported : “with Egypt’s military-backed interim government shutting down the tunnels and largely closing its own pedestrian crossing at Rafah, Gaza is increasingly shut off from the world”.
In response, organisations ranging from the European Campaign to End the Siege of Gaza to ‘Gaza’s Ark’ (an international coalition focused on ending the Israeli ban on exports) are directly including Egypt in their messaging. And a petition launched by a grassroots coalition calling itself the International Campaign to “OpenRafahBorder” attracted more than 1,000 signatures from around the world in just the first 24 hours. The coalition’s goal is to collect 25,000 signatures and deliver them to Egyptian ambassadors, the United Nations and human rights organisations.
Students, patients stranded
Before Egypt’s military ousted Morsi on July 3, an estimated 1,200 people-a-day used to cross through Rafah, which was Gaza’s main window to the world. Since then, the average number of permitted travellers has only been 250 each day, if Rafah is open at all. At this article’s writing, Rafah had been closed for six consecutive days. The ‘EuroMid Observer for Human Rights’ estimates that at least 10,000 Palestinians are currently on the waiting list to cross on the Gaza side alone.
Many of the individuals left stranded are students trying to get to universities after months of effort to apply for scarce scholarships. Malaka Mohammed, a 23-year-old refugee, is set to begin studying global politics and law at the UK’s Sheffield University on Sept. 30, after working hard to obtain a partial scholarship and fundraising through an online campaign. With about half of the needed donations already in, Mohammed took a risk and made arrangements to travel to the UK on September 18. Now she is wondering if all that work was for naught.
“Gaza really is the world’s biggest prison and it’s become more so every day. We thought the Rafah crossing was our exit to freedom and happiness. But it has become a place where people lose their hopes,” she posted on Facebook.
Other stranded travellers include persons needing medical care. Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, told Reuters that 1,000 individuals a month require medical care in Egypt or other countries due to the shortages and other difficulties in the Strip. While foreign physicians often travel to Gaza to bring vital supplies and provide care, these days they aren’t being allowed in. “Until June, we had received 60 delegations of doctors who performed surgery on 1,000 patients. No delegation has arrived since then,” Qidra told Reuters.
Acute fuel shortage
Although word came on September 16, that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas had interceded with the Egyptian interim government to open up a few hours for students and sick people, Gazans were unimpressed. Shahd Abusalama, who is trying to leave to study in Istanbul, posted this comment: “Thanks a lot, Abbas, for finding some time to think about us and deciding to take action. We, the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip, appreciate that you finally have some sympathy for us. The crisis cannot be solved by opening up for just two days, four working hours each. This is not a solution. If they manage to let 500 people cross, what will happen to the rest?
F***k him!”
Currently, the only way for goods and supplies to enter Gaza is Israel’s Kerem Shalom crossing (Rafah was not constructed to handle freight traffic). However, the volume allowed is far below the population’s needs (179 trucks a day, compared to nearly 600 before Israel imposed the siege in 2007). Thus, underground smuggling tunnels from Egypt to Gaza have played the role of a crucial “safety valve”. According to the EuroMid Observer for Human Rights, Gaza’s businesses have relied on the tunnels for more than 45 percent of their raw materials – including about 7,500 tonnes of construction materials per day.
However, the Egyptian military now has launched a massive campaign to destroy the tunnels, without a plan for allowing goods in via another route. The operation seems to be part of an effort to cripple Hamas – an offshoot of the Muslim Brotherhood – which governs the coastal enclave.
90pc tunnels destroyed
Local sources say 90 percent of the tunnels have been forced out of operation; fewer than 10 are still open, compared to an estimated 300 before the crackdown. As a result of the tunnel destruction and other restrictions, says the Euro-Mid Observer, 60 percent of industrial businesses are closed and the rest are operating at partial capacity, putting more than 19,500 people out of work.
A related challenge is that Gazans have come to rely on the cheap, state-subsidised fuel and gas smuggled from Egypt (Israeli gas is twice as expensive and thus not affordable). Long lines at gas stations, as well as a dramatic reduction in cars available for transportation, are now increasingly the reality in Gaza.
Yousef Aljamal, a young Gazan employee of a local NGO, posted on Facebook, “the transportation crisis in Gaza is deepening. I waited half-an-hour this morning to get a ride to my office, to no avail. I had to change the route I take every day, increasing the fees I have to pay. It also took me half-an-hour to get a ride to get home. Exhausted!”
With the irrepressible Gazan “graveyard” humour, another friend commented, “I heard that our electricity company is gonna run their generators on donkeys – sounds like good news: green energy!”
On September 5, the Palestinian Energy Authority warned that the Gaza Power Plant is in danger of shutting down completely due to lack of fuel. If the plant shuts down, the result would be power outages of 12 to 16 hours-a-day, up from the current 8 to 12 hours, disabling water and waste-disposal systems as well as crippling many businesses.
Even more alarming, warns the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Assistance to the Occupied Palestinian Territory, is the fact that Gaza’s 14 hospitals and 60 health centres have long relied on 250,000 litres of the less-expensive Egyptian fuel each month (likewise, 30 percent of their medicines and other supplies had come through Rafah).
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Courtesy:Al Jazira. Pam Bailey is a freelance journalist and activist who has lived and worked in Gaza.
Source: Weekly Holiday
Ignoring Anglo-American rulers wrath
The two Caribbean states of Grenada and Haiti have officially recognized the state of Palestine.
http://www.MNA.com/www.islamicnewsinternational.com/www.worldbulletin.com.29.09.13
The recognition was endorsed in a ceremony held at the United Nations headquarters in New York, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki was quoted as saying by state news agency (Wafa).Al-Malki signed separate agreements with his counterparts from both countries to establish diplomatic relations and exchange ambassadors in accordance with the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.The top Palestinian diplomat expressed appreciation for the two countries, saying the recognition deals would boost relations between Palestine and the two countries. Last year, a bid by the Palestinian Authority to have its status in the UN upgraded to state recognition won majority in the UN General Assembly.