ISRAEL-OPT: Aid groups, UN protest Israeli sanctions move on Gaza

Ahmed, 14, and Amjad, 12, during a power cut in Tal Zaatar, Gaza. The Israeli cabinet decision would allow the state to cut fuel and electricity supplies to Gaza Strip.

JERUSALEM, 20 September 2007 (IRIN) - An Israeli cabinet decision on 19 September, which declared the Gaza Strip a "hostile entity" and which would allow the state to cut fuel and electricity supplies to the enclave, has been immediately condemned by aid and human rights organisations.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said he was concerned "such a step would be contrary to Israel's obligations towards the civilian population under international humanitarian and human rights law".

The people of Gaza are "already suffering from the impact of prolonged closure" and they should not be punished for the "unacceptable" actions of militants who fire rockets into Israel, Ban said.

The Israeli cabinet announced it would further restrict the passage of goods into Gaza and reduce power supplies. "Restrictions will also be placed on the movement of people to and from the Gaza Strip." However, there is "the intention to avoid a humanitarian crisis".

The decision, which has not yet been implemented, came a week after an Israeli military base was hit by Gazan rockets, leaving around 60 soldiers wounded.

...such a step would be contrary to Israel's obligations towards the civilian population under international humanitarian and human rights law.

The decision was harshly condemned by the Palestinian caretaker government of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas, as well as by Hamas in Gaza, which described it as a "declaration of war".

Two rockets hit southern Israel shortly after the cabinet decision was announced.

What the decision could mean

Currently, only food and medical supplies are generally allowed in and all exports are banned. Construction materials are blocked, while it took several weeks and international pressure to allow paper for printing school books to arrive.

Movement of civilians is also already severely limited, and Gaza's Rafah Crossing to Egypt, has been closed since June. Further restrictions would likely ban even limited access to Israel.

Humanitarian concern

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said the decision is in line with international law and "it's not going to affect the humanitarian needs of the population in the Gaza Strip."

However, Oxfam International disagreed.

Photo: Tom Spender/IRIN

Palestinians wait in a queue at Beit Iba checkpoint in Gaza

"Reducing the fuel supplies to a bare minimum [will] only increase the suffering of one and a half million people in Gaza, and constitutes collective punishment," said Jeremy Hobbs, the group's executive director, adding it would be "immoral and contrary to the Geneva Conventions".

Cutting power, legal experts said, would not distinguish between civilians and militants.

Israel maintains it has very limited responsibility for the Gaza Strip since its 2005 redeployment of troops and settlers from the territory. Amnesty International, however, believes the Jewish state, is "ultimately responsible for ensuring the welfare of the… Palestinians who live in the Gaza Strip", since it "retains effective control" over the area.

The Israeli human rights group Gisha said the decision was "dangerous, because operating rooms, emergency services, sewage pumps and water wells cannot run without electricity".

Gaby Lasky Ta’ayush. Defending Human Rights in Palestine

Sonia Nettnin, Media Monitors Network, 5/08/07. Israeli Human Rights Attorney Gaby Lasky spoke about the challenges Palestinians face under Israeli occupation and Israeli settler violence. Lasky is the former secretary general of Israeli Peace Now and a former lieutenant of the Israeli Defense Forces. Now she represents Israelis, Palestinians and internationals involved in non-violent resistance to Israeli occupation in Israeli courts. She spoke on behalf of an Arab-Jewish grassroots organization called Ta’ayush (in Arabic, means “life in common”), to raise money for their legal fund. Ta’ayush works to eliminate racism and segregation through the creation of an Arab-Jewish partnership.

"How are settlements created? Settlers decide they want to expand the existing settlement, so they set up a tent or a house and a generator …and then it becomes an outpost office settlement. Even though the Israeli Army and the Israeli Government knows it is illegal, the army sends soldiers to care for the settlers. Then the Israeli Government paves roads, connects the settlers to electricity and installs telephone lines to them. Settlers do not install wires, cables, lines, and pylons all by themselves: they have Israel’s continued support for these colonies. “The settlers bring the army with them wherever they go, even if the army and the government understand the settlements are illegal. These outposts are made not only to conquer more land, to create a path for all Jewish-built territories in the Occupied Territories so that even if some government decides to end the occupation it will be very difficult. It will be very difficult to create a viable, Palestinian state because there will be so many settlements that have annexed Palestinian land. Israel has not made the necessary legal activities to make the Geneva Convention part of Israel’s legal system."

When Israel presented its report of how it has enacted the Geneva Conventions into their country’s legal system, Israel’s position to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights is “the Convention does not apply to the Occupied Territories; it applies in Israel but not the Occupied Territories.” However, Israel has been told, time and time again, the Geneva Conventions applies to the Occupied Territories.

full text