7 june 2014
A top Egyptian official said Saturday that Egypt was willing to permanently open the Rafah crossing under the condition that it would be supervised by the national unity government.
The official said that Egypt would request that President Mahmoud Abbas re-open the presidential headquarters in the Gaza Strip.
According to the official, who spoke to Ma'an on condition of anonymity, Egyptian authorities have welcomed the commitment of Hamas toward reconciliation which, for Cairo, facilitates cooperation with Hamas.
However, the official said Hamas must remain separate from the Muslim Brotherhood and not interfere in Egyptian matters.
The Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi strongly backs the national unity government will not prevent permanently opening Rafah as long as it is directed by the "legal" Palestinian authorities, the official said.
A meeting in Egypt between Sisi and Abbas will consider "real promises" for opening the crossing and organizing Egyptian-Palestinian cooperation now that reconciliation has succeeded, the official concluded.
The Rafah crossing is the principal connection between Gaza's 1.7 million people and the outside world, but Egypt maintains it tightly shut as part of the jointly-enforced Israeli blockade.
The Gaza Strip suffers from widespread shortages and recurrent humanitarian crises as a result of the siege, which has been in place since 2007.
The official said that Egypt would request that President Mahmoud Abbas re-open the presidential headquarters in the Gaza Strip.
According to the official, who spoke to Ma'an on condition of anonymity, Egyptian authorities have welcomed the commitment of Hamas toward reconciliation which, for Cairo, facilitates cooperation with Hamas.
However, the official said Hamas must remain separate from the Muslim Brotherhood and not interfere in Egyptian matters.
The Egyptian president Abdul Fattah al-Sisi strongly backs the national unity government will not prevent permanently opening Rafah as long as it is directed by the "legal" Palestinian authorities, the official said.
A meeting in Egypt between Sisi and Abbas will consider "real promises" for opening the crossing and organizing Egyptian-Palestinian cooperation now that reconciliation has succeeded, the official concluded.
The Rafah crossing is the principal connection between Gaza's 1.7 million people and the outside world, but Egypt maintains it tightly shut as part of the jointly-enforced Israeli blockade.
The Gaza Strip suffers from widespread shortages and recurrent humanitarian crises as a result of the siege, which has been in place since 2007.
4 june 2014
Five Algerian solidarity activists have staged a sit-in at the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing, after Egyptian authorities prevented their access to Gaza to accompany Algeria-Gaza 2 medical convoy. The Egyptian authorities allowed Monday the entry of Algeria-Gaza 2 medical convoy the besieged Strip via Rafah crossing carrying medicines and emergency medical supplies, while preventing the Algerian delegation, consisting of 5 solidarity activists, from having access to Gaza without giving reasons.
The Algerian convoy's media coordinator said in a press release on Tuesday that their sit-in will continue on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing till they are allowed access into Gaza.
He expressed surprise over the Egyptian decision to prevent the delegation's access to Gaza despite completing all necessary security measures.
The Egyptian authorities allowed the access of five containers carrying medical supplies, estimated at three million dollars, for the processing of the Algerian hospital in Khan Younis city, which was opened few days ago.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) continued to close Kerem Abu Salem crossing southern Gaza Strip for the second day in a row under the pretext of Jewish holidays.
The occupation authorities decided last Thursday to close the crossing on Tuesday and Wednesday and to re-open it next Thursday under the pretext of Jewish holidays.
Kerem Abu Salem is the only commercial crossing in Gaza, through which goods and fuel supplies are, partially, allowed access.
The Algerian convoy's media coordinator said in a press release on Tuesday that their sit-in will continue on the Egyptian side of the Rafah crossing till they are allowed access into Gaza.
He expressed surprise over the Egyptian decision to prevent the delegation's access to Gaza despite completing all necessary security measures.
The Egyptian authorities allowed the access of five containers carrying medical supplies, estimated at three million dollars, for the processing of the Algerian hospital in Khan Younis city, which was opened few days ago.
Meanwhile, the Israeli Occupation Authorities (IOA) continued to close Kerem Abu Salem crossing southern Gaza Strip for the second day in a row under the pretext of Jewish holidays.
The occupation authorities decided last Thursday to close the crossing on Tuesday and Wednesday and to re-open it next Thursday under the pretext of Jewish holidays.
Kerem Abu Salem is the only commercial crossing in Gaza, through which goods and fuel supplies are, partially, allowed access.
Egyptian authorities closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza on Wednesday after it had been open for three days to allow pilgrims from Saudi Arabia to return.
Over 1,000 pilgrims returned to Gaza on Tuesday.
Gaza's sole commercial crossing, Kerem Shalom, has also been shut for since Tuesday due to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
Over 1,000 pilgrims returned to Gaza on Tuesday.
Gaza's sole commercial crossing, Kerem Shalom, has also been shut for since Tuesday due to the Jewish holiday of Shavuot.
28 may 2014
The Organization of Islamic Conference (OIC) in its monthly report that discussed the human conditions in the Gaza Strip said that the situation in the Gaza Strip is unbearable due to the siege imposed by the Israeli occupation and the closure of the main crossings.
The OIC Tuesday appealed the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah crossing round the clock.
About 13,000 Gazans are registered to travel abroad and waiting for opening Rafah crossing to end their aggravated crisis.
The organization pointed out that the Egyptian authorities opened Rafah crossing for 11 days only since the beginning of 2014.
According to the organization's report, the number of families that have orphans is 7873.
The orphans number in the Gaza Strip is 22776, pointing out that 51% of them are males and 49% are females.
In April, the Israeli military aircraft raided the besieged enclave more than 15 times, the OIC's report stated.
The raids caused serious damages to 26 houses, 7 civil cars, 3 workshops of plumping and blacksmith, and 18 cattle. No injuries were reported.
In terms of the electricity crisis, the report unveiled that the amount of the Qatari fuel that runs the power plant and enters the strip via Karm Abu Salem crossing was decreased due to closing the crossing during the Jewish feasts.
Due to the lack of finance, the number of humanitarian projects carried out in the strip has noticeably decreased, the OIC observed.
Israel has subjected the Gaza Strip to a policy of closure since 1991. However, the current, most extreme form, of closure has been applied continuously since 2007.
Apart from depriving the 1.8 million inhabitants of Gaza of basic goods and crippling the economy by preventing trade with the outside world, the closure regime has prolonged the suffering caused by the Israeli attacks on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009.
The OIC Tuesday appealed the Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah crossing round the clock.
About 13,000 Gazans are registered to travel abroad and waiting for opening Rafah crossing to end their aggravated crisis.
The organization pointed out that the Egyptian authorities opened Rafah crossing for 11 days only since the beginning of 2014.
According to the organization's report, the number of families that have orphans is 7873.
The orphans number in the Gaza Strip is 22776, pointing out that 51% of them are males and 49% are females.
In April, the Israeli military aircraft raided the besieged enclave more than 15 times, the OIC's report stated.
The raids caused serious damages to 26 houses, 7 civil cars, 3 workshops of plumping and blacksmith, and 18 cattle. No injuries were reported.
In terms of the electricity crisis, the report unveiled that the amount of the Qatari fuel that runs the power plant and enters the strip via Karm Abu Salem crossing was decreased due to closing the crossing during the Jewish feasts.
Due to the lack of finance, the number of humanitarian projects carried out in the strip has noticeably decreased, the OIC observed.
Israel has subjected the Gaza Strip to a policy of closure since 1991. However, the current, most extreme form, of closure has been applied continuously since 2007.
Apart from depriving the 1.8 million inhabitants of Gaza of basic goods and crippling the economy by preventing trade with the outside world, the closure regime has prolonged the suffering caused by the Israeli attacks on Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009.
25 may 2014
50 Palestinian detainees, including 7 Jerusalemites, held in Nafha prison have initiated a hunger strike on Sunday in solidarity with the administrative prisoners. Meanwhile life-sentenced Sheikh Jamal Abu Al-Haija was denied a family visit, amid calls by MP Khudari to rally round the hunger strikers. According to the Palestinian Prisoner Society, 50 prisoners from Nafha jail joined the hunger strike while other detainees from different Palestinian factions vowed to join up as a solidarity move with the administrative prisoners, who have been without food for 32 days in a row.
The number of Palestinian hunger strikers has gone up to 200 administrative detainees, including 120 who have been without food ever since the strike was initiated on April 24.
In another event, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided Kafr Ein town north of Ramallah at dawn Saturday and broke into the house of ex-detainee, Rami Barghouthi, released just a few days ago, eye-witnesses documented.
According to the detainee’s brother, Rani, IOF “broke into the house in a brutal way before summoning Rami for interrogation in Ofer military camp next Tuesday.”
“Is not a four-month-detention period enough for interrogation? Or this is just part of the typically Israeli bullying and intimidation tactics?” wonders Rani Barghouthi.
Ex-detainee Rami Barghouthi was locked-up for four months under administrative detention, during which he had gone on a 27-day hunger strike in solidarity with the other administrative prisoners.
In a related context, Sheikh Jamal Abu al-Haija was denied the right to a family-visit after having acquired a visit-permit for the first time ever since he had been detained 12 years ago.
Abu al-Haija’s family told PIC correspondent the Sheikh’s daughter and wife were supposed to visit him on Monday when a phone call from the Red Cross informed them that the Israeli Prison Service in Raymond jail has turned over the decision as a penalty for having joined the administrative hunger strike.
“This is a right ensured by all international treaties, to which IOA turns deaf ears as a pretext for the execution of its arbitrary orders and bans.”
Israeli courthouses ruled 9 back-to-back life sentences and 20 years in prison against Sheikh Jamal, denied the visits of his children and family members ever since.
In a related event, MP Jamal Al-Khudari head of the Popular Committee against the Siege called for the unification of solidarity events against the Gaza siege and in support of the Palestinian hunger strike. The move makes part of a series of activities initiated under the slogan “Freedom day of Gaza, Palestine, and Prisoners.”
Khudari said in a statement on Sunday: “Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails are subject to the most atrocious violations ever,” calling on the solidarity and volunteer envoys to partake in the events aiming at halting the siege in all of its forms.
Poverty and unemployment rates are hitting unparalleled levels, estimated at 50%. The daily average per capita income in Gaza does not exceed $ 2-2.5, factories and workshops have been shut down due to the Israeli export and import bans, Khudari reported.
According to Khudari, the Gaza siege is targeting all Palestinians, calling for lifting the siege, opening the crossings and the passageway between Gaza and the Occupied West Bank, restructuring Gaza’s International Airport and constructing the Strip’s sea port.
The number of Palestinian hunger strikers has gone up to 200 administrative detainees, including 120 who have been without food ever since the strike was initiated on April 24.
In another event, the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) raided Kafr Ein town north of Ramallah at dawn Saturday and broke into the house of ex-detainee, Rami Barghouthi, released just a few days ago, eye-witnesses documented.
According to the detainee’s brother, Rani, IOF “broke into the house in a brutal way before summoning Rami for interrogation in Ofer military camp next Tuesday.”
“Is not a four-month-detention period enough for interrogation? Or this is just part of the typically Israeli bullying and intimidation tactics?” wonders Rani Barghouthi.
Ex-detainee Rami Barghouthi was locked-up for four months under administrative detention, during which he had gone on a 27-day hunger strike in solidarity with the other administrative prisoners.
In a related context, Sheikh Jamal Abu al-Haija was denied the right to a family-visit after having acquired a visit-permit for the first time ever since he had been detained 12 years ago.
Abu al-Haija’s family told PIC correspondent the Sheikh’s daughter and wife were supposed to visit him on Monday when a phone call from the Red Cross informed them that the Israeli Prison Service in Raymond jail has turned over the decision as a penalty for having joined the administrative hunger strike.
“This is a right ensured by all international treaties, to which IOA turns deaf ears as a pretext for the execution of its arbitrary orders and bans.”
Israeli courthouses ruled 9 back-to-back life sentences and 20 years in prison against Sheikh Jamal, denied the visits of his children and family members ever since.
In a related event, MP Jamal Al-Khudari head of the Popular Committee against the Siege called for the unification of solidarity events against the Gaza siege and in support of the Palestinian hunger strike. The move makes part of a series of activities initiated under the slogan “Freedom day of Gaza, Palestine, and Prisoners.”
Khudari said in a statement on Sunday: “Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails are subject to the most atrocious violations ever,” calling on the solidarity and volunteer envoys to partake in the events aiming at halting the siege in all of its forms.
Poverty and unemployment rates are hitting unparalleled levels, estimated at 50%. The daily average per capita income in Gaza does not exceed $ 2-2.5, factories and workshops have been shut down due to the Israeli export and import bans, Khudari reported.
According to Khudari, the Gaza siege is targeting all Palestinians, calling for lifting the siege, opening the crossings and the passageway between Gaza and the Occupied West Bank, restructuring Gaza’s International Airport and constructing the Strip’s sea port.
22 may 2014
Several hundred Palestinian Christians from the Gaza Strip have been allowed to leave the besieged Palestinian territory to travel to the West Bank for Pope Francis's upcoming visit, officials said Thursday.
"Israel allowed around 650 Christians in Gaza to travel to the West Bank during the pope's visit" this weekend, a security official told AFP .
Dozens of pilgrims passed through the Erez border crossing Thursday morning, an AFP correspondent said, referring to the Israeli-controlled personnel crossing from the Strip, which is run by the Hamas movement.
Pope Francis arrives in Jordan on Saturday before traveling to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, then to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
"This visit honors Palestinians and recognizes them as a people, and acknowledges their rights," said 22-year-old Milad Ayyad, whose mother will go while he is left behind.
Israel has only allowed Christians over 35 years of age to go.
Minerva Saba, a 54-year-old woman who lost a son during an Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2008, called on the pope to "come to Gaza and pray with us in our church, to see how people live here."
"Christians are a minority in Gaza and they have many problems which the pope must hear about," she said.
Gaza is home to only some 1,500 Christians out of an overwhelmingly Muslim population of 1.7 million people. Most of them are Greek Orthodox, and only about 130 Roman Catholic.
They have been targeted in a few attacks by militants since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007. A hand grenade exploded in the courtyard of a Roman Catholic church in Gaza City in February, and in 2011, a bomb targeted the director of Gaza's Anglican hospital, who escaped unharmed.
Like other Gaza Palestinians, Christians have also suffered as a result of the severe Israeli-imposed economic blockade since 2007.
"Israel allowed around 650 Christians in Gaza to travel to the West Bank during the pope's visit" this weekend, a security official told AFP .
Dozens of pilgrims passed through the Erez border crossing Thursday morning, an AFP correspondent said, referring to the Israeli-controlled personnel crossing from the Strip, which is run by the Hamas movement.
Pope Francis arrives in Jordan on Saturday before traveling to the West Bank town of Bethlehem, then to Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.
"This visit honors Palestinians and recognizes them as a people, and acknowledges their rights," said 22-year-old Milad Ayyad, whose mother will go while he is left behind.
Israel has only allowed Christians over 35 years of age to go.
Minerva Saba, a 54-year-old woman who lost a son during an Israeli military operation in Gaza in 2008, called on the pope to "come to Gaza and pray with us in our church, to see how people live here."
"Christians are a minority in Gaza and they have many problems which the pope must hear about," she said.
Gaza is home to only some 1,500 Christians out of an overwhelmingly Muslim population of 1.7 million people. Most of them are Greek Orthodox, and only about 130 Roman Catholic.
They have been targeted in a few attacks by militants since Hamas took over Gaza in 2007. A hand grenade exploded in the courtyard of a Roman Catholic church in Gaza City in February, and in 2011, a bomb targeted the director of Gaza's Anglican hospital, who escaped unharmed.
Like other Gaza Palestinians, Christians have also suffered as a result of the severe Israeli-imposed economic blockade since 2007.
21 may 2014
|
|
By Charlie Hoyle
New construction work at Bethlehem's 300 checkpoint is exacerbating already dire conditions for thousands of Palestinian workers trying to enter Israel, leading to dangerous overcrowding and reports of physical violence by Israeli forces. In May, the Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel released a report detailing deteriorating conditions at the checkpoint since January, with frequent closures of a humanitarian lane intended for the elderly, disabled, women, and children. Since April, construction work has meant that only one out of three |
entrance and exit lanes is in use, with the 5,500-6,000 workers crossing everyday between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. forced to use one turnstile, leading to dangerous overcrowding and fights.
In March 2014, EAPPI volunteers who monitor the checkpoint observed a man spitting blood after exiting the turnstile, where he had squeezed in with two other men.
An EA worker told Ma'an this week that she had witnessed several men collapse to their knees while queuing because the atmosphere was so intense, while another worker said that Israeli soldiers made a terrified 14-year-old girl queue with male workers because they refused to open the humanitarian lane.
"The construction is causing a lot of confusion and chaos. Different gates were open at different moments, there are no directions, no signs about where to go, and it is unclear as to what the new construction will look like," one EA worker told Ma'an.
Israeli authorities have issued a Humanitarian Hotline number to help improve conditions, but EA volunteers said this week that they called it four times without an answer, before being told it was the wrong number.
"We have seen it (the checkpoint) run very smoothly. It is possible. This chaos and extreme inhumanity doesn't need to be this extreme," one worker told Ma'an.
"There are ways to deal with it in a more humane way."
Apathy of Israeli soldiers
In March 2014, EAPPI volunteers who monitor the checkpoint observed a man spitting blood after exiting the turnstile, where he had squeezed in with two other men.
An EA worker told Ma'an this week that she had witnessed several men collapse to their knees while queuing because the atmosphere was so intense, while another worker said that Israeli soldiers made a terrified 14-year-old girl queue with male workers because they refused to open the humanitarian lane.
"The construction is causing a lot of confusion and chaos. Different gates were open at different moments, there are no directions, no signs about where to go, and it is unclear as to what the new construction will look like," one EA worker told Ma'an.
Israeli authorities have issued a Humanitarian Hotline number to help improve conditions, but EA volunteers said this week that they called it four times without an answer, before being told it was the wrong number.
"We have seen it (the checkpoint) run very smoothly. It is possible. This chaos and extreme inhumanity doesn't need to be this extreme," one worker told Ma'an.
"There are ways to deal with it in a more humane way."
Apathy of Israeli soldiers
Israeli soldiers who work at the 300 checkpoint lack experience and are often not empowered to facilitate the entry of thousands of workers.
When EA workers ask soldiers on duty why more is not being done to avoid the backlog of people, they say that they have to call their commanders, but then often make excuses to avoid doing so.
Most of the time the soldiers are simply indifferent to the plight of Palestinians trying the cross.
EA workers told Ma'an that they have seen Israeli soldiers in their booth rapping along to music, or reading Facebook. They reported seeing one soldier punching a wall, all during peak hours when thousands of people are trying to cross.
On Tuesday, at the height of overcrowding between 5:30 a.m. to 6 a.m., when almost 1,000 people were coming through, EA workers said they saw the only soldier in the booth reading a book.
"These are 18- or 19-year-olds without a commander, with no one in charge, and being put in charge of 4,000-6,000 people," an EA observer said.
A volunteer with Machsom Watch, a group of Israeli women who monitor checkpoints in the West Bank, told Ma'an that this attitude is symptomatic of Israeli society.
"They are all brainwashed. They were brought up to see them all as their enemies, as terrorists that kill people in the streets. He sits there and opposite him are people who are zero in his eyes. He doesn't mind if this is an old person or woman or child or someone hurrying to work. He doesn't see them."
"They (Israeli soldiers) don't cry when someone dies. They (Palestinians) are air, they don't exist."
Physical assaults
When EA workers ask soldiers on duty why more is not being done to avoid the backlog of people, they say that they have to call their commanders, but then often make excuses to avoid doing so.
Most of the time the soldiers are simply indifferent to the plight of Palestinians trying the cross.
EA workers told Ma'an that they have seen Israeli soldiers in their booth rapping along to music, or reading Facebook. They reported seeing one soldier punching a wall, all during peak hours when thousands of people are trying to cross.
On Tuesday, at the height of overcrowding between 5:30 a.m. to 6 a.m., when almost 1,000 people were coming through, EA workers said they saw the only soldier in the booth reading a book.
"These are 18- or 19-year-olds without a commander, with no one in charge, and being put in charge of 4,000-6,000 people," an EA observer said.
A volunteer with Machsom Watch, a group of Israeli women who monitor checkpoints in the West Bank, told Ma'an that this attitude is symptomatic of Israeli society.
"They are all brainwashed. They were brought up to see them all as their enemies, as terrorists that kill people in the streets. He sits there and opposite him are people who are zero in his eyes. He doesn't mind if this is an old person or woman or child or someone hurrying to work. He doesn't see them."
"They (Israeli soldiers) don't cry when someone dies. They (Palestinians) are air, they don't exist."
Physical assaults
According to EAPPI, inexperienced soldiers often rely on private Israeli security guards to maintain order, with frequent reports of verbal and physical assaults.
One male EA worker told Ma'an that he had personally been assaulted three times by security guards for no reason, once being physically dragged and pulled out of the 300 checkpoint on the Jerusalem side.
Other EA workers say they have witnessed guards aggressively shouting at Palestinians and internationals, or arbitrarily calling back workers who have left the checkpoint to get further ID checks.
"In the immediate future we want to see an end to human rights abuses. More lanes should be open so that Palestinian workers do not have to wait in dangerous crowds," EAPPI's Jerusalem office told Ma'an.
"Women, children, elderly, and sick should be allowed to cross through the humanitarian lane daily. It is already a degrading experience to go through this checkpoint, it should not be dangerous as well."
Israel's Civil Administration told Ma'an that the renovation work is being done "to improve the crossing of the Palestinians who use it every day and its timing fits the preparations for the Pope's visit to Bethlehem next week."
The renovations are being made in "different phases and sections, doing all the possible efforts not to damage the routine operation of the crossing," and the works are thus far providing "satisfactory results," it said.
The statement added that the humanitarian land is open for the public from Sunday through Friday, expect for specific occasions, and a representative from the Bethlehem District Coordination and Liaison Office is constantly present to "attend the population's needs."
One male EA worker told Ma'an that he had personally been assaulted three times by security guards for no reason, once being physically dragged and pulled out of the 300 checkpoint on the Jerusalem side.
Other EA workers say they have witnessed guards aggressively shouting at Palestinians and internationals, or arbitrarily calling back workers who have left the checkpoint to get further ID checks.
"In the immediate future we want to see an end to human rights abuses. More lanes should be open so that Palestinian workers do not have to wait in dangerous crowds," EAPPI's Jerusalem office told Ma'an.
"Women, children, elderly, and sick should be allowed to cross through the humanitarian lane daily. It is already a degrading experience to go through this checkpoint, it should not be dangerous as well."
Israel's Civil Administration told Ma'an that the renovation work is being done "to improve the crossing of the Palestinians who use it every day and its timing fits the preparations for the Pope's visit to Bethlehem next week."
The renovations are being made in "different phases and sections, doing all the possible efforts not to damage the routine operation of the crossing," and the works are thus far providing "satisfactory results," it said.
The statement added that the humanitarian land is open for the public from Sunday through Friday, expect for specific occasions, and a representative from the Bethlehem District Coordination and Liaison Office is constantly present to "attend the population's needs."
19 may 2014
Palestinian, Arab and foreign activists took to the sea off Gaza shores on Monday morning in a marine demonstration organized by the Popular Committee against the Siege in rejection of the blockade on Gaza and to mark the anniversary of the Turkish Marmara martyrs. Several volunteers from Miles of Smiles solidarity convoy, the Jordanian and Algerian delegations, fishermen’s syndicate, and the Sailors Union partook in the solidarity cruise along with a number of foreign activists.
Flowers were thrown into the sea as a symbolic gesture to commemorate the Marmara victims, who were killed by Israeli forces while on their way to bust Gaza siege.
MP Jamal al-Khudari, head of the Popular Committee against the Siege, called on all Arabs to rally round the Palestinian cause, lift the siege, and backup the projected consensus government.
Khudari hailed the heroic Palestinian prisoners locked-up inside of Israeli jails and the hunger strikers who sacrificed their lives and bodies to halt administrative detention.
Palestinians will always fight hand in hand to lift the siege and establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem have long been targeted with siege, displacement, persecution, and Judaization conspiracies, Khudari concluded.
Dr. Issam Youssef head of Miles convoys hailed the Palestinian masses, who stood their ground against Israeli occupation. According to Youssef the siege shall be lifted this year and the solidarity convoys will do whatever it takes to reconstruct what has been ruined by the Israeli occupation.
Jordanian delegation Chairman Kifah Amayreh, who took part in the flotilla, slammed Israel’s indifference to the murder of civilians who have come to support the besieged Gazan civilians.
According to the head of the Algerian delegation Yahya Sari, the presence of such solidarity delegations in Gaza proves that attempts to lift the siege will keep on going.
Chairman of the fishermen syndicate Nizar Ayash briefed the participants on the misfortune of Palestinian fishermen and condemned Israel’s decision to narrow down the fishing distance from 20 nautical miles, as ensured by International laws, to 6 nautical miles only, along with the arbitrary arrests and demolitions of their boats and fishing equipment.
Following the press conference held on Monday in Gaza port, 31 May was declared by Issam Youssef as an International Day for the Freedom of Gaza and 2014 as the Year for Lifting the Siege.
“Victory will only come true if we fight hand in hand. Otherwise Israel will take the lead, which will never happen.”
“We shall never give up our solidarity convoys until the end of the siege and occupation,” declares Youssef.
Youssef concluded by highlighting the weight of resistance, in all of its forms and means, as Palestinians’ legitimate and inalienable right, as has already been laid down by the UN.
Flowers were thrown into the sea as a symbolic gesture to commemorate the Marmara victims, who were killed by Israeli forces while on their way to bust Gaza siege.
MP Jamal al-Khudari, head of the Popular Committee against the Siege, called on all Arabs to rally round the Palestinian cause, lift the siege, and backup the projected consensus government.
Khudari hailed the heroic Palestinian prisoners locked-up inside of Israeli jails and the hunger strikers who sacrificed their lives and bodies to halt administrative detention.
Palestinians will always fight hand in hand to lift the siege and establish an independent Palestinian state with Jerusalem as its capital. Palestinians in occupied Jerusalem have long been targeted with siege, displacement, persecution, and Judaization conspiracies, Khudari concluded.
Dr. Issam Youssef head of Miles convoys hailed the Palestinian masses, who stood their ground against Israeli occupation. According to Youssef the siege shall be lifted this year and the solidarity convoys will do whatever it takes to reconstruct what has been ruined by the Israeli occupation.
Jordanian delegation Chairman Kifah Amayreh, who took part in the flotilla, slammed Israel’s indifference to the murder of civilians who have come to support the besieged Gazan civilians.
According to the head of the Algerian delegation Yahya Sari, the presence of such solidarity delegations in Gaza proves that attempts to lift the siege will keep on going.
Chairman of the fishermen syndicate Nizar Ayash briefed the participants on the misfortune of Palestinian fishermen and condemned Israel’s decision to narrow down the fishing distance from 20 nautical miles, as ensured by International laws, to 6 nautical miles only, along with the arbitrary arrests and demolitions of their boats and fishing equipment.
Following the press conference held on Monday in Gaza port, 31 May was declared by Issam Youssef as an International Day for the Freedom of Gaza and 2014 as the Year for Lifting the Siege.
“Victory will only come true if we fight hand in hand. Otherwise Israel will take the lead, which will never happen.”
“We shall never give up our solidarity convoys until the end of the siege and occupation,” declares Youssef.
Youssef concluded by highlighting the weight of resistance, in all of its forms and means, as Palestinians’ legitimate and inalienable right, as has already been laid down by the UN.
18 may 2014
The Israeli Occupation Authority (IOA) closed Karam Abu Salem crossing, Gaza sole commercial crossing, for 45 days during the first trimester of 2014, with a closure percentage estimated at 37.5% under pretext of Jewish holidays. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights said in a statement on Saturday IOA is trying by all means to ensure international immunity to such unfair restrictions imposed on passengers and goods traffic in and out of the Strip, despite of their flagrant breaches to international laws, including the International Humanitarian Law and the International Law of Human Rights .
The center refuted IOA’s allegations to allow certain amenities access into the Strip, blockaded for the 7th consecutive year.
A monthly loss of around 200 million dollars in Gaza Strip, due to the siege, was estimated by other reports.
Karam Abu Salem crossing, held in check by IOA, is located south of the Gaza Strip and serves to import goods from Egypt via 48 occupied Palestine.
Economy expert Maher al-Tabaa confirmed IOA has been deliberately denying access to several goods, namely building materials, into the Gaza Strip, leading to the suspension and breakdown of several economic activities
Al-Tabaa further pointed to a decline in import rates during the first third of 2014, with a number of imported trucks estimated at 11,945 compared to 12,149 in the first trimester of 2013.
The center refuted IOA’s allegations to allow certain amenities access into the Strip, blockaded for the 7th consecutive year.
A monthly loss of around 200 million dollars in Gaza Strip, due to the siege, was estimated by other reports.
Karam Abu Salem crossing, held in check by IOA, is located south of the Gaza Strip and serves to import goods from Egypt via 48 occupied Palestine.
Economy expert Maher al-Tabaa confirmed IOA has been deliberately denying access to several goods, namely building materials, into the Gaza Strip, leading to the suspension and breakdown of several economic activities
Al-Tabaa further pointed to a decline in import rates during the first third of 2014, with a number of imported trucks estimated at 11,945 compared to 12,149 in the first trimester of 2013.
