MPAC Calls for End of Policy of Starvation of Palestinians in Gaza
September 20, 2007
The Muslim Public Affairs Council today called for humanitarian intervention for the Gaza Strip, which Israel today declared an "enemy entity" and said it will soon cut off electricity and fuel to Gaza. Such massive economic sanctions could be the tipping point for a continuing humanitarian crisis which threatens to starve the Palestinian people.
Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of Gaza two years ago and insists this brought an end to its occupation of the territory, but it continues to control all the area's essential resources, including water, electricity, fuel, airspace, and border crossings.
SEE: "Israel Declares Gaza 'Hostile Entity'" (Washington Post, 9/19/07)
Enacting such devastating economic sanctions against civilians is a disproportionate and inhumane response to Palestinian militants' cross-border rocket attacks against Israel.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice today said only that the U.S. had received assurance from Israel that it would not affect the humanitarian situation in the territory. Given Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak's admission that "a large-scale operation closer" draws closer each day, the administration must act agressively to prevent collective punishment from being enacted upon the residents of Gaza. The failure of the U.S. to address the humanitarian crisis in Gaza feeds perceptions of its apathetic attitude to 1.5 million starving Palestinians.
Secretary General Ban Ki-moon urged Israel on Wednesday to reconsider its decision, warning that any cutoff of vital services would violate international law and punish the already suffering civilian population. The World Health Organization urged the international community to help prevent a looming health and humanitarian disaster.
The new sanctions have been condemned by all human rights groups, including Israeli human rights group B'Tselem. They join a long list of restrictions that have already been placed on Palestinian commerce in Gaza and on what type of goods Israel is allowing to be transferred into the Palestinian territory. Two-thirds of Palestinians now live below the poverty line. In 2005 the Palestinian population was just over half that of Israel yet Palestinian GDP was only 3% of Israel's.
SEE ALSO: Envisioning Peace: The MPAC Perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (MPAC, 6/8/07)
