21 jan 2015
The Palestinian agricultural sector in Gaza has incurred no less than $450 million in losses due to last summer’s Israeli offensive on the blockaded coastal enclave.
A report issued Tuesday by the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute-Mas warned of the high levels of food insecurity in the besieged Gaza Strip compared to 2013, when over 1/3 of Gaza’s families suffered from food unavailability.
The report attributed the upsurge in food insecurity rates to the latest Israeli aggression on the coastal Strip, resulting in malnutrition, price inflation, and low per capita incomes.
MAS said the eight-year-long Israeli blockade on Gaza pushed unemployment rates up to 45%, due to the strict restrictions Israel imposes on Palestinians’ free access in and out of the Strip.
While 57% of Gaza’s families had no food security before the Israeli war in July 2014, says MAS, things have now gone much worse as the potential for recovery in agriculture – the major component of food security – remains unclear, especially that losses have been officially estimated at 450 million dollars so far.
Thousands of homes were destroyed or partially damaged in the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza, killing over 2,100 Palestinians and leaving around 200,000 others homeless.
A report issued Tuesday by the Palestine Economic Policy Research Institute-Mas warned of the high levels of food insecurity in the besieged Gaza Strip compared to 2013, when over 1/3 of Gaza’s families suffered from food unavailability.
The report attributed the upsurge in food insecurity rates to the latest Israeli aggression on the coastal Strip, resulting in malnutrition, price inflation, and low per capita incomes.
MAS said the eight-year-long Israeli blockade on Gaza pushed unemployment rates up to 45%, due to the strict restrictions Israel imposes on Palestinians’ free access in and out of the Strip.
While 57% of Gaza’s families had no food security before the Israeli war in July 2014, says MAS, things have now gone much worse as the potential for recovery in agriculture – the major component of food security – remains unclear, especially that losses have been officially estimated at 450 million dollars so far.
Thousands of homes were destroyed or partially damaged in the latest Israeli aggression on Gaza, killing over 2,100 Palestinians and leaving around 200,000 others homeless.
20 jan 2015
One poultry farm has been declared infected with avian flu in Siris village south of Jenin city in the West Bank. The infected birds were destroyed.
Local sources told the PIC reporter on Tuesday that thousands of birds suddenly died at the poultry. The owner accordingly notified the Palestinian competent authorities which coordinated with the Israelis for examination purposes.
For its part, the Palestinian authorities refrained from giving information in this regard. Nonetheless, the Israelis hastened to announce the infection.
People in Jenin expressed their concerns about the spread of the bird flu infection, the sources said.
Local sources told the PIC reporter on Tuesday that thousands of birds suddenly died at the poultry. The owner accordingly notified the Palestinian competent authorities which coordinated with the Israelis for examination purposes.
For its part, the Palestinian authorities refrained from giving information in this regard. Nonetheless, the Israelis hastened to announce the infection.
People in Jenin expressed their concerns about the spread of the bird flu infection, the sources said.
The Environment Quality Authority (EQA) voiced deep concern that a solemn ecological disequilibrium and air contamination would hit the West Bank city of Ramallah due to the mounds of trash piled up by the Israeli occupation authorities.
The EQA raised alarm bells over a premeditated Israeli scheme aimed at contaminating the Palestinian ecosystem, particularly in western Ramallah city.
The Environment Authority dubbed Israel’s exploitation of the area as a dumpsite “an illegal crime prohibited under the international law.”
An adverse change has hit Ramallah’s ecological system due to Israel’s misuse of such Palestinian villages as Shaqba, Rentis, and Ni’lin, as garbage dumps.
Head of the Environment Authority, Adala al-Atira, said during a stopover in Ramallah’s village of Shaqba: “The 1999 Environmental Law prohibits dumping toxic waste into the occupied Palestinian territories unless otherwise authorized.”
“This is a crime liable to be punished by life-imprisonment and hard labor . . . in addition to reimbursements to be shelled out in case any ecological damage occurs,” she added.
The EQA raised alarm bells over a premeditated Israeli scheme aimed at contaminating the Palestinian ecosystem, particularly in western Ramallah city.
The Environment Authority dubbed Israel’s exploitation of the area as a dumpsite “an illegal crime prohibited under the international law.”
An adverse change has hit Ramallah’s ecological system due to Israel’s misuse of such Palestinian villages as Shaqba, Rentis, and Ni’lin, as garbage dumps.
Head of the Environment Authority, Adala al-Atira, said during a stopover in Ramallah’s village of Shaqba: “The 1999 Environmental Law prohibits dumping toxic waste into the occupied Palestinian territories unless otherwise authorized.”
“This is a crime liable to be punished by life-imprisonment and hard labor . . . in addition to reimbursements to be shelled out in case any ecological damage occurs,” she added.
18 jan 2015
Gaza’s sole power plant has resumed generating electricity on Saturday after industrial fuel supplies were dispatched to the besieged Strip.
Deputy Chairman of Gaza’s Energy Authority, Fathi al-Sheikh Khalil, told the Anadolu News Agency that power distribution schedules are to be re-charted so as to provide the enclave with extra hours of electricity supplies.
The power station has resumed operations after large quantities of industrial diesel were pumped into the plant, allowing a momentary relief to the “eight hours on, 12 hours off” emergency schedule.
The Palestinian government on Wednesday pledged 10 million dollars, out of a 25-million-dollar-batch dispatched by Qatar, to provide Gaza’s power plant with fuel quantities, enough to run the station for half a month.
Over the past few weeks acute shortages in fuel stocks pushed the power generating company in the blockaded Gaza Strip to operate on the basis of a “six hours on, 12 powers off” schedule, put into effect in periods of emergency.
Scores of house fires broke out in Palestinian civilian homes due to burning candles lit up following frequent power shutdowns. Two children were proclaimed dead a couple of weeks ago after a lit candle set their house on fire.
The power-starved coastal enclave has been provided with 200 megawatts, only, out of an electricity demand that can reach up to 360 megawatts.
An eight-year-old power crisis has been rocking the war-battered Gaza, where frequent shutdowns of the power plant and the electricity outages have fanned the flames of a situation already exacerbated by a tough siege imposed by the Israeli occupation for eight years.
Deputy Chairman of Gaza’s Energy Authority, Fathi al-Sheikh Khalil, told the Anadolu News Agency that power distribution schedules are to be re-charted so as to provide the enclave with extra hours of electricity supplies.
The power station has resumed operations after large quantities of industrial diesel were pumped into the plant, allowing a momentary relief to the “eight hours on, 12 hours off” emergency schedule.
The Palestinian government on Wednesday pledged 10 million dollars, out of a 25-million-dollar-batch dispatched by Qatar, to provide Gaza’s power plant with fuel quantities, enough to run the station for half a month.
Over the past few weeks acute shortages in fuel stocks pushed the power generating company in the blockaded Gaza Strip to operate on the basis of a “six hours on, 12 powers off” schedule, put into effect in periods of emergency.
Scores of house fires broke out in Palestinian civilian homes due to burning candles lit up following frequent power shutdowns. Two children were proclaimed dead a couple of weeks ago after a lit candle set their house on fire.
The power-starved coastal enclave has been provided with 200 megawatts, only, out of an electricity demand that can reach up to 360 megawatts.
An eight-year-old power crisis has been rocking the war-battered Gaza, where frequent shutdowns of the power plant and the electricity outages have fanned the flames of a situation already exacerbated by a tough siege imposed by the Israeli occupation for eight years.
13 jan 2015
The Palestinian Environmental Quality Authority (EQA), on Tuesday, said in a statement that, following the Palestinian Authority’s recent move of signing on to four international conventions on environment, Israel will be held accountable for committing crimes against the environment in Palestine.
According to WAFA correspondence, ahead of the United Nations Security Council’s recent failure to adopt a draft resolution on ending the Israeli occupation, President Mahmoud Abbas has signed letters of accession to 16 international treaties, including the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The EQA said that Israel will, therefore, be held accountable for dumping hazardous wastes in Palestinians land, and for deliberately devastating the Palestinian biodiversity and natural resources.
Furthermore, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the EQA said Palestine would act to restore its sovereignty over the water rights in the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea.
Friends of the Earth International published a report, in 2013, pertaining to the ongoing colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, including the control over land and water resources.
See: http://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/06-foei-palestine-report-eng-lr.pdf
The report highlights the issue of the so-called "separation wall", which was allegedly designed to segregate the West Bank from Israel, and has been built largely on Palestinian land along the Western aquifer, which is the richest strategic groundwater basin.
It also noted Israel’s use of waste water to contaminate water resources and agricultural land as a form of political pressure.
See: 12/29/14 West Bank: Israelis Raze Crops, Pollute Lands, Violate Schools
The signing of global treaties on environment will enable Palestine to sue Israel for practices which endanger the environment and Palestinians' safety.
According to WAFA correspondence, ahead of the United Nations Security Council’s recent failure to adopt a draft resolution on ending the Israeli occupation, President Mahmoud Abbas has signed letters of accession to 16 international treaties, including the Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, Convention on Biological Diversity, Convention on the Law of the Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.
The EQA said that Israel will, therefore, be held accountable for dumping hazardous wastes in Palestinians land, and for deliberately devastating the Palestinian biodiversity and natural resources.
Furthermore, under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the EQA said Palestine would act to restore its sovereignty over the water rights in the Mediterranean and the Dead Sea.
Friends of the Earth International published a report, in 2013, pertaining to the ongoing colonization and ethnic cleansing of Palestine, including the control over land and water resources.
See: http://www.foei.org/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/06-foei-palestine-report-eng-lr.pdf
The report highlights the issue of the so-called "separation wall", which was allegedly designed to segregate the West Bank from Israel, and has been built largely on Palestinian land along the Western aquifer, which is the richest strategic groundwater basin.
It also noted Israel’s use of waste water to contaminate water resources and agricultural land as a form of political pressure.
See: 12/29/14 West Bank: Israelis Raze Crops, Pollute Lands, Violate Schools
The signing of global treaties on environment will enable Palestine to sue Israel for practices which endanger the environment and Palestinians' safety.
Gaza’s Energy Authority Monday raised alarm bells over chronic power blackouts rocking the blockaded Gaza Strip due to acute shortages in fuel reserves.
Spokesperson for the Energy Authority, Ahmad Abu al-Amarein, said only 1.5 million liters of fuel were shipped last week to Gaza’s power plant, half of whose electricity generators need at least 300,000 liters per day to function properly.
“The quantity dispatched last week meets the requirements of no more than five days,” he warned.
“Hadn’t we been resorting to rationing as the ultimate emergency way-out of the crisis, Gaza’s power plant would cease to function starting on Thursday,” he added.
Al-Amarein further drew attention to the huge amounts of fuel and funds needed to work out the power crisis in besieged Gaza, saying that inflation in the price of Israeli fuel and the taxes imposed by the Ramallah-based authorities, along with the shrinkage in collected bill rates and the latest Israeli offensive on Gaza, have sparked an urgent appeal for emergency supplies.
Acute shortages in fuel have forced Gaza’s plant to work along the “12 hours off, six hours on” emergency schedule as a last resort aimed at assuaging the rolling electricity outages rocking the blockaded enclave.
Spokesperson for the Energy Authority, Ahmad Abu al-Amarein, said only 1.5 million liters of fuel were shipped last week to Gaza’s power plant, half of whose electricity generators need at least 300,000 liters per day to function properly.
“The quantity dispatched last week meets the requirements of no more than five days,” he warned.
“Hadn’t we been resorting to rationing as the ultimate emergency way-out of the crisis, Gaza’s power plant would cease to function starting on Thursday,” he added.
Al-Amarein further drew attention to the huge amounts of fuel and funds needed to work out the power crisis in besieged Gaza, saying that inflation in the price of Israeli fuel and the taxes imposed by the Ramallah-based authorities, along with the shrinkage in collected bill rates and the latest Israeli offensive on Gaza, have sparked an urgent appeal for emergency supplies.
Acute shortages in fuel have forced Gaza’s plant to work along the “12 hours off, six hours on” emergency schedule as a last resort aimed at assuaging the rolling electricity outages rocking the blockaded enclave.
11 jan 2015
Representatives of the Dutch government recently visited a number of villages in the Hebron region as part of project focused on expanding Palestinian farmers' access to land through improved management of water resources.
The project, entitled "Land and Water Resource Management for Agriculture Development in the West Bank," is slated to last three-and-a-half years and is being implemented in 46 areas across the West Bank with the support of a number of Palestinian organizations.
During the recent visit, the First Secretary of Economic Affairs at the Netherlands Representative Office in Palestine, Wijnand Marchal, met with local stakeholders, beneficiaries, and members of regional committees and councils in Halhul, al-Shuyukh, Bani Naim, and al-Dhahiriya, all villages in the Hebron region.
There, the secretary reviewed a number of ongoing projects, including a land reclamation project over 1,500 dunums (370 acres), the opening of 150 kilometers (93 miles) of agricultural roads, and 1,100 dunums (270 acres) of water harvesting and deep rooting techniques, among others.
"The Netherlands government is pleased to provide this support and will be happy to come back later and see the fruit of their support to the Palestinian farmers," Marchal was quoted as saying in a statement.
The local projects are part of a larger strategy to "improve the food security and reduce poverty in vulnerable rural areas through comprehensive development of available agricultural sources including land, water and human capacity," the statement continued.
The project is slated enhance water supplies and irrigation water use "through installing water networks and constructing steel balance water tanks," the statement added, noting that the project will also "empower women to enhance their involvement in land development and agriculture and ease their access to inheritance law and rights."
The project will develop 3,000 dunums (740 acres) of unused land through the construction of 59 communal cisterns, helping farmers irrigate areas that were not previously arable.
The opening of agricultural roads, meanwhile, will improve access to the areas for Palestinians, who are in many cases forbidden from using the network of well-developed Israeli settler roads that crisscross the West Bank, particularly in rural areas around settlements.
The development of unused agricultural lands available to local Palestinian farmers fills a particularly urgent need as land that sits unused for more than a few years is often confiscated by Israeli authorities for the construction of Jewish-only settlements.
Access to areas around these settlements, in turn, are increasingly limited to Palestinians, often leaving farmers destitute as they are progressively forced to give up chunks of their lands.
By providing resources to Palestinian farmers to improve their ability to irrigate and farm lands currently fallow, however, the project could potentially block such appropriations, or at least make them more difficult to justify.
The senior project manager of the project, Mohammad Awad, said in the statement that the project would directly benefit 13,301 people and indirectly benefit 154,357, reducing levels of poverty among West Bank farmers.
The main local partners in the project are the Union of Agricultural Work Committees as well as the Palestinian Hydrology Group, Land Research Center, and Economic and Social Development Center.
The project, entitled "Land and Water Resource Management for Agriculture Development in the West Bank," is slated to last three-and-a-half years and is being implemented in 46 areas across the West Bank with the support of a number of Palestinian organizations.
During the recent visit, the First Secretary of Economic Affairs at the Netherlands Representative Office in Palestine, Wijnand Marchal, met with local stakeholders, beneficiaries, and members of regional committees and councils in Halhul, al-Shuyukh, Bani Naim, and al-Dhahiriya, all villages in the Hebron region.
There, the secretary reviewed a number of ongoing projects, including a land reclamation project over 1,500 dunums (370 acres), the opening of 150 kilometers (93 miles) of agricultural roads, and 1,100 dunums (270 acres) of water harvesting and deep rooting techniques, among others.
"The Netherlands government is pleased to provide this support and will be happy to come back later and see the fruit of their support to the Palestinian farmers," Marchal was quoted as saying in a statement.
The local projects are part of a larger strategy to "improve the food security and reduce poverty in vulnerable rural areas through comprehensive development of available agricultural sources including land, water and human capacity," the statement continued.
The project is slated enhance water supplies and irrigation water use "through installing water networks and constructing steel balance water tanks," the statement added, noting that the project will also "empower women to enhance their involvement in land development and agriculture and ease their access to inheritance law and rights."
The project will develop 3,000 dunums (740 acres) of unused land through the construction of 59 communal cisterns, helping farmers irrigate areas that were not previously arable.
The opening of agricultural roads, meanwhile, will improve access to the areas for Palestinians, who are in many cases forbidden from using the network of well-developed Israeli settler roads that crisscross the West Bank, particularly in rural areas around settlements.
The development of unused agricultural lands available to local Palestinian farmers fills a particularly urgent need as land that sits unused for more than a few years is often confiscated by Israeli authorities for the construction of Jewish-only settlements.
Access to areas around these settlements, in turn, are increasingly limited to Palestinians, often leaving farmers destitute as they are progressively forced to give up chunks of their lands.
By providing resources to Palestinian farmers to improve their ability to irrigate and farm lands currently fallow, however, the project could potentially block such appropriations, or at least make them more difficult to justify.
The senior project manager of the project, Mohammad Awad, said in the statement that the project would directly benefit 13,301 people and indirectly benefit 154,357, reducing levels of poverty among West Bank farmers.
The main local partners in the project are the Union of Agricultural Work Committees as well as the Palestinian Hydrology Group, Land Research Center, and Economic and Social Development Center.
10 jan 2015
An electricity crisis has been witnessed in several Palestinian towns to the west of Jenin which led to long-term and frequent power outages over the past two days.
An official in the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) operating in the northern West Bank told the PIC reporter that the electricity crisis is due to the Israeli reduction of power supply allocated for the city from 125 amps to 100 amps.
The Israeli decision to reduce power supply to Jenin was meant to meet the electricity demands and soaring consumption within the Green Line in total disregard to the Palestinian people’s needs, the source added.
The source pointed out that frequent outages have been reported in the area due to the bad weather conditions.
An official in the Northern Electricity Distribution Company (NEDCO) operating in the northern West Bank told the PIC reporter that the electricity crisis is due to the Israeli reduction of power supply allocated for the city from 125 amps to 100 amps.
The Israeli decision to reduce power supply to Jenin was meant to meet the electricity demands and soaring consumption within the Green Line in total disregard to the Palestinian people’s needs, the source added.
The source pointed out that frequent outages have been reported in the area due to the bad weather conditions.
8 jan 2015
The rate of Gaza’s electricity deficit has reached 70% due to frequent outages in the Israeli-run power lines and networks, the Energy Authority in the blockaded Strip said Wednesday.
The Energy Authority said in a statement that ten power lines running from Israel to Gaza supply about 120MW while Gaza’s power plant and the Egyptian power lines provide around 27 MW each.
The deficit level has hit 70%, the statement reported, warning of the power blackouts rocking the besieged enclave and amounting to 12 hours per day.
Some 959 liters of fuel reserves, estimated at 7 million shekels paid on two batches, have been purchased by Gaza’s authorities last Thursday, the statement added, pointing out the acute shortages in the fuel quantities needed to operate the two electricity generators.
The Energy Authority warned of the serious repercussions of the crisis particularly with the advent of a freezing winter and the torrents of heavy rains and snowstorms rocking Palestine.
The situation has gone from bad to worse due to the low temperatures, estimated below seasonal norms, which have brought consumption needs to two or three times as much as the enclave’s habitual requirements.
The Energy Authority has been working in collaboration with Gaza’s Electricity Distribution Company to repair any unexpected breakdowns and manage the power-supply schedules in the very best and even way possible.
The Energy Authority said in a statement that ten power lines running from Israel to Gaza supply about 120MW while Gaza’s power plant and the Egyptian power lines provide around 27 MW each.
The deficit level has hit 70%, the statement reported, warning of the power blackouts rocking the besieged enclave and amounting to 12 hours per day.
Some 959 liters of fuel reserves, estimated at 7 million shekels paid on two batches, have been purchased by Gaza’s authorities last Thursday, the statement added, pointing out the acute shortages in the fuel quantities needed to operate the two electricity generators.
The Energy Authority warned of the serious repercussions of the crisis particularly with the advent of a freezing winter and the torrents of heavy rains and snowstorms rocking Palestine.
The situation has gone from bad to worse due to the low temperatures, estimated below seasonal norms, which have brought consumption needs to two or three times as much as the enclave’s habitual requirements.
The Energy Authority has been working in collaboration with Gaza’s Electricity Distribution Company to repair any unexpected breakdowns and manage the power-supply schedules in the very best and even way possible.
7 jan 2015
95% of the groundwater in the blockaded Gaza Strip is unfit for human consumption, a report recently issued by the Palestinian Water Authority revealed.
A report issued by the water authority found out that the overall potable water consumption in Gaza reached 103.34 million cubic meters in 2013, equivalent to about 90 liters per capita, noting that the quantity and quality of water consumed is inadequate and lower than the recommended global rates.
It warned that the water conditions in Gaza have remarkably gone downhill due to the limited capacity of the underground water, estimated at 55 to 60 million cubic meters annually, while the quantity of water needed in Gaza is estimated at about 200 million cubic meters per annum.
The report further pointed out that the continued extraction of groundwater caused an increase in its salinity, fanning the flames of a crisis already exacerbated by the increasing contamination of the underground reservoir ratios as a result of the sewage leak.
A total of 98% of water resources in the Strip comes from coastal underground water, while the remainder needs are covered from the limited quantities purchased from the Israeli Mekorot water company.
A report issued by the water authority found out that the overall potable water consumption in Gaza reached 103.34 million cubic meters in 2013, equivalent to about 90 liters per capita, noting that the quantity and quality of water consumed is inadequate and lower than the recommended global rates.
It warned that the water conditions in Gaza have remarkably gone downhill due to the limited capacity of the underground water, estimated at 55 to 60 million cubic meters annually, while the quantity of water needed in Gaza is estimated at about 200 million cubic meters per annum.
The report further pointed out that the continued extraction of groundwater caused an increase in its salinity, fanning the flames of a crisis already exacerbated by the increasing contamination of the underground reservoir ratios as a result of the sewage leak.
A total of 98% of water resources in the Strip comes from coastal underground water, while the remainder needs are covered from the limited quantities purchased from the Israeli Mekorot water company.
4 jan 2015
Secretary-general of the Palestinian national initiative Mustafa al-Barghouthi condemned Israel's freeze on the transfer of tax revenues to the Palestinian Authority (PA) as "financial piracy and banditry."
In press remarks on Sunday, Barghouthi called on the PA to be steadfast in the face of the Israeli pressures that aim to break its political will and undermine the Palestinian struggle for liberation.
He also urged the PA to immediately respond to Israel's decision to freeze Palestinian tax funds by halting its security cooperation with it and taking other deterrent decisions against it.
The Palestinian ministry of finance confirmed its receipt of an official notification from the Israeli government on Saturday about its decision to freeze the transfer of about half a billion shekels in tax revenues to its bank account.
The Israeli government is committed to transferring tax revenues to the PA on a regular basis in accordance with an agreement between the two sides.
The decision to stop the Palestinian tax transfers was made during a meeting chaired by Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu last Thursday to discuss Israel’s response to the Palestinian Authority’s application for membership of the international tribunal.
Further punitive measures against the Palestinians were also discussed at the meeting, including filing complaints against them in a number of courts around the world, whether officially in the name of Israel, or through Zionist organizations.
In press remarks on Sunday, Barghouthi called on the PA to be steadfast in the face of the Israeli pressures that aim to break its political will and undermine the Palestinian struggle for liberation.
He also urged the PA to immediately respond to Israel's decision to freeze Palestinian tax funds by halting its security cooperation with it and taking other deterrent decisions against it.
The Palestinian ministry of finance confirmed its receipt of an official notification from the Israeli government on Saturday about its decision to freeze the transfer of about half a billion shekels in tax revenues to its bank account.
The Israeli government is committed to transferring tax revenues to the PA on a regular basis in accordance with an agreement between the two sides.
The decision to stop the Palestinian tax transfers was made during a meeting chaired by Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu last Thursday to discuss Israel’s response to the Palestinian Authority’s application for membership of the international tribunal.
Further punitive measures against the Palestinians were also discussed at the meeting, including filing complaints against them in a number of courts around the world, whether officially in the name of Israel, or through Zionist organizations.
A state of complete paralysis hit the public health sector in the Gaza Strip on Sunday as a result of the general strike that was staged by medical civil servants to demand the payment of their salaries.
Spokesman for the health ministry Ashraf al-Qudra said on his Facebook page that all public hospitals in Gaza came to a standstill today after all medical staff went on strike in protest at not receiving salaries for seven consecutive months from the unity government.
Qudra added that the strike brought to a halt all medical activities in operating rooms, newborns' nurseries, intensive care units, delivery rooms and other vital sections inside all public hospitals.
He warned that the strike would constitute a threat to the lives and health of many patients, noting that there are 200 surgeries and other emergency operations scheduled for today.
The union of public employees in Gaza had threatened to take protest steps to pressure the unity government to pay the salaries of all civil servants.
Spokesman for the health ministry Ashraf al-Qudra said on his Facebook page that all public hospitals in Gaza came to a standstill today after all medical staff went on strike in protest at not receiving salaries for seven consecutive months from the unity government.
Qudra added that the strike brought to a halt all medical activities in operating rooms, newborns' nurseries, intensive care units, delivery rooms and other vital sections inside all public hospitals.
He warned that the strike would constitute a threat to the lives and health of many patients, noting that there are 200 surgeries and other emergency operations scheduled for today.
The union of public employees in Gaza had threatened to take protest steps to pressure the unity government to pay the salaries of all civil servants.
1 jan 2015
Palestinians voiced deep disappointment as a power crisis rocked the Gaza Strip with the advent of a freezing winter season.
Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip launched distress signals over their alarming situation amid a striking apathy maintained by al-Hamdallah’s government regarding the crisis.
Gaza’s Electricity Distribution Company declared an emergency recourse to sporadic power outages for one hour or two in several areas, fanning the flames of a crisis already exacerbated by a “six hours on, 12 hours off” power schedule.
The company said in a statement: “Consumption rates have reached their zenith due to the frequent shutdowns of Gaza’s power plant and acute shortages in fuel reserves, along with the advent of a freezing winter.”
“The network adapters are unable to function properly due to the overcharges burdening the company’s shoulders,” the statement read.
The company warned of the striking gap between the current supply of energy and Gazans’ actual demands, resulting in the company’s inability to even put into effect the emergency six-hour schedule.
Gaza’s power plant is itself under jeopardy due to the frequent power blackouts rocking the Strip and damaging Gazans’ properties and scarce sources of income.
Earlier, some few days ago, acute shortages in fuel reserves pushed the power generating company in the blockaded Gaza Strip to operate on the basis of the six-hour-schedule, put into effect in periods of emergency.
Palestinian citizens spoke out against the hard circumstances wrought by the crisis, saying in several areas Gazans have only been provided with two hours of power out of every 24 hours.
Palestinians in the besieged Gaza Strip launched distress signals over their alarming situation amid a striking apathy maintained by al-Hamdallah’s government regarding the crisis.
Gaza’s Electricity Distribution Company declared an emergency recourse to sporadic power outages for one hour or two in several areas, fanning the flames of a crisis already exacerbated by a “six hours on, 12 hours off” power schedule.
The company said in a statement: “Consumption rates have reached their zenith due to the frequent shutdowns of Gaza’s power plant and acute shortages in fuel reserves, along with the advent of a freezing winter.”
“The network adapters are unable to function properly due to the overcharges burdening the company’s shoulders,” the statement read.
The company warned of the striking gap between the current supply of energy and Gazans’ actual demands, resulting in the company’s inability to even put into effect the emergency six-hour schedule.
Gaza’s power plant is itself under jeopardy due to the frequent power blackouts rocking the Strip and damaging Gazans’ properties and scarce sources of income.
Earlier, some few days ago, acute shortages in fuel reserves pushed the power generating company in the blockaded Gaza Strip to operate on the basis of the six-hour-schedule, put into effect in periods of emergency.
Palestinian citizens spoke out against the hard circumstances wrought by the crisis, saying in several areas Gazans have only been provided with two hours of power out of every 24 hours.
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