10 sept 2013
Long queues of cars waiting for hours outside gas stations; frequent power cuts; suspended construction projects; shortages of vital goods and materials; and a drastic reduction in the number of incoming and outgoing travellers. This sums up the scene in the Gaza Strip since the Egyptian military overthrew elected President Mohamed Morsi on July 3 and launched a major operation against the tunnels that link the coastal enclave with Egypt's Sinai Peninsula.
"We can't endure this," Abu Khalil al-Hajjar, a 52-year-old Gaza City taxi driver, told Anadolu Agency.
When Egyptian diesel fuel was available in the market, he used to fill his tank for 130 Israeli shekels (roughly $63) a day. Now he must pay double this price.
As Israeli fuel shipments are limited, al-Hajjar must wait in line for at least an hour or two to get gas.
"I spend time waiting here at the expense of my working hours," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
A father of six, al-Hajjar blames all parties involved in what he describes as "attempts to restore the siege on Gaza."
The Egyptian army has launched a major operation against the network of secret border tunnels, which until recently represented Gaza's prime source of fuel and building materials.
The army's ongoing demolition campaign is the largest of its kind since the underground passages were dug in 2007 to circumvent Israel's embargo on the Hamas-run territory.
An official from Gaza's petroleum committee said that some one million liters of diesel used to enter the coastal enclave every day, bound for the strip's single power plant and gas stations.
"Now we only receive an average of 400,000 liters a day for both sectors," the official told AA.
If no solution is found, he expects the current shortage to worsen as Egypt steps up its operations along the border.
Building freeze
The crisis has impacted construction projects throughout the strip, most of which have ground to a halt except for small building enterprises.
"I used to get 1,000 tons of cement a day, now I barely get 30 tons," Abdulasalam al-Masri, a merchant who imports construction materials through the tunnels, told AA.
He complained that his revenues had fallen by about 90 percent in recent weeks.
Al-Masri's store in Deir al-Balah City is empty of goods, except for a few containers of paint and some rolls of wire.
He said prices for increasingly scarce building materials were on the rise.
"The price of cement increased from $100 to $200 a ton; steel from $800 to $1,000; and gravel from $800 to $1,000," al-Masri said.
A recent report by the UN Humanitarian Affairs Office said that a maximum of ten tunnels were still operational, down from approximately 50 in mid-August.
The report stated that only 20 to 30 truckloads of goods enter Gaza through the tunnels each day, compared to as many as 200 a day before the Egyptian army's demolition campaign.
Between 2007 and 2010, the tunnels had represented the source of almost all consumer products entering the Gaza Strip, which Israel restricted in a bid to punish and isolate the ruling Hamas movement.
In June 2010, Israel eased restrictions through overland crossing points, allowing food and luxury products into Gaza but maintaining the ban on cement, gravel and steel.
As a result, the Egypt-Gaza tunnels worked at full capacity to bring in materials banned by Israel, sparking a construction boom in the strip.
Restricted movement
Outside the Rafah border terminal, the main crossing point for Gaza's roughly 1.7 million residents, tears and desperation fill the air.
Many people have been reporting to the crossing for a week, some for ten days, without getting through.
"The situation is very bad here," said Maher Abu Sabha, director of crossing points in the Hamas government.
He said that some 6,000 Palestinians were registered to travel, but Egypt had only allowed 300 people to leave Gaza daily since the crossing was reopened last month with new regulations.
According to Abu Sabha, the Egyptians have restricted those eligible to travel to dual nationals, holders of visas and residency permits, and medical patients.
Nabila al-Daour, 50, sat restlessly in the waiting hall outside the Rafah crossing.
A teacher, al-Daour was afraid of losing her job in a school in Abu Dhabi as the new academic year began and she remained stuck in Gaza.
"I have been coming here for four days," she told AA, holding her passport and registration ticket in her hand.
She had been booked for bus number six, but the slow pace of progress on the Egyptian side delayed her plans.
"There are now eight buses ahead of me. I don't think I will be able to leave today," she told AA.
Every morning, al-Daour pays 40 Israeli shekels (roughly $11) for a ride to the crossing near Rafah city. She pays the same amount again in the afternoon, when Egypt closes the crossing at 2:00pm.
"If I'm not in the United Arab Emirates by Monday, I will lose my job and UAE residency permit," she lamented.
"We can't endure this," Abu Khalil al-Hajjar, a 52-year-old Gaza City taxi driver, told Anadolu Agency.
When Egyptian diesel fuel was available in the market, he used to fill his tank for 130 Israeli shekels (roughly $63) a day. Now he must pay double this price.
As Israeli fuel shipments are limited, al-Hajjar must wait in line for at least an hour or two to get gas.
"I spend time waiting here at the expense of my working hours," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.
A father of six, al-Hajjar blames all parties involved in what he describes as "attempts to restore the siege on Gaza."
The Egyptian army has launched a major operation against the network of secret border tunnels, which until recently represented Gaza's prime source of fuel and building materials.
The army's ongoing demolition campaign is the largest of its kind since the underground passages were dug in 2007 to circumvent Israel's embargo on the Hamas-run territory.
An official from Gaza's petroleum committee said that some one million liters of diesel used to enter the coastal enclave every day, bound for the strip's single power plant and gas stations.
"Now we only receive an average of 400,000 liters a day for both sectors," the official told AA.
If no solution is found, he expects the current shortage to worsen as Egypt steps up its operations along the border.
Building freeze
The crisis has impacted construction projects throughout the strip, most of which have ground to a halt except for small building enterprises.
"I used to get 1,000 tons of cement a day, now I barely get 30 tons," Abdulasalam al-Masri, a merchant who imports construction materials through the tunnels, told AA.
He complained that his revenues had fallen by about 90 percent in recent weeks.
Al-Masri's store in Deir al-Balah City is empty of goods, except for a few containers of paint and some rolls of wire.
He said prices for increasingly scarce building materials were on the rise.
"The price of cement increased from $100 to $200 a ton; steel from $800 to $1,000; and gravel from $800 to $1,000," al-Masri said.
A recent report by the UN Humanitarian Affairs Office said that a maximum of ten tunnels were still operational, down from approximately 50 in mid-August.
The report stated that only 20 to 30 truckloads of goods enter Gaza through the tunnels each day, compared to as many as 200 a day before the Egyptian army's demolition campaign.
Between 2007 and 2010, the tunnels had represented the source of almost all consumer products entering the Gaza Strip, which Israel restricted in a bid to punish and isolate the ruling Hamas movement.
In June 2010, Israel eased restrictions through overland crossing points, allowing food and luxury products into Gaza but maintaining the ban on cement, gravel and steel.
As a result, the Egypt-Gaza tunnels worked at full capacity to bring in materials banned by Israel, sparking a construction boom in the strip.
Restricted movement
Outside the Rafah border terminal, the main crossing point for Gaza's roughly 1.7 million residents, tears and desperation fill the air.
Many people have been reporting to the crossing for a week, some for ten days, without getting through.
"The situation is very bad here," said Maher Abu Sabha, director of crossing points in the Hamas government.
He said that some 6,000 Palestinians were registered to travel, but Egypt had only allowed 300 people to leave Gaza daily since the crossing was reopened last month with new regulations.
According to Abu Sabha, the Egyptians have restricted those eligible to travel to dual nationals, holders of visas and residency permits, and medical patients.
Nabila al-Daour, 50, sat restlessly in the waiting hall outside the Rafah crossing.
A teacher, al-Daour was afraid of losing her job in a school in Abu Dhabi as the new academic year began and she remained stuck in Gaza.
"I have been coming here for four days," she told AA, holding her passport and registration ticket in her hand.
She had been booked for bus number six, but the slow pace of progress on the Egyptian side delayed her plans.
"There are now eight buses ahead of me. I don't think I will be able to leave today," she told AA.
Every morning, al-Daour pays 40 Israeli shekels (roughly $11) for a ride to the crossing near Rafah city. She pays the same amount again in the afternoon, when Egypt closes the crossing at 2:00pm.
"If I'm not in the United Arab Emirates by Monday, I will lose my job and UAE residency permit," she lamented.
The European network to defend the rights of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees-UFree expressed its deep concern over the reported arrest of Palestinians in Egypt, and demanded the authorities to disclose the number of the Palestinian detainees in its jails and the legal reasons behind their arrest. In a press release, UFree also called on the Egyptian authorities to abide by international laws regarding the freedoms of travel and movement, affirming that it documented inhuman practices by Egyptian personnel and civil servants towards Palestinian passengers during their movement from Gaza to Cairo airport and vice versa.
It stressed the need for opening the Rafah border crossing in a manner that prevents the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The network accused that the Egyptian authorities of holding many Palestinians in its jails and some police stations amid official secrecy and refusal to state the legal reasons behind their detention.
It noted that one Palestinian citizen had died in unknown circumstances inside an Egyptian prison, affirming that the Egyptian authorities neither revealed the cause of death nor showed any intention to open an investigation into the incident.
It stressed the need for opening the Rafah border crossing in a manner that prevents the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip.
The network accused that the Egyptian authorities of holding many Palestinians in its jails and some police stations amid official secrecy and refusal to state the legal reasons behind their detention.
It noted that one Palestinian citizen had died in unknown circumstances inside an Egyptian prison, affirming that the Egyptian authorities neither revealed the cause of death nor showed any intention to open an investigation into the incident.
In response to an attempted murder of the interior minister in Cairo last week, Egypt has upped its control of crossings from the Sinai peninsula, and continued its assaults on militants, according to a state news agency.
The Islamist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis said Sunday that it was responsible for Thursday's suicide bombing aimed at Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim. The group also warned about more attacks, however some officials doubt the group’s ability to launch attacks outside Sinai.
The group’s warning came in response to the Egyptian military’s crackdown on militants, including Saturday’s attack on Islamists, in which at least 30 people were killed or wounded close to the Gaza Strip.
In Thursday’s attack on the interior minister, a suicide bomber blew himself up adjacent to Ibrahim’s convoy as he headed to work in an armored limousine. The bomber was killed and over 20 were wounded.
Concerns have been raised that the militant violence in Sinai may spread to other parts of the country.
Since the ousting of President Morsi in July, after which the Egyptian military took control of the country, Islamist militancy has drastically risen on the Sinai Peninsula.
The Islamist group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis said Sunday that it was responsible for Thursday's suicide bombing aimed at Interior Minister Mohamed Ibrahim. The group also warned about more attacks, however some officials doubt the group’s ability to launch attacks outside Sinai.
The group’s warning came in response to the Egyptian military’s crackdown on militants, including Saturday’s attack on Islamists, in which at least 30 people were killed or wounded close to the Gaza Strip.
In Thursday’s attack on the interior minister, a suicide bomber blew himself up adjacent to Ibrahim’s convoy as he headed to work in an armored limousine. The bomber was killed and over 20 were wounded.
Concerns have been raised that the militant violence in Sinai may spread to other parts of the country.
Since the ousting of President Morsi in July, after which the Egyptian military took control of the country, Islamist militancy has drastically risen on the Sinai Peninsula.
9 sept 2013
Al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad, categorically denied the claims made by some Egyptian websites about the impounding of weapons belonging to it in the Sinai, stressing that Palestine is the only arena for its activities. "Our only and main activity arena is the whole Palestinian land an our resistance is directed against the Zionist enemy, the central enemy of the nation, so it is not in our interest at all to interfere in the affairs of the Arab countries, especially Egypt," a senior official from the Brigades stated.
The official affirmed that the things that were claimed to be found out with the Al-Quds Brigades emblem on them are fabricated and the Brigades have nothing to do with them.
"It has never happened that we were a party to any internal conflict of any country in the region and our position in this regard is known, declared, and irrevocable," he underlined.
This came in response to what had been published earlier by Sada Al-Balad website affiliated with the Egyptian army about the confiscation of Palestinian weapons.
The website claimed that weapons and military equipment belonging to Palestinian resistance movements, including Al-Quds Brigades, were found by the Egyptian army during a recent operation in the Sinai.
Egypt military seizes Gaza-linked weapons in Sinai
Egypt's military says it has seized caches of weapons in a Sinai operation including a mortar apparently belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in neighboring Gaza.
The military has launched a sweeping offensive in the north of the peninsula to quell an Islamist militant insurgency that surged after the army deposed president Mohamed Morsi in July.
In a picture of seized weapons posted on its spokesman's Facebook page on Sunday, three soldiers stood next to captured machine-guns and mortars.
One mortar had a scale used for aiming with the caption "Saraya Al Quds."
That is the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, which had previously defied the ruling Hamas movement by firing rockets at Israel when Hamas wanted a truce.
Egyptian authorities say the Sinai militants, who have launched attacks on Israel from Egyptian territory, are linked to extremists in Gaza.
The relationship between Gazan militants and their Sinai counterparts is vague.
An expert on Gazan movements said some members of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad chafed at restrictions against attacking Israel and took on roles with more extreme splinter groups.
"It's more with Islamic Jihad than Hamas that you have this moonlighting phenomena," said Nathan Thrall, a Jerusalem based analyst with the International Crisis Group.
"A huge percentage of Salafi jihadis in Gaza were former members of Islamic Jihad or Hamas, and left out of frustration out of the fact that they were not attacking Israel," he said.
An Al-Qaeda-linked group in Sinai on Sunday claimed responsibility for a failed assassination attempt against Egypt's interior minister last week, in which a bomb targeted his convoy.
The claim by Ansar Beit al-Maqdis came as the military conducted air strikes on militant hideouts in Sinai.
The official affirmed that the things that were claimed to be found out with the Al-Quds Brigades emblem on them are fabricated and the Brigades have nothing to do with them.
"It has never happened that we were a party to any internal conflict of any country in the region and our position in this regard is known, declared, and irrevocable," he underlined.
This came in response to what had been published earlier by Sada Al-Balad website affiliated with the Egyptian army about the confiscation of Palestinian weapons.
The website claimed that weapons and military equipment belonging to Palestinian resistance movements, including Al-Quds Brigades, were found by the Egyptian army during a recent operation in the Sinai.
Egypt military seizes Gaza-linked weapons in Sinai
Egypt's military says it has seized caches of weapons in a Sinai operation including a mortar apparently belonging to the Palestinian Islamic Jihad group in neighboring Gaza.
The military has launched a sweeping offensive in the north of the peninsula to quell an Islamist militant insurgency that surged after the army deposed president Mohamed Morsi in July.
In a picture of seized weapons posted on its spokesman's Facebook page on Sunday, three soldiers stood next to captured machine-guns and mortars.
One mortar had a scale used for aiming with the caption "Saraya Al Quds."
That is the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, which had previously defied the ruling Hamas movement by firing rockets at Israel when Hamas wanted a truce.
Egyptian authorities say the Sinai militants, who have launched attacks on Israel from Egyptian territory, are linked to extremists in Gaza.
The relationship between Gazan militants and their Sinai counterparts is vague.
An expert on Gazan movements said some members of both Hamas and Islamic Jihad chafed at restrictions against attacking Israel and took on roles with more extreme splinter groups.
"It's more with Islamic Jihad than Hamas that you have this moonlighting phenomena," said Nathan Thrall, a Jerusalem based analyst with the International Crisis Group.
"A huge percentage of Salafi jihadis in Gaza were former members of Islamic Jihad or Hamas, and left out of frustration out of the fact that they were not attacking Israel," he said.
An Al-Qaeda-linked group in Sinai on Sunday claimed responsibility for a failed assassination attempt against Egypt's interior minister last week, in which a bomb targeted his convoy.
The claim by Ansar Beit al-Maqdis came as the military conducted air strikes on militant hideouts in Sinai.
Egyptian army forces on Monday destroyed six smuggling tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border, security officials said.
The tunnels were located north of Rafah in the neighborhood of al-Sarsoriya and specialized in smuggling goods and people.
Egyptian forces used explosives to destroy the tunnels. All goods being transferred to Gaza were seized by the military.
An Egyptian official said Sunday that more than 90 percent of the smuggling tunnels have now been destroyed.
Egypt's army, which ousted the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi in a July coup, has since destroyed many of the tunnels Brotherhood ally Hamas uses to bring crucial supplies into the blockaded Strip.
Hamas's energy authority warned Thursday that the Strip's sole power station faced being shut down because of a lack of fuel, which is smuggled through the tunnels.
The tunnels have been a lifeline for the flow of food, clothing, building materials and fuel into the impoverished territory, which Israel has blockaded since 2006.
The tunnels were located north of Rafah in the neighborhood of al-Sarsoriya and specialized in smuggling goods and people.
Egyptian forces used explosives to destroy the tunnels. All goods being transferred to Gaza were seized by the military.
An Egyptian official said Sunday that more than 90 percent of the smuggling tunnels have now been destroyed.
Egypt's army, which ousted the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi in a July coup, has since destroyed many of the tunnels Brotherhood ally Hamas uses to bring crucial supplies into the blockaded Strip.
Hamas's energy authority warned Thursday that the Strip's sole power station faced being shut down because of a lack of fuel, which is smuggled through the tunnels.
The tunnels have been a lifeline for the flow of food, clothing, building materials and fuel into the impoverished territory, which Israel has blockaded since 2006.
Hebrew media sources said that one of the outcomes of the military coup in Egypt is the stronger bond between the Israeli entity and Egypt, noting that both of them want to keep their warmer relationship under wraps. Haartez newspaper stated in its Sunday edition that both Egyptian and Israeli authorities enjoy not only tactical cooperation on the ground, but also a convergence of strategic interests., considering the dramatic chain of events in Egypt since 2011.
It is very hard to predict the coming months, but at least in the short term, Israel’s security situation on its southern and western fronts has seen a major change for the better, the Israeli analyst on Middle East issues Amos Harel said, in reference to the recent military restrictions on Rafah border crossing and the demolition of the tunnels that were the life line for the besieged Gaza strip.
The newspaper pointed that the Israeli-Egyptian relationship has been improved and restored after a period of frosty relations during Mursi's time in office.
"The Egyptian generals knew how to show their gratitude and Israel is pleased with operations against terror in Sinai and Hamas in Gaza" Haaretz added.
According to the American press, Israel went to great lengths to smooth things out between the new Egyptian regime and the United States. For the Egyptian generals it was very important that the regime change not be labeled a military coup.
Even though the events in Cairo were a coup in every sense of the word, it seems that it was in the American administration's interests to prevent that term from being applied. Israel and its supporters, mainly on Capitol Hill, also played a part, the Hebrew newspaper said.
It is very hard to predict the coming months, but at least in the short term, Israel’s security situation on its southern and western fronts has seen a major change for the better, the Israeli analyst on Middle East issues Amos Harel said, in reference to the recent military restrictions on Rafah border crossing and the demolition of the tunnels that were the life line for the besieged Gaza strip.
The newspaper pointed that the Israeli-Egyptian relationship has been improved and restored after a period of frosty relations during Mursi's time in office.
"The Egyptian generals knew how to show their gratitude and Israel is pleased with operations against terror in Sinai and Hamas in Gaza" Haaretz added.
According to the American press, Israel went to great lengths to smooth things out between the new Egyptian regime and the United States. For the Egyptian generals it was very important that the regime change not be labeled a military coup.
Even though the events in Cairo were a coup in every sense of the word, it seems that it was in the American administration's interests to prevent that term from being applied. Israel and its supporters, mainly on Capitol Hill, also played a part, the Hebrew newspaper said.
Noted human rights activist and academic Ghada Karmi condemned the campaign launched by the Egyptian authorities against the Gaza tunnels in Rafah border area as "inhuman act." Karmi said, in a statement to Quds Press on Sunday, that the Egyptian measures in Rafah threaten the lives of one and a half million Palestinians living under constant blockade, and called for ending them.
"If Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt was not opened fully before the movement of people and goods, the demolition of tunnels would be considered a crime and an inhuman act, and this is completely unacceptable," she emphasized.
Karmi also criticized the Palestinian authority for its passivity regarding Egypt's hostile attitude towards Gaza.
She affirmed that the reported involvement of the PA in inciting the Egyptians against Gaza weakened its position in the Palestinian arena.
For its part, Al-Mizan center for human rights warned of the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a result of the escalating Israeli blockade on Gaza and Egypt's closure of the Rafah border crossing.
The center strongly denounced the absence of any international serious and active moves to end the mass punishment of the civilians in Gaza and protect their right to travel and obtain their basic needs without any restrictions.
The center called on the international community to assume its responsibilities towards the Gaza people and work urgently on ending the blockade imposed on them in order to prevent the occurrence of an imminent humanitarian disaster.
"If Rafah crossing between Gaza and Egypt was not opened fully before the movement of people and goods, the demolition of tunnels would be considered a crime and an inhuman act, and this is completely unacceptable," she emphasized.
Karmi also criticized the Palestinian authority for its passivity regarding Egypt's hostile attitude towards Gaza.
She affirmed that the reported involvement of the PA in inciting the Egyptians against Gaza weakened its position in the Palestinian arena.
For its part, Al-Mizan center for human rights warned of the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Gaza as a result of the escalating Israeli blockade on Gaza and Egypt's closure of the Rafah border crossing.
The center strongly denounced the absence of any international serious and active moves to end the mass punishment of the civilians in Gaza and protect their right to travel and obtain their basic needs without any restrictions.
The center called on the international community to assume its responsibilities towards the Gaza people and work urgently on ending the blockade imposed on them in order to prevent the occurrence of an imminent humanitarian disaster.
8 sept 2013
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Common enemy is solidifying Egyptian-Israeli security relations, trust as Egypt launches massive anti-terror operation in Sinai
As Egyptian troops were launching a harsh crackdown on Islamist groups in the northern Sinai Peninsula, Israeli officials were silent publicly but more than satisfied privately. Both Bedouin residents in Sinai and Egyptian officials said the crackdown was the harshest in recent years, with tanks and troops backed by Apache helicopters striking at gunmen along Egypt’s border with the Gaza Strip. Egypt closed the Rafah border crossing on Saturday effectively trapping 1.7 million Palestinians inside Gaza. |
The only other exit from the enclave is the Erez border crossing that connects with Israel, which is used primarily by Palestinians who need urgent medical treatment in the Jewish state.
According to Israeli army figures, more than 300 attacks were launched against Egyptian troops in Sinai over the past few weeks. Last month, 25 Egyptian policemen were shot to death execution-style in the Sinai, prompting widespread anger in Cairo.
Israeli military sources say there are hundreds of terrorists in Sinai, most of who belong to two major jihadist groups who are supported by local Bedouin tribes. Some of the gunmen come from Iraq and Yemen and are tied to global jihad and al-Qaeda . While their primary target is the Egyptian military, they are also interested in carrying out attacks against Israel. Over the past two months, Egyptian soldiers have sealed about 80% of the hundreds of tunnels that have been dug between Egypt and Gaza, having been used to smuggle weapons and drugs, as well as consumer goods, between the two sides. Sealing the tunnels has put the squeeze on Gazans, who, for instance, now have to pay much more for gasoline imported from Israel instead of having access to Egyptian-subsidized gas.
For the jihadists in Sinai, closing the tunnels means shutting-off an important avenue of escape in the event of an attack by the Egyptian army. "I believe there will be more Takfiri (one of the jihadist groups) attacks in the coming days because the Egyptian troops are attacking indiscriminately, and they kill civilians as well,” Gomaa Sawarka a Bedouin resident a leading figure of the Sawarka tribe in Sinai told The Media Line. “These civilian casualties will be grounds for more retaliation from residents but not necessarily terrorist groups."
Israel has quietly supported the Egyptian military by allowing them to deploy more troops than allowed in the 1979 Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, as well as tanks and helicopters which are prohibited according to the agreement. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries to have peace treaties with Israel. “Israel and Egypt have a joint interest in the suppression of militant Islamists,” Efraim Karsh, a professor at Israel’s Bar Ilan University told The Media Line. “Sinai is an ongoing operation. It’s not going to stop.
As long as the army remains in power under the same leadership there will be this cooperation. It doesn’t mean that publicly they won’t come out against Israel, but privately the cooperation will continue.” That cooperation could even intensify if terrorists launch attacks at Israel. Last month, jihadists launched a rocket at Israel which was intercepted by the Iron-Dome anti-missile system. “The Egyptian army still has a lot of work to do in Sinai,” Gen. Sameh Saif Elyazal told The Media Line. "I believe coordination with the Israeli armed forces will be needed if the terrorists start attacking Israel from Sinai."
From Israel’s perspective, that cooperation is even more crucial as the region braces for a possible strike by the United States on Syria after it’s apparent use of chemical weapons last month. Both Syria and its ally, Iranian-proxy Hizbullah, the Lebanon-based terrorist organization, have threatened to hit Israel in retaliation if or when Syria is struck by the US. Israel wants to make sure that Egypt, the largest Arab country, stays out of any regional confrontation. “The relationship between Israel and Egypt is the cornerstone of stability and peacemaking in the region,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told The Media Line.
According to Israeli army figures, more than 300 attacks were launched against Egyptian troops in Sinai over the past few weeks. Last month, 25 Egyptian policemen were shot to death execution-style in the Sinai, prompting widespread anger in Cairo.
Israeli military sources say there are hundreds of terrorists in Sinai, most of who belong to two major jihadist groups who are supported by local Bedouin tribes. Some of the gunmen come from Iraq and Yemen and are tied to global jihad and al-Qaeda . While their primary target is the Egyptian military, they are also interested in carrying out attacks against Israel. Over the past two months, Egyptian soldiers have sealed about 80% of the hundreds of tunnels that have been dug between Egypt and Gaza, having been used to smuggle weapons and drugs, as well as consumer goods, between the two sides. Sealing the tunnels has put the squeeze on Gazans, who, for instance, now have to pay much more for gasoline imported from Israel instead of having access to Egyptian-subsidized gas.
For the jihadists in Sinai, closing the tunnels means shutting-off an important avenue of escape in the event of an attack by the Egyptian army. "I believe there will be more Takfiri (one of the jihadist groups) attacks in the coming days because the Egyptian troops are attacking indiscriminately, and they kill civilians as well,” Gomaa Sawarka a Bedouin resident a leading figure of the Sawarka tribe in Sinai told The Media Line. “These civilian casualties will be grounds for more retaliation from residents but not necessarily terrorist groups."
Israel has quietly supported the Egyptian military by allowing them to deploy more troops than allowed in the 1979 Camp David Accords between Egypt and Israel, as well as tanks and helicopters which are prohibited according to the agreement. Egypt and Jordan are the only two Arab countries to have peace treaties with Israel. “Israel and Egypt have a joint interest in the suppression of militant Islamists,” Efraim Karsh, a professor at Israel’s Bar Ilan University told The Media Line. “Sinai is an ongoing operation. It’s not going to stop.
As long as the army remains in power under the same leadership there will be this cooperation. It doesn’t mean that publicly they won’t come out against Israel, but privately the cooperation will continue.” That cooperation could even intensify if terrorists launch attacks at Israel. Last month, jihadists launched a rocket at Israel which was intercepted by the Iron-Dome anti-missile system. “The Egyptian army still has a lot of work to do in Sinai,” Gen. Sameh Saif Elyazal told The Media Line. "I believe coordination with the Israeli armed forces will be needed if the terrorists start attacking Israel from Sinai."
From Israel’s perspective, that cooperation is even more crucial as the region braces for a possible strike by the United States on Syria after it’s apparent use of chemical weapons last month. Both Syria and its ally, Iranian-proxy Hizbullah, the Lebanon-based terrorist organization, have threatened to hit Israel in retaliation if or when Syria is struck by the US. Israel wants to make sure that Egypt, the largest Arab country, stays out of any regional confrontation. “The relationship between Israel and Egypt is the cornerstone of stability and peacemaking in the region,” Israeli foreign ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor told The Media Line.
The Egyptian authorities on Saturday closed the Rafah border crossing without prior notice and allowed only one bus into its territory. Director of the crossings Maher Abu Sabha said the Egyptian side sent all buses back to Gaza and allowed only one to enter its territory at the pretext of the security events in the Sinai.
Abu Sabha added that the passengers who were allowed in stayed during the afternoon in a waiting hall on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian army demolished on Saturday five tunnels and one building in different areas of the Rafah border area, a Palestinian security official told the PIC.
The civilians in Gaza have been living for weeks in a very difficult situation because of the Egyptian demolition of most of the Rafah tunnels, which caused acute shortages of many vital needs, including fuel, medical and food supplies.
Abu Sabha added that the passengers who were allowed in stayed during the afternoon in a waiting hall on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
Meanwhile, the Egyptian army demolished on Saturday five tunnels and one building in different areas of the Rafah border area, a Palestinian security official told the PIC.
The civilians in Gaza have been living for weeks in a very difficult situation because of the Egyptian demolition of most of the Rafah tunnels, which caused acute shortages of many vital needs, including fuel, medical and food supplies.
When the Egyptian authorities decided to establish the buffer zone on the Egyptian side of the border with the Gaza strip, it meant that it put the life of many Gazans in danger. Fuel affects generating electricity which supplies most big hospitals in the Gaza Strip.
The Vice Director of Al-Shefa hospital, the biggest health care center in the Gaza Strip, said, "we don't have any reserve of fuel for the hospital generators and so when electricity blacks out, all patients in the ICU, nursery units, kidney failure units and those with chronic chest diseases will die."
Deputy Head of Power Authority Fathi Al-Sheikh Khalil said” the actual need of the Gaza Strip for electricity is about 300 megawatts. 120 megawatts come from the Israeli occupation, and 17 megawatt from Egypt; and the remaining is generated by the Palestinian Electricity Company.”
“In addition to the electricity grid of the Gaza Strip being too old and unable to serve optimally, the Israelis attacked the Palestinian electricity company in mid 2006 to destroy it completely, plunging the Gaza Strip into darkness,” he said.
"But after two stages of maintenance, the company became able to supply only 80 megawatt; and this isn't enough to fulfill the remaining needs of the Strip,” he said.
Furthermore, "the Electricity Company needs 450,000 liters of industrial diesel fuel daily while the Israelis and Egyptians don't allow, of course, more than 315,000 liters which is enough for generating only 55 megawatt," he added.
Execution verdict on patients:
The spokesman for the Health ministry in Gaza Ashraf Al-Qedrah said, "the electricity blackout means an execution verdict on the life of 400 kidney failure patients, 450 patients of cancer, 400 heart diseases patients, 50 premature children and a big number of the chronic chest disease patients."
The shortage of electricity doesn't only affect the health of patients, but also affects the general health situation of Gazans as the pumping of drinking water to houses stops, and the pumping of sanitation waste out of houses stops as well.
The head of the Association of Petroleum Companies in Gaza, said, "Gaza needs 250,000 liters of diesel for cars and motors, in addition to 450,000 liters for the Electricity Company. It also needs 50,000 liters of gasoline. However, after destroying the tunnels the Egyptians allow zero liters of fuel to enter the coastal enclave at this time."
Old electricity grid worn out:
The worn-out electricity grid needs constant repairs because of old age as well as Israeli attacks.
In addition to the Gazan electricity grid being too old, the Israelis keep destroying the main transformers under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Also, the overloading use of electricity weakens the grid's infrastructure, causing further loss in the transmitted electricity.
And what exhausts the grid even more is the continuous switching on and off of the electrical current to divide the available portion among the different suburbs of Gaza. "This ruins the transformers, the branch fuses, and many wires as they have to load more than their power," Al-Sheikh Khalil said.
The fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip have stopped completely. The Palestinian Power Authority even has its own fuel reserves which are enough for a few days, according to Al-Sheikh Khalil.
The Vice Director of Al-Shefa hospital, the biggest health care center in the Gaza Strip, said, "we don't have any reserve of fuel for the hospital generators and so when electricity blacks out, all patients in the ICU, nursery units, kidney failure units and those with chronic chest diseases will die."
Deputy Head of Power Authority Fathi Al-Sheikh Khalil said” the actual need of the Gaza Strip for electricity is about 300 megawatts. 120 megawatts come from the Israeli occupation, and 17 megawatt from Egypt; and the remaining is generated by the Palestinian Electricity Company.”
“In addition to the electricity grid of the Gaza Strip being too old and unable to serve optimally, the Israelis attacked the Palestinian electricity company in mid 2006 to destroy it completely, plunging the Gaza Strip into darkness,” he said.
"But after two stages of maintenance, the company became able to supply only 80 megawatt; and this isn't enough to fulfill the remaining needs of the Strip,” he said.
Furthermore, "the Electricity Company needs 450,000 liters of industrial diesel fuel daily while the Israelis and Egyptians don't allow, of course, more than 315,000 liters which is enough for generating only 55 megawatt," he added.
Execution verdict on patients:
The spokesman for the Health ministry in Gaza Ashraf Al-Qedrah said, "the electricity blackout means an execution verdict on the life of 400 kidney failure patients, 450 patients of cancer, 400 heart diseases patients, 50 premature children and a big number of the chronic chest disease patients."
The shortage of electricity doesn't only affect the health of patients, but also affects the general health situation of Gazans as the pumping of drinking water to houses stops, and the pumping of sanitation waste out of houses stops as well.
The head of the Association of Petroleum Companies in Gaza, said, "Gaza needs 250,000 liters of diesel for cars and motors, in addition to 450,000 liters for the Electricity Company. It also needs 50,000 liters of gasoline. However, after destroying the tunnels the Egyptians allow zero liters of fuel to enter the coastal enclave at this time."
Old electricity grid worn out:
The worn-out electricity grid needs constant repairs because of old age as well as Israeli attacks.
In addition to the Gazan electricity grid being too old, the Israelis keep destroying the main transformers under the pretext of fighting terrorism. Also, the overloading use of electricity weakens the grid's infrastructure, causing further loss in the transmitted electricity.
And what exhausts the grid even more is the continuous switching on and off of the electrical current to divide the available portion among the different suburbs of Gaza. "This ruins the transformers, the branch fuses, and many wires as they have to load more than their power," Al-Sheikh Khalil said.
The fuel supplies to the Gaza Strip have stopped completely. The Palestinian Power Authority even has its own fuel reserves which are enough for a few days, according to Al-Sheikh Khalil.
The current situation in the Gaza Strip, after Egypt’s full destruction of the lifeline tunnels, is the toughest since December 2008, EuroMid Observer for Human Rights reported. The EuroMid Observer for Human Rights in cooperation with the Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London and the Malaysian Consultative Council of Islamic Organizations (MAPIM) issued a field report entitled " Slow Death" citing the re-newed and developing grim realities that are imposed by Israel on Gaza in the form of an illegal blockade since 2006.
The field report cited that over the past two month , the populations of Gaza have faced severe shortages in the basic requirements of living conditions within the health sector as well as all other sectors. The basic food and fuel commodities have been hardly hit as Egypt closed great majority of the tunnels used in smuggling these needs.
The right of freedom of movement is affected severely, where Egyptian authorities have closed Rafah border crossing; banning constantly tens of thousands from leaving out or into Gaza. International Humanitarian Law holds Israel responsible as well as Egypt for caging over 1.6 million in an open air prison.
Economists expected a sharp increase in the unemployment level as it will be 43% by the end of 2013 compare with 32% in June 2013, the report cited.
According to the report, the incessant closure of the tunnels will lead to a 3% decline in the growth by the end of 2013 compared with 15% as of June 2013. Meanwhile, the construction sector is working with less than 15% of its previous capacity leading to more than 30.000 losses in job opportunities since July 2013.
The report stated that the longstanding electricity deficit, compounded by shortages in fuel needed to run Gaza’s power plant, results in power outages of up to 12 hours a day. Additionally, only a quarter of households receive running water every day, during several hours only, while over 90% of the water extracted from the Gaza aquifer is unsafe for human consumption.
Some 90 million liters of untreated and partially treated sewage are dumped in the sea off the Gaza coast each day, creating public health hazards. Additionally; the economy has endured severe losses worth of $460 million in all economic sectors within the past two months.
As the occupying power, Israel has a duty under International Humanitarian Law to ensure the welfare of the population of Gaza without discrimination. Israel has failed to uphold the population’s human rights, including the rights to health, to education, to work and to an adequate standard of living, which includes the rights to food and adequate housing. Israel should be held accountable under international law for the collective punishment of an entire population.
The field report cited that over the past two month , the populations of Gaza have faced severe shortages in the basic requirements of living conditions within the health sector as well as all other sectors. The basic food and fuel commodities have been hardly hit as Egypt closed great majority of the tunnels used in smuggling these needs.
The right of freedom of movement is affected severely, where Egyptian authorities have closed Rafah border crossing; banning constantly tens of thousands from leaving out or into Gaza. International Humanitarian Law holds Israel responsible as well as Egypt for caging over 1.6 million in an open air prison.
Economists expected a sharp increase in the unemployment level as it will be 43% by the end of 2013 compare with 32% in June 2013, the report cited.
According to the report, the incessant closure of the tunnels will lead to a 3% decline in the growth by the end of 2013 compared with 15% as of June 2013. Meanwhile, the construction sector is working with less than 15% of its previous capacity leading to more than 30.000 losses in job opportunities since July 2013.
The report stated that the longstanding electricity deficit, compounded by shortages in fuel needed to run Gaza’s power plant, results in power outages of up to 12 hours a day. Additionally, only a quarter of households receive running water every day, during several hours only, while over 90% of the water extracted from the Gaza aquifer is unsafe for human consumption.
Some 90 million liters of untreated and partially treated sewage are dumped in the sea off the Gaza coast each day, creating public health hazards. Additionally; the economy has endured severe losses worth of $460 million in all economic sectors within the past two months.
As the occupying power, Israel has a duty under International Humanitarian Law to ensure the welfare of the population of Gaza without discrimination. Israel has failed to uphold the population’s human rights, including the rights to health, to education, to work and to an adequate standard of living, which includes the rights to food and adequate housing. Israel should be held accountable under international law for the collective punishment of an entire population.
7 sept 2013
Egypt closed the Rafah crossing with Gaza on Saturday citing "security concerns" following a crackdown on Sinai militants.
Palestinian crossings director Maher Abu Sabha told Ma'an that the crossing would be closed indefinitely following unrest in the Sinai peninsula.
Around 50 travelers managed to enter Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, Abu Sabha added.
At least 10 "Islamist fighters" were killed as Egypt's army launched an air and ground assault on Sinai militants Saturday, security officials said.
Twenty others were wounded and 15 arrested.
In recent months, Egypt has closed the Rafah crossing several times following violence in Sinai.
The crossing was closed on Aug. 15 after nationwide violence and then partially reopened two days later, only to be closed again following an attack which killed 25 Egyptian soldiers.
The crossing is the only way most Palestinians in Gaza can enter or leave the territory. Israel imposes an air and sea blockade on the enclave, and its border is closed to Palestinians.
Palestinian crossings director Maher Abu Sabha told Ma'an that the crossing would be closed indefinitely following unrest in the Sinai peninsula.
Around 50 travelers managed to enter Gaza from Egypt on Saturday, Abu Sabha added.
At least 10 "Islamist fighters" were killed as Egypt's army launched an air and ground assault on Sinai militants Saturday, security officials said.
Twenty others were wounded and 15 arrested.
In recent months, Egypt has closed the Rafah crossing several times following violence in Sinai.
The crossing was closed on Aug. 15 after nationwide violence and then partially reopened two days later, only to be closed again following an attack which killed 25 Egyptian soldiers.
The crossing is the only way most Palestinians in Gaza can enter or leave the territory. Israel imposes an air and sea blockade on the enclave, and its border is closed to Palestinians.
The Palestinian ministry of transport in Gaza warned that the acute fuel shortage in Gaza rendered thousands of taxi drivers unemployed after their vehicles became out of service. According to Palestinian officials in Gaza, the current fuel crisis is mainly attributed to Egypt's destruction of most of Rafah border tunnels, which were used to cover some of the fuel and food needs of the Gazan population, who are trying hard to cope with the impacts of the Israeli blockade on their daily lives.
For its part, the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) recently expressed its grave concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza which has unprecedentedly worsened following the latest Egyptian measures against Gaza tunnels and restrictions on movement of goods and personnel at Rafah border crossing.
OCHA called on Egypt and Israel to open all border crossings with Gaza and facilitate the movement of goods and civilians from and into the impoverished Strip.
In turn, MP Jamal Al-Khudari, head of the popular committee against the siege, warned that Israel's closure of Karam Abu Salem commercial crossing for the fourth consecutive day has exacerbated the difficult life of the civilians in Gaza and made it unbearable.
"The closure of Karam Abu Salem crossing has caused a severe shortage of basic supplies, including fuel and combustibles, despite the fact that the Israeli blockade has already worsened the difficult situation," MP Khudari said.
For its part, the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs (OCHA) recently expressed its grave concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza which has unprecedentedly worsened following the latest Egyptian measures against Gaza tunnels and restrictions on movement of goods and personnel at Rafah border crossing.
OCHA called on Egypt and Israel to open all border crossings with Gaza and facilitate the movement of goods and civilians from and into the impoverished Strip.
In turn, MP Jamal Al-Khudari, head of the popular committee against the siege, warned that Israel's closure of Karam Abu Salem commercial crossing for the fourth consecutive day has exacerbated the difficult life of the civilians in Gaza and made it unbearable.
"The closure of Karam Abu Salem crossing has caused a severe shortage of basic supplies, including fuel and combustibles, despite the fact that the Israeli blockade has already worsened the difficult situation," MP Khudari said.
Egyptian helicopter raiding on Rafah, El Sheikh Zowaid
Injuries have been reported as Egyptian apache helicopters have bombed Saturday morning homes and farmlands in the El Sheikh Zowaid and Rafah city of North Sinai Governorate. Four helicopters of the Egyptian army launched raids on Altoma and Mahdia areas east of Sheikh Zowaid, and on al-Ajra area in Egyptian Rafah, local media reported.
“Some 10 Egyptians have been arrested as the Egyptian military raided different parts of the Rafah and Sheikh Zowaid cities,” Safa Agency reporter said.
“Security forces deployed in the streets of North Sinai towns, and are carrying out inspections of vehicles and passersby,”
The Egyptian helicopters also flew over east and west of the Rafah crossing in southern the Gaza Strip.
Gunmen attacked Saturday at the headquarters of central security force in Egyptian Rafah where violent explosions were heard, no injuries reported.
Injuries have been reported as Egyptian apache helicopters have bombed Saturday morning homes and farmlands in the El Sheikh Zowaid and Rafah city of North Sinai Governorate. Four helicopters of the Egyptian army launched raids on Altoma and Mahdia areas east of Sheikh Zowaid, and on al-Ajra area in Egyptian Rafah, local media reported.
“Some 10 Egyptians have been arrested as the Egyptian military raided different parts of the Rafah and Sheikh Zowaid cities,” Safa Agency reporter said.
“Security forces deployed in the streets of North Sinai towns, and are carrying out inspections of vehicles and passersby,”
The Egyptian helicopters also flew over east and west of the Rafah crossing in southern the Gaza Strip.
Gunmen attacked Saturday at the headquarters of central security force in Egyptian Rafah where violent explosions were heard, no injuries reported.
5 sept 2013
Palestinians wait at a gas station in Gaza City on 1 September 2013, as tightening blockade has worsened fuel crisis.
Omar Ghraieb @Omar_Gaza No fuel in #Gaza which kills transportation & paralyzes life! More darkness to b cursed, no more generators, just emptiness all around!
Business here r dwindling, economy on its last breath (if not dead already), shortage in water & soon shortage in food & merchandise!
These tweets by blogger Omar Ghraieb capture the despair many of Gaza’s almost 1.7 million Palestinian residents feel as Israel’s blockade, compounded by Egypt’s intensifying crackdown, has brought the territory once more to the brink of catastrophe.
Since the 3 July military coup against Egypt’s elected president Muhammad Morsi, the military regime has destroyed almost all the vital underground supply tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.
This week, Egypt began demolishing houses along its side of its border with Gaza, a futile and criminal Israeli-style tactic, that is seen as a prelude to establishing a “buffer zone” to further isolate Gaza.
As a result of these and other Egyptian measures, supplies of some critical medicines have hit zero, the construction industry has collapsed, and the Rafah crossing, the only entry and exit for most Gazans, is frequently closed.
The population of Gaza still faces 12-hour daily blackouts due to Israel’s destruction of the electricity infrastructure, but even the relief provided by noisy and often dangerous portable generators is fading into darkness as fuel supplies run out.
Slow death
A new report, “Slow Death; The Collective Punishment of Gaza has reached a Critical Stage,” [PDF] from the human rights monitoring group Euro-Mid Observer, highlights the acute crisis that compounds the effects of the prolonged Israeli blockade.
Ten facts about the Gaza blockade
The report is worth reading in full, but these ten facts about the impact of the blockade capture the scale of the mounting catastrophe and underscore the urgent need for pressure on Israel to end it and for Egypt to end its complicity.
Collective punishment, collective crime
Although it remains the occupying power, Israel declared Gaza a “hostile entity” in 2007 and its then prime minister Ehud Olmert declared, “We will not allow the opening of the crossings to Gaza and outside of Gaza to the extent that it will help them bring back life into a completely normal pace.”
These and other Israeli official statements quoted in the Euro-Mid report highlight that the catastrophe in Gaza is a calculated and intended effect of the siege, making it a war crime and collective punishment under international law.
Complicity
Euro-Mid calls on the “international community,” to pressure Israel to end the blockade.
That call is right, but it is an unavoidable fact that the siege would not have lasted seven long years already without the complicity and support of the “international community” in the form of the United States and its allies, particularly the European Union and compliant Arab regimes.
The siege is collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza, but it is also a collective crime.
Omar Ghraieb @Omar_Gaza No fuel in #Gaza which kills transportation & paralyzes life! More darkness to b cursed, no more generators, just emptiness all around!
Business here r dwindling, economy on its last breath (if not dead already), shortage in water & soon shortage in food & merchandise!
These tweets by blogger Omar Ghraieb capture the despair many of Gaza’s almost 1.7 million Palestinian residents feel as Israel’s blockade, compounded by Egypt’s intensifying crackdown, has brought the territory once more to the brink of catastrophe.
Since the 3 July military coup against Egypt’s elected president Muhammad Morsi, the military regime has destroyed almost all the vital underground supply tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border.
This week, Egypt began demolishing houses along its side of its border with Gaza, a futile and criminal Israeli-style tactic, that is seen as a prelude to establishing a “buffer zone” to further isolate Gaza.
As a result of these and other Egyptian measures, supplies of some critical medicines have hit zero, the construction industry has collapsed, and the Rafah crossing, the only entry and exit for most Gazans, is frequently closed.
The population of Gaza still faces 12-hour daily blackouts due to Israel’s destruction of the electricity infrastructure, but even the relief provided by noisy and often dangerous portable generators is fading into darkness as fuel supplies run out.
Slow death
A new report, “Slow Death; The Collective Punishment of Gaza has reached a Critical Stage,” [PDF] from the human rights monitoring group Euro-Mid Observer, highlights the acute crisis that compounds the effects of the prolonged Israeli blockade.
Ten facts about the Gaza blockade
The report is worth reading in full, but these ten facts about the impact of the blockade capture the scale of the mounting catastrophe and underscore the urgent need for pressure on Israel to end it and for Egypt to end its complicity.
- According to the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 57 percent of Gaza households are food insecure as of July 2013, however, if the current Israeli and Egyptians measures remain as they are, 65 percent of Gaza households will be food insecure (World Food Program estimate June 2010).
- As of August 2013, over a third (35.5 percent) of those able and willing to work are unemployed (Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics) – one of the highest unemployment rates in the world. Economists expect that the continuous closure of the tunnels will lead to a sharp increase in the unemployment level (43 percent by the end of 2013 compare with 32 percent in June 2013).
- The continuous closure of the tunnels will lead to a 3 percent decline in the growth by the end of 2013 compared with 15 percent as of June 2013.
- The construction sector is working at less than 15 percent of its previous capacity leading to more than 30,000 losses in job opportunities since July 2013.
- A longstanding electricity deficit, compounded by shortages in fuel needed to run Gaza’s power plant, results in power outages of up to 12 hours a day (UN OCHA, July 2013).
- Only a quarter of households receive running water every day, during several hours only.
- Over 90 percent of the water extracted from the Gaza aquifer is unsafe for human consumption.
- Some 90 million liters of untreated and partially treated sewage are dumped in the sea off the Gaza coast each day, creating public health hazards.
- Over 12,000 people are currently displaced due to their inability to reconstruct their homes, destroyed during hostilities (UNOCHA, July 2013).
- The economy has endured severe losses worth $460 million in all economic sectors within the past two months. (Ministry of Economy- Gaza)
Collective punishment, collective crime
Although it remains the occupying power, Israel declared Gaza a “hostile entity” in 2007 and its then prime minister Ehud Olmert declared, “We will not allow the opening of the crossings to Gaza and outside of Gaza to the extent that it will help them bring back life into a completely normal pace.”
These and other Israeli official statements quoted in the Euro-Mid report highlight that the catastrophe in Gaza is a calculated and intended effect of the siege, making it a war crime and collective punishment under international law.
Complicity
Euro-Mid calls on the “international community,” to pressure Israel to end the blockade.
That call is right, but it is an unavoidable fact that the siege would not have lasted seven long years already without the complicity and support of the “international community” in the form of the United States and its allies, particularly the European Union and compliant Arab regimes.
The siege is collective punishment of Palestinians in Gaza, but it is also a collective crime.
The head of Egypt’s Tamarrod movement Mahmoud Badr hosted Wednesday evening a delegation representing the same movement in the Gaza Strip, Ma'an has learned.
The meeting took place at the Tamarrod offices in Cairo, and was joined by public information officer of Egypt’s Tamarrod movement Muhammad Abdul-Aziz.
“The meeting sought to transfer experiences and mechanisms of Egypt’s Tamarrod to the Gaza Strip,” said Badr.
He highlighted that “Tamarrod is a revolutionary movement struggling against injustice and despotism everywhere and in every place. This experience is feasible against all dictatorships.”
The meeting took place at the Tamarrod offices in Cairo, and was joined by public information officer of Egypt’s Tamarrod movement Muhammad Abdul-Aziz.
“The meeting sought to transfer experiences and mechanisms of Egypt’s Tamarrod to the Gaza Strip,” said Badr.
He highlighted that “Tamarrod is a revolutionary movement struggling against injustice and despotism everywhere and in every place. This experience is feasible against all dictatorships.”
4 sept 2013
Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haneyya said that there are attempts to drag the resistance and the Gaza Strip into side battles away from the occupation, but these attempts will fail. He stressed that his government is not leading its people to fight Egypt or antagonize any country, despite the difficulties and pressures that Gaza is going through.
Haneyya said on Thursday during a session of the Legislative Council to discuss Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque that the Palestinian people are subjected to unprecedented campaign of pressures and incitement.
"We are only leading our people towards liberating Al-Aqsa and resisting the occupation," Gaza Premier said, stressing that "despite all what we are going through, our people with its resistance is able to thwart all plots against it."
Haneyya reiterated his government's rejection of the ongoing negotiations between the Authority and the occupation, pointing out that the negotiations enhance the settlement activity and the Israeli presence on the Palestinian land and harm the Palestinian cause.
Haneyya said on Thursday during a session of the Legislative Council to discuss Israeli violations against Al-Aqsa Mosque that the Palestinian people are subjected to unprecedented campaign of pressures and incitement.
"We are only leading our people towards liberating Al-Aqsa and resisting the occupation," Gaza Premier said, stressing that "despite all what we are going through, our people with its resistance is able to thwart all plots against it."
Haneyya reiterated his government's rejection of the ongoing negotiations between the Authority and the occupation, pointing out that the negotiations enhance the settlement activity and the Israeli presence on the Palestinian land and harm the Palestinian cause.
Hemaya (protection) center for human rights appealed to the Egyptian regime to spare the Gaza Strip any further humanitarian difficulties and end its restrictions on the tunnels if it does not intend to provide an alternative to them. In a press release, the center affirmed that the tunnels are a necessary need resorted to by the Gaza people to cope with the blockade imposed on them by the Israeli occupation.
The center added that the recent measures taken by the Egyptian army against the tunnels in Rafah border area have worsened the already difficult economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza.
"Any attempts to destroy the tunnels without securing a legal alternative to them are practical complicity in tightening and prolonging the siege, increasing the pressure on the Palestinians and paralyzing their public life in the Strip," the center said.
The center added that the recent measures taken by the Egyptian army against the tunnels in Rafah border area have worsened the already difficult economic and humanitarian situation in Gaza.
"Any attempts to destroy the tunnels without securing a legal alternative to them are practical complicity in tightening and prolonging the siege, increasing the pressure on the Palestinians and paralyzing their public life in the Strip," the center said.
UFree Network to defend the rights of Palestinian political prisoners and detainees expressed in a press release, its concern over the worsening situation of Palestinian refugees who fled from Syria to Egypt. The network is deeply worried over the inhumane treatment of the Egyptian authorities to those refugees including children and elderly people.
Well-informed sources confirmed to UFree Network that arrest campaign still taking place in Egypt against Palestinian refugees from Syria as well as not giving them permit to stay legally nor receiving proper education and health treatment.
The sources revealed that a family of 9 people (including 4 children) were arrested as Egyptian authorities raided their house in Al Arish city. The family was released after 8 hours of interrogation.
Reports have confirmed that Egypt deported different Palestinian families who came from Syria. Families comprised of children, elderly people and women. Egyptian authorities did not treat them in accordance with International law in regard of "refugees' treatment" or "asylum seekers" rights.
UFree Network learnt that around 60 persons were deported to Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and other countries despite the fact that such step risks their lives, especially those returned "unwillingly" and "forcibly" to Syria. The families were in an attempt to leave Egypt to Europe as the ill-treatment against them escalated over the past 2 months.
UFree Network calls on the Egyptian authorities to abide by International law in that regard and to respect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. Egypt should meet its obligations in accordance of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.
The network request that Egyptian government secure a safe haven for those refugees and allow them to access the service of UNHCR as they are classified within its mandate.
Mohammad Hamdan, Chairman of UFree Network, stated that "The Egyptian authorities are responsible for the safety of Palestinian refugees from Syria and all other refugees. Hamdan called on the United Nations intervene and protect refugees where Egypt failed to do so.
Well-informed sources confirmed to UFree Network that arrest campaign still taking place in Egypt against Palestinian refugees from Syria as well as not giving them permit to stay legally nor receiving proper education and health treatment.
The sources revealed that a family of 9 people (including 4 children) were arrested as Egyptian authorities raided their house in Al Arish city. The family was released after 8 hours of interrogation.
Reports have confirmed that Egypt deported different Palestinian families who came from Syria. Families comprised of children, elderly people and women. Egyptian authorities did not treat them in accordance with International law in regard of "refugees' treatment" or "asylum seekers" rights.
UFree Network learnt that around 60 persons were deported to Lebanon, Syria, Turkey and other countries despite the fact that such step risks their lives, especially those returned "unwillingly" and "forcibly" to Syria. The families were in an attempt to leave Egypt to Europe as the ill-treatment against them escalated over the past 2 months.
UFree Network calls on the Egyptian authorities to abide by International law in that regard and to respect the rights of refugees and asylum seekers. Egypt should meet its obligations in accordance of the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1969 Convention Governing the Specific Aspects of Refugee Problems in Africa.
The network request that Egyptian government secure a safe haven for those refugees and allow them to access the service of UNHCR as they are classified within its mandate.
Mohammad Hamdan, Chairman of UFree Network, stated that "The Egyptian authorities are responsible for the safety of Palestinian refugees from Syria and all other refugees. Hamdan called on the United Nations intervene and protect refugees where Egypt failed to do so.
