GAZA STRIP LOSSES EXCEED $250 MILLION

Gaza, City, 15 Zulqa’idah 1434/20 September 2013 (MINA) – The Minister of National Economy in the Palestinian government in Gaza Strip has said that losses in the besieged territory have exceeded $250 million as a result of the Egyptian campaign to tighten the siege.

Dr Alaa Al-Rafati told local media that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has entered a “critical and dangerous phase” because Egypt has closed the Rafah border crossing and is destroying the tunnels described by many observers as a “lifeline” for the Palestinians.

According to Dr Al-Rafati, the Egyptian army has destroyed nearly 126 border tunnels which have been used to get essential goods and medicines into Gaza, Middle East Monitor (MEMO) quoted by Mi’raj News Agency (MINA) as reporting, Friday.

The destruction is having a massive impact on health and the environment in the Strip.

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However, the minister predicted that the campaign will fail to achieve its goal. “People will find a way through, just as they have in the past,” he insisted.

“As long as the official channels are closed to us for importing even basic necessities, tunnels will be dug and used.”

Dr Al-Rafati called on Egypt to reopen the Rafah crossing and allow the movement of people and goods through it in order to alleviate the effects of the Israeli-led siege which has been in place for 7 years.

Yesterday ,The Palestinian government in the Gaza Strip has called for all free people of the world to travel to the Gaza Strip in an attempt to end the “humanitarian catastrophe” occurring there because of the strict Israeli siege and the closure of the Rafah Crossing.

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In a statement issued after the weekly meeting on Tuesday, the government said that the humanitarian situation is going from bad to worse and more problems are emerging every day.

In addition to the increasing number of students and patients stuck in Gaza because of the closure of the Rafah Crossing, the statement said that about 30 per cent of medical kits and medicines have now run out.

The government denounced the closure of the Rafah Crossing in light of the deteriorating humanitarian situation. It said that thousands of people will loose more work, hundreds of students will loose more education and hundreds of patients will face increasing danger unless they are able to travel soon.

Meanwhile, the government condemned Egyptian security forces shooting at Palestinian fishermen and detaining five of them. “We feel sorry for the detention of the five Palestinian fishermen in Egyptian jails,” the statement said.

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It also expressed its deep concern for the death of a Palestinian citizen in Jenin, Islam Al-Tobasi, after he was shot by Israeli occupation forces. It also criticised the Palestinian-Israeli negotiations and called them “absurd”.

On Israel’s continued desecration of the Al-Aqsa Mosque, the government reiterated that this comes in line with Israeli ambitions to Judaise the whole city of Jerusalem. While “seeing Arabs busy in internal clashes, they aim at dividing the Sanctuary Yards of the Mosque,” the statement said.

The government called for international bodies to exert efforts to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is the third holiest site for Muslims.(T/P012/P04)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)