SOLIDARITY DELEGATIONS TO GAZA DECREASED BY 95% WITHIN HALF A YEAR
Gaza,10 Jumadil Akhir 1435/10 April 2014 (MINA) – Palestinian government said the number of solidarity delegations to Gaza has decreased by 95% since July 2013. Media Office of the cabinet said in a report that 218 solidarity delegations visited the besieged Gaza Strip during last year.
According to Alray News Agency report quoted by Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA) as reporting, the number of solidarity delegations peaked last January at 55 composed of 1281 members, followed by February with 42 delegations composed of 1219 members.
The delegations arrived in Gaza during the last four months were only four with 38 supporters.
Palestinians in Gaza have been under an extreme economic Israeli blockade since 2007, exacerbated Egypt destroying most of the border tunnels, which Gazans used to compensate for the Israeli closure, smuggling fuel and building materials in the first place.
A recent UN report said that an estimated 1.6 million people in the Gaza Strip suffer from food insecurity and they are in need for urgent food aids.
The outgoing head of the U.N. agency that aids Palestinian refugees urged Israel and Egypt on Tuesday to lift their border restrictions on the Gaza Strip, Reuters news agency reported.
Commissioner General of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) Filippo Grandi yesterday called on Israel and Egypt to lift the siege that has been imposed on the Gaza Strip for more than half a decade.
Grandi said the siege on the Gaza Strip is considered the longest in history; longer than that of Sarajevo, Berlin and Leningrad.
The UNRWA official acknowledged Israeli and Egyptian security concerns but insisted that the plight of about 1.8 million residents in the Strip also needs to be considered.
He said that the Rafah Crossing has been closed for the seventh consecutive week and it is necessary to remind Egypt of its obligations towards patients and students who are in desperate need to travel.
“I think the world should not forget about the security of the people of Gaza,” he said. “Their security is worth the same as everybody else’s security so we appeal to the humanitarian sense of all.”
Grandi called the Israeli blockade on Gaza “illegal and [it] must be lifted”. He said that there are infrastructure projects run by the UNRWA worth $150 million. These projects are suspended until Israel lifts the siege, further harming the Palestinians.
“I also want to make a strong appeal for export to resume because the lack of export is the main reason for the poverty of Gaza,” Grandi said.
The official, who is leaving his office next week, said that the Gaza Strip has been suffering from a dangerous water problem, citing data mentioned in the UN 2020 report. (T/P015/P04)
Mi’raj Islamic News Agency (MINA)
