Clinging on in Gaza

09Jun09

There’s lots to say about the Obama speech (though a lot less than has already been said about it),  but for now, a reminder of the context.

(source)

The reason why the al-Attar family and thousands of others are still living in tents is that the billions of donor aid intended for reconstruction have come to nothing in the face of the “extreme closure regime” (World Bank) still being imposed on Gaza. Sara Roy reports on the continuing destruction of Gazan society:

“After Israel’s December assault, Gaza’s already compromised conditions have become virtually unlivable. Livelihoods, homes, and public infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed on a scale that even the Israel Defense Forces admitted was indefensible. In Gaza today, there is no private sector to speak of and no industry. 80 percent of Gaza’s agricultural crops were destroyed and Israel continues to snipe at farmers attempting to plant and tend fields near the well-fenced and patrolled border. Most productive activity has been extinguished.

One powerful expression of Gaza’s economic demise—and the Gazans’ indomitable will to provide for themselves and their families—is its burgeoning tunnel economy that emerged long ago in response to the siege. Thousands of Palestinians are now employed digging tunnels into Egypt—around 1,000 tunnels are reported to exist although not all are operational. According to local economists, 90 percent of economic activity in Gaza—once considered a lower middle-income economy (along with the West Bank)—is presently devoted to smuggling.

Today, 96 percent of Gaza’s population of 1.4 million is dependent on humanitarian aid for basic needs. According to the World Food Programme, the Gaza Strip requires a minimum of 400 trucks of food every day just to meet the basic nutritional needs of the population. Yet, despite a 22 March decision by the Israeli cabinet to lift all restrictions on foodstuffs entering Gaza, only 653 trucks of food and other supplies were allowed entry during the week of May 10, at best meeting 23 percent of required need.” [my emph.]

Oxfam similarly reports [.pdf] that since ‘Operation Cast Lead’ the Israeli government “has been steadily reducing the variety of supplies entering Gaza”:

“Over the three months of February to April 2009, an average of 65% of all commodities entering Gaza were food items, 86% of which were restricted to a narrow range of seven basic foodstuffs; even then, items, such as macaroni and dates, have been denied entry. It was only after the intervention of US officials that the government of Israel allowed macaroni into Gaza after weeks of delay. On a visit to Gaza in February 2009, a US Congressman asked, “When have lentil bombs been going off lately? Is someone going to kill you with a piece of macaroni?” In March 2009, the government of Israel prevented US-funded food parcels from entering Gaza due to the inclusion of canned tuna, biscuits and jam; they were added to a long list of items ‘under review’,which included wooden toys and maths and science kits.”

John Ging, director of UNRWA in Gaza, recently commented:

“[Gazans] have the right to a livelihood, these people do not want to be reduced to begging for a living but we have now 90% of the population here depending on handouts of food from the UN … and that’s not three square meals a day. People call this place a prison; it is not a prison because a prison in Western Europe would be much better in terms of conditions than here”.

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Tags: blockade, collective punishment, Gaza, John Ging, Oxfam, siege