Gaza Report 2012

GAZA REPORTMarch 2012

Gaza Report March 2012II

Gaza Report March 2012 1

The borders of the Gaza Strip were

drawn by the United Nations with

the 1949 Ceasefire Agreement that

was signed after the 1948 Arab-Israel

War. The region, remained under the Egyptian

control until the 1967 War, came under direct

Israeli occupation just after the following

border changes at the same year. As per the

Oslo Accords signed in 1993, Israel agreed to

an independent Palestinian state that also

included Gaza at latest by 1999; however, it only

withdrew from the territory it occupied in 2005,

pursuing to shape the permanent status of the

region unilaterally. Despite partial improvement

of life after the withdrawal, illegal control of

Israel over Gaza remained in place and Israel

continued to de facto keep the region under

its control in almost every way. Today Gaza’s

all border gates, except for Rafah, territorial

waters and airspace are controlled by Israel.

In 2007, Israel imposed embargo on Gaza

after the people voted Hamas into power,

banned the entry of humanitarian supplies

into and their exit out of the region, struck

public offices, hospitals, schools and houses

arbitrarily, and is still carrying on this policy.

This report not only lists major milestones

in extent and consequences of the embargo

on Gaza since 2007 but also provides

impressions and findings of aid workers of

IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation that are

carrying regular relief efforts in the region and

an IHH team that visited the region in 2011.

Introduction

Gaza Report March 20122

PALESTINE

EGYPT

MED

ITERRANEA

N SEA

Rafah Crossing

point

Karni Crossing point

Sufa Crossing point

GAZA

Erez Crossing

point

Tal as-Sultan

Rafah

Ban-i Suheila

Al Qarara

Az Zawayda

Beit LahiyaBeit Hanoun

Fishing lim

it enfo

rced by Is

rael

Jabalia

Deyir al Balah

Khan Yunis

Abasan al Kabira

Kerem ShalomCrossing point

-

-

-

Located in Western Palestine near the

Egyptian border, Gaza has an area of 360

square-kilometers with a length of 41 km

and a width of between 6 to 12 km. The

region is controlled by the Palestinian

National Authority. It has a population

of 1,657,155 and about 1,105,000 Gaza

residents live in eight refugee camps

(Jabalia, Gaza, Beit Lahia, Beit Hanoun, Dir

al-Balah, Khan Yunis, Rafah and Abasan

Kabir). Health, education and other

humanitarian needs of these refugees are

met by donations from the United Nations,

international aid agencies and Muslim

countries.

Where is Gaza?

The International Committee of

the Red Cross-(ICRC) described in a

statement on 14 June 2010 the impact

of the embargo on Gaza and its

1.5m inhabitants as “unbearable and

devastating” and “collective punishment

that clearly violates Israel’s obligations

as per international humanitarian law”,

pointing to the removal of the blockade

as the only lasting solution to the crisis.

UN Human Rights council Fact-

finding Mission Report (Article

38), September 27, 2010


After Hamas garnered big gains in Gaza in the 2006

Palestinian elections and came to power in 2007, Israel,

contradictory to rules of international law, started

imposing political and economic restrictions to punish

the Gaza people for their preference in the elections.

Israel declared the Gaza Strip “enemy entity” and

announced it would restrict goods entering and leaving

Gaza to put pressure on Hamas under the pretext of

“terror.” The illegal embargo that was imposed by Israel

and its allies around the world turned Gaza into an

open-air prison where problems in education, health,

economy and security became widespread.

In mid-2007, continuous Israeli operations in Gaza and

internal provocations brought about a serious fighting

between Hamas and Fatah, the two powerful political

groups in Gaza. Over 200 Palestinians were killed in the

clashes. Hamas, which is legally at power in Gaza as the

winner of the elections, came under political and economic

pressure of international community. The embargo shut

border gates of Gaza to the world one by one. The people

of Gaza were cut off from the rest of the world.

On 27 December 2008, Israel launched Cast Lead

Operation and hit the Gaza people it had subjected

to a deadly embargo for 22 days. In the operation

Israeli military used white phosphorus, a weapon of

mass destruction that is banned to be used on civilian

population. In the air and land strikes that lasted until 17

January 2009 Israel massacred 1500 civilians, more than

half of them children. The strikes wounded over 5000

people, destroyed more than 4000 buildings, damaged

another 200,000 and left 50,000 inhabitants homeless.

Hospitals, mosques, schools, factories, business centers

an even UN offices were leveled. The Islamic University

of Gaza, the only higher education institution in the

region, was also hit. Twenty-nine ambulances and 122

health clinics were hit. Rescue and treatment efforts

were impeded. About 280 schools were damaged;

9000 students who were affected in the strikes

were evacuated; 164 students and 12 teachers were

killed; 454 students and five teachers were wounded.

Education halted and all schools were closed during

the strikes. Furthermore, 1500 workshops/factories,

31 security facilities and 20 mosques were destroyed.

About 400,000 Gaza residents were cut off from

clean drinking supply. Greenhouses, olive groves and

croplands suffered huge damage. More than 60 percent

of farmland in Northern Gaza was damaged extensively.

A people punished

for their electoral

preferences

The fact that Israel used disproportionate and

systematic force, Dense Inert Metal Explosives and

phosphorus, weapons of mass destruction that

have not been restricted with a global convention

yet, was established in the Goldstone Report by a

UN Human Rights Council fact-finding mission.


Israel, which imposed a heavy embargo on Gaza when

Hamas became the de facto ruler of the region in

2007, is controlling four out of the five border gates in

Gaza. It sometimes keeps the crossings shut for weeks

and even months and prevents basic necessities,

medical materials and humanitarian supplies entering

and leaving the territory.

Border crossings

1. Rafah crossing Gate: It is controlled by Egypt. Daily

300 Gaza residents are allowed to cross into Egypt

though this gate. Entry of goods and people into

Gaza, on the other hand, is problematic. Those

lacking a Palestinian identification issued by the

Ramallah administration are not allowed into

Gaza. People who request permit to leave Gaza

are made to wait for months, which sometimes

results in deaths of patients in need of treatment

and loss of employment for workers and dismissal

of students.

2. Erez crossing Gate: The border gate that is the

main crossing for Gaza residents who make a

living by working in Israel has been closed to

Palestinians since 2007.

3. Karni crossing Gate: The crossing was used for

entry of commercial goods into Gaza. Frequently

closed before 2007, the crossing was shut

permanently when Hamas came to power in 2007.

4. Sufa crossing Gate: Used for entry of construction

materials into Gaza, the crossing has been mostly

closed since 2007.

5. Kerem Shalom crossing Gate: Used for entry of

commercial goods and humanitarian supplies, the

crossing has been mostly closed since 2007.

The embargo on Gaza

The mission draws attention to the illegality of

subjecting civilians in occupied territories to

collective punishment as per the Article 33 of the

Geneva Convention: “No protected person may be

punished for an offense he or she has not personally

committed. Collective penalties and likewise

all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are

prohibited.” The mission is of the opinion that one

of the reasons behind the blockade on Gaza is the

punishment of the Gaza people for voting Hamas.

Together with restrictions imposed on Gaza, Israel’s

actions and policies undoubtedly amount to what is

defined in international law as “collective penalty.”

UN Human Rights Council Fact-finding Mission

Report (Article 54), September 27, 2010


Damage Gaza

suffered under

embargoThe embargo imposed on Gaza has deprived the local

population of their economic, health, educational and

many other rights. The use of disproportionate force by

Israel has caused serious damage both to people and the

environment.

There are five border gates in Gaza such as Erez, Karni,

Sufa, Kerem Shalom and Rafah. However, food items, fuel,

medical supplies and other humanitarian materials have

been prevented by Israel since 2007 from entering and

leaving the region through these gates. Gaza residents

are living in poverty and destitution and are trying to

provide their basic necessities thought tunnels dug near

Rafah border gate.

The mission’s description of the situation in Gaza

as deplorable is shared by others. The situation

in Gaza has been described as “unsustainable.”

It is impossible in the 21st century to regard this

situation as tolerable and acceptable. It is baffling

for anyone to view living standards of the Gaza

people as acceptable.

UN Human Rights Council Fact-finding Mission

Report (Article 275), September 27, 2010


A. Economy

● Gaza, where people earn their income mostly from

farming, small-size manufacturing and fishing, is

failing even to reach the manufacturing rates of 15

years ago because of systematic policy of deliberate

impoverishment.

● Many Gaza inhabitants are facing the hardship to find

food or to earn the money to buy food.

● Israel has declared the waters three miles off the

coast of Gaza and further as “forbidden zone” and

thereby preventing Palestinians from using 85 % of

their territorial waters. The families making a living

from fishing are immensely affected by the naval

blockade.

● About 95% industrial enterprises in Gaza have shut

down, while the remaining 5% works with 20 to 50%

capacity.

● Unemployment rate is over 45%.

● Gaza inhabitants are forced to live on less than two

dollars a day.

● Since 180,000 civil servants, 210,000 workers and 80

% of free-lancers have lost employment since 2007,

the purchasing power of people has plummeted

and the prices of durable goods has surged due to

restrictions on entry of such goods into the region.

● Israel laid off 21,000 Palestinians working in Israel

in 2005 and caused an economic loss of over $1m.

In addition, Israel sometimes keeps border gates

shut for months. Gaza residents who daily cross

into Israel for their jobs cannot work when gates are

closed and families of these workers are put at the

risk of hunger.

B. Energy

● Since October 2007, strict restrictions have been

imposed on fuel supply and delivery of electricity and

fuel has been largely limited.

● In Gaza, which has only one power station that works

with 30% capacity, daily power cuts of between eight

and 12 hours are experienced. Hospitals, businesses

and households are negatively affected by energy

shortages.

● Public services such as power and water deliveries

have to depend on UPS devices and generators;

however, the lack of spare parts of these devices

makes them unreliable.

C. Water

● In Gaza, where public services are disrupted

because of the embargo, daily about 80 million liter


sewer water is let flow into nature without being

processed. Combined with growing number of

health problems caused by pollution of sea water,

the contamination of surface and underground

waters by sewer has left only 5-10% of the water in

the region potable.

● Around 26% of the population is suffering from

waterborne diseases.

D. Health

● Power cuts, shortages of clean drinking water, lack of

spare machinery parts and many other factors make

it difficult it to keep medical equipment running and

well-maintained.

● Patients needing emergency medical treatment

are dying because they are not allowed to leave

the region. Getting a permit to leave Gaza for

medical treatment is tied to a long and tedious

procedure.

● Restrictions on leaving the region have prevented

medical staff from improving their vocational

knowledge and training outside.

● Power cuts are threatening the lives of patients in

need of permanent treatment such as dialysis and

cancer patients.

● Patients are at the risk of death since the entry of

medicines and medical tools and equipment into the

region is restricted.

● Strikes on Gaza not only cause material damage

but also have a devastating impact on people’s

psychology. Almost 90% of local children are

suffering from post-trauma stress disorder.

E. Security and arbitrary actions

● Israel claims it is threatened by short-range missiles

Hamas possess while it is in possession of nuclear

arsenal and frequently strikes Gaza under this

pretext.

● The Hamas government has been particularly

avoiding since early 2006 provocative actions

against Israel. However, Israel has continued

bombardments and detentions. It has exploited the

tension in the region as a tool to prove to the world

its security concerns.

● Israeli troops are arbitrarily firing on civilians, causing

deaths and injuries.

● Israel has arbitrarily detained and jailed more than

10,000 Palestinians in Gaza and West Bank.


F. Strikes

● Israeli artillery units fired over 6000 rounds of

artillery into northern Gaza in a nine-month long

operation in September 2005 and caused a lasting

damage to the region, even killing children having a

picnic on the beach.

● The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian

Affairs-OCHA stated that Israel expanded

restrictions on Gaza fishermen ahead of the 2008

Cast Lead Operation. The Palestinian fishermen

entering restricted area come under warning

shots of Israeli Navy and in some cases are directly

assaulted. Israeli troops confiscate fishing boats it

seizes in raids.

● Israel, which has committed since the day it occupied

the region arbitrarily moving tanks on civilians,

shooting at them, willfully injuring, damaging houses


and farmland, massacred 1400 civilians in the Cast Lead

Operation between 27 December 2008 and 17 January

2009. The number later rose to 1500 with deaths

occurring from severe injuries.

● Between 28 September 2000 and January 2011, 5081

Palestinians lost their lives due to attacks by Jewish

settlers, Israeli bombardments and restrictions on

treatment of Palestinian patients.

G. Restrictions and attacks on

humanitarian workers

● A land convoy named Viva Palestina was organized

to deliver relief aid to Gaza in 2009. The convoy

included 200 vehicles, medical supplies and

humanitarian materials. After a long wait because

of Egypt’s blocking, the convoy crossed into Gaza

through Rafah border gate. The vehicles and

humanitarian supplies in the convoy were donated to

the Gaza people.

● On 31 May 2010, Israel attacked the Freedom Flotilla

that was carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza through

international waters and killed nine aid volunteers

and wounded another 56. In a statement issued in the

wake of the attack, the UN Security Council described

the situation in Gaza as “unsustainable.”

H. Humanitarian situation

● The humanitarian crisis in Gaza that is caused by the

embargo put in place in 2007 has reached worrying

levels. International community and the UN Security

Council have submitted their concerns in various

reports to decision-making bodies and urged urgent

action to resolve the problem.

● The embargo has caused widespread poverty among

the Gaza population and the dependency on external

aid has reached 80%.

● About 54% of Gaza inhabitants have no access to

food, while 12% have difficulties in accessing food.

● The number of refugees in “extreme poverty” was

100,000 at the time the embargo was imposed, while

this number has reached 300,000 as of today.

● In Gaza, 61% of the population is at the threat of

hunger.

● Due to forced changes in eating habits, disorders tied

to vitamin and minerals deficiency have been found

particularly among children.

● Around 86,000 homes that were damaged in Israeli

strikes have to be rebuilt.

● There are 25,000 orphan children in Gaza.

● Out of 1,657,155 Gaza inhabitants 1,105,000 are living

in refugee camps.


● The embargo on Gaza should be lifted immediately

and unconditionally.

● Food security of the local people should be

ensured.

● Political and military restrictions on the delivery of

assistance to the region and aid to Gaza should be

increased systematically.

● Arbitrary obstacles to entry into and exit from Gaza

should be removed.

● To put an end to Israeli attacks, the Organization of

Islamic Cooperation, Arab League, the UN as well as

all Muslim countries should take a decision to act

together.

● To revive economy of Gaza, the people should be

offered employment opportunities and to this end

Israeli obstacles should done away with.

● International guarantee should be put in place to

let Palestinian products reach global markets and

countries should urge quotas for the importation of

Palestinian products.

● Investment in the energy sector of Palestine should

be encouraged to lower its dependency on Israel

and an international mechanism should be set up

to protect investments and investors.

● Efforts to found an Independent Palestinian State

should be stepped up.

● Civil servants and workers in Gaza should be given

their jobs back unless if Israel refuses to take action

on this matter. Their payments should be made

from an international fund to be set up until an

independent Palestinian state is founded.

● A safe aid corridor should be opened to deliver

humanitarian supplies to the region.

Suggestions for solutionThe embargo on Gaza should be lifted entirely to put an end to the ongoing humanitarian crisis. In this regard, we can

list a number of suggestions that can be used to end the Gaza crisis:


Relief efforts of IHH Humanitarian Relief

Foundation in Gaza

IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation has been closely

following developments about the Palestinian question

and offering support for a solution. IHH not only delivers

humanitarian assistance to Palestinians in the occupied

territories but also exerts utmost effort to advocate the

rights of Palestinians in the field of human rights.

It, furthermore, offers help to Palestinians refugees in

Syria, Lebanon, Jordan and elsewhere around the world.

The following are some of the relief efforts carried out

since 2009 in the Gaza Strip:

A. Cash-aid in-kind and periodic help

● In Gaza, 2533 orphans were cared for in 2009 as part

of the “Sponsor Family System,” while the number

reached 9731 as of March 2012.

● IHH has been performing sacrificial slaughters and

distributing the meat to the needy in Gaza every

Qurban season since the day it was established.

● Every year at Ramadan month food packages and hot

meals are distributed in Gaza.

● Every year needy students at state schools are

provided with books, stationery sets and bags. And

every semester aid supplies worth €30,000 are

distributed.

● Orphans children are clothed every year and Qurban

and Ramadan seasons.

● Cash assistance of €2000 were given to 1000

families whose homes were destroyed in Israeli

strikes.

● Each of the 1300 martyr families were donated

€1000 cash-aid.

● For one year 1250 food packages, each worth €40,

were distributed in Gaza.

● Psychological support and rehabilitation sessions

were held at 70 state schools in cooperation with

Gaza Education Ministry following the Cast Lead

Operation. The cost of the program that included

20,000 students was €25,000.

● Search-recue works were carried out in Gaza’s al-

Mugraga area after the 2010 flooding disaster and hot

meals were provided to the families who could return

to their homes for safety reasons and the affected

people were also offered cash assistance. The total

amount of the assistance realized at €55,000.

● Thirty couples were helped get married in Gaza in

2010. The total cost of the project was €30,000.


● In cooperation with Gaza Ministry of Health 600

people in different parts of Gaza were offered training

in first aid for two months. The cost of the program

was €20,000.

● A six-month psychological support and rehabilitation

program was organized for 1200 students in three

areas of Gaza. The program cost was €35,000.

● In Beit Lahia, 100 families were provided mushrooms

to grow and training on how to cultivate mushroom.

The program cost was €13,000.

● Ten families were given three pairs of rabbits each,

cages and six-month feed for the rabbits. The project

cost €600 per family.

● A six-month training course on how to make

bakery products was offered to 300 women. The

participants contributed to their family income by

selling the products they made during the training.

The total cost of the training was €23,000.

B. Works in education, health and

housing fields

Education

● Maintenance, renovation and furnishing jobs of Dar

al-Erkam Turkey-Palestine Primary School, which has

750 students, were completed. The classrooms were

equipped with LCD projectors and a 60-computer

technology laboratory was set up.

● Education at the school where almost half of

the students are children of the killed or jailed

Palestinians is free.

● Sewing training courses were offered for women

in Rafah, Khan Younis, Tel al-Islam, Naseer area and

Jabalia. Every three months 200 people graduate

from these courses. The courses have had 2400

students in the last three years. Annual expenses of

one training course are €20,000.

● Three computer centers were set up in Rafah, Tel

al-Islam and Jabalia for children of killed or jailed

Palestinians. Children of poor families can also use

the centers. The annual expenses of the centers are

€60,000.

● Laboratory and computer buildings of the Islamic

University of Gaza, which were destroyed in Israeli

strikes, were rebuilt and the conference hall was

repaired. The project cost €720,000.

● Gaza Technology University, which was damaged in

the 2009 Furkan War, was repaired. The project cost

€30,000.

● Computer, English, management and business

administration classes are offered at Osmanlı Cultural

Center inside IHH Office in Gaza. Each year 250

students graduate from these trainings. The project

cost is €20,000.


● In Rafah, each year 240 children attend training on how

to memorize the Quran. The project cost is €20,000.

Health

● IHH, which has been providing since it was founded

medications and medical materials to Palestinians

in need, brought in the wake of the Furqan War, 59

wounded Palestinians who could not be treated at

Gaza hospitals to Turkey for treatment.

● A lithotripter machine that was taken to Rafah-

Gaza with a land convoy in 2010 was set up at

Jamiyat al-Islam Health Center. The project cost was

approximately $60,000.

● The furnishing of a Maternity Hospital, which was

constructed by Beit Hanoun Municipality, was

undertaken and the hospital was opened. The project

cost €500,000.

● Ultrasound, endoscopy machine, various

consumables as well as medicines were taken to al-

Huda Health Clinic in Tel al-Islam with a land convoy

in 2010. The other health centers in the region were

also provided with various medical materials.

● As part of the Sponsor Family System, 10,500

orphan children are cared for as of 2011. Educational

assistance and health screenings are offered to these

orphans. The project cost is €3,696,396 (TL 8,820,000).

Housing

● Three-storey buildings with six flat were constructed

for six families whose houses at Gaza border area were

destroyed in Israeli strikes. The project cost €130,000.

● Rebuilding is in progress for houses that were

destroyed in the Furqan War in Karame, Huzaa (50

houses were leveled in Huzaa only) and Nuseirat areas.

Three of the houses were completed and handed to

families in November 2011. The total cost of the project

is €160,000.

● In Karame, Huzaa and Nuseirat areas, houses of families

in need were repaired and ten new houses were

built for the families. The houses were named after

the activists who were killed in the Israeli raid on the

Freedom Flotilla while taking humanitarian aid to Gaza

in 2010. The project cost is €75,000.

● Gaza Port, which has been heavily damaged in Israeli

strikes, was repaired for the docking of ships in the

Freedom Flotilla. Deepening, coast repair and road-

building jobs were completed in three months. The

project cost was €100,000.


Palestinians, who have been living under occupation

since 1948, demand peace and quiet. However,

living conditions of Palestinians who have been

squeezed into the West Bank and Gaza Strip and

whose right to life, work and free movement has

been usurped became unbearable in the wake of

the 2006 elections in Gaza. Israel declared Gaza

as “enemy entity” in 2006 when Hamas came to

power and started imposing an embargo on the

region. It restricted goods and products entering

and leaving Gaza and reduced fuel supplies. It set

up checkpoints in different parts of Gaza to prevent

Palestinians from leaving their own land. It put in

place a policy that almost paralyzed movement

of goods and people with checkpoints it set up

at Erez, Karni, Sufa, and Kerem Shalom. Although

governments around the world are overlooking

the illegal embargo on Gaza with realpolitik

concerns, a number of national and international

civil society organizations brought the inhumane

situation in Gaza to the attention of the world with

humanitarian aid initiatives they organized.

IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, which has

been exerting efforts since it was founded to help

reinstate usurped Palestinian rights and delivering

humanitarian relief to the region, took part in two

massive organizations to end the embargo. It was

part of the Viva Palestina land convoy that crossed

into Gaza with 200 vehicles through Rafah border

crossing on the Egypt-Gaza border and donated

the vehicles to the local people. IHH was also

one of the biggest organizers of the international

Gaza Freedom Flotilla in May 2010. The flotilla

that set out to take relief aid to Gaza from sea

came under the attack of Israeli armed forces on

31 May while sailing in international waters in the

Mediterranean. The raid on the Freedom Flotilla

that aimed to draw global attention to the embargo

on Gaza killed nine aid volunteers and wounded

56. All the activists on the flotilla were detained

and jailed. Uğur Süleyman Söylemez, one of the

activists wounded in the attack, is still in coma.

The Gaza embargo and rights violations against

Palestinians moved upward on the global agenda

following the attack on the flotilla and the illegality

of the embargo was reiterated by governments

and leading global civil society organizations.

The embargo that has created numerous

problems for Palestinians in Gaza in education,

health, economic and security areas has turned

the region into an open-air prison. The Gaza

people who have been subjected to inhumane

conditions caused by the embargo are still hoping

for a helping hand to be extended to them.

Conclusion


Sources1. European Union Border Assistance Mission in Rafah, http://www.eubam-rafah.

eunode/351; http://www.pchrgaza.org/files/2010/Illegal%20Closur.pdf

2. ORSAM (Middle East Strategic Studies Center), Gaza Question: Israeli blockade,

international law, Palmer Report and Turkey’s approach, Report no: 71, September 2011

3. World Food Programme Report, http://reliefweb.int/sites/ reliefweb.int/files/resources/

Full_Report_1389.pdf

4. UN Human Rights Council fact-finding Mission Report, 27 September 2010,

5. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middleeast/03/v3_israel_palestinians/maps/

html/population_settlements.stm

6. http://hopeandplay.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=76%3

Acampaign-to-wake-up-the-british-parliament&catid=15%3Aoccupied-

palestineterritories fundraising-events&Itemid=51

7. Al-Zaytouna Centre for Studies and Consultations, http://www.alzaytouna.net/

arabic/?c=1523&a=137069 http://www.hukuk.gazi.edu.tr/editor/dergi/12_41.pdf

Gaza Report 2012

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