U.N. Says Israeli Blockade Threatens Gazans’ Health

U.N. Says Israeli Blockade Threatens Gazans’ Health

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza – The United Nations said that Israel’s year-long blockade on the Gaza Strip has jeopardized the health of 1.4 million Palestinians and threatens to undermine the crumbling health system in Gaza. On January 20, the U.N. and aid organizations called on Israel to immediately open its borders with Gaza.

 

The blockade is causing “on-going deterioration in the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health,” according to Max Gaylord, the resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the U.N. in Gaza. “It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialized treatment outside Gaza.”

 

Israel imposed the blockade after the twenty-two-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009. Israeli officials have pointed to the dramatic decrease in rocket attacks from Gaza into Southern Israel as justification for continuing the blockade. Israeli officials did not make any immediate comment after the U.N. statement.

 

During the 2008-2009 war, also known as Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces damaged fifteen of Gaza’s twenty-seven hospitals, as well as damaged or destroyed forty-three out of one hundred-ten primary care facilities, according to the U.N. Patients who need advanced medical care at Israeli hospitals must apply for Israeli permits to enter into Israel, a process that is often unsuccessful.

 

Such was the case of Fida Hejji, an eighteen-year-old Gazan student with Hodgkin’s disease. Fida had made three appointments at Israeli hospitals for bone marrow transplants, but each time the Israeli authorities did not respond in time with the requisite entry permit. Three days after Fida died in November 2009, her family received word Fida had been granted a permit to an Israeli hospital.

 

While Israel and Egypt have opened their borders to basic humanitarian goods, the supply is often not enough to meet demand. Additionally, construction supplies have not been allowed into Gaza, so the damaged or destroyed health centers have been unable to rebuild.

 

Matters appear to be growing worse as winter grips the region. The flooded Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza City, has forced thousands of Palestinians to flee to evacuate their homes and farms. But in a region the size of the American capital, Washington DC, it is unclear where these people will go. Besides the flooding, local fuel suppliers warn of an impending fuel shortage, as only one hundred tons of fuel per week have been allowed through the blockade, in contrast with the needed three hundred tons.

 

Many Gazans fear a humanitarian crisis is now inevitable.

 

For more information, please see:

 

BBC News – UN Warns Israeli Blockade Puts Gazans’ Health at Risk – 20 January 2010

 

Ma’an News Agency – Gaza Fuel Union Rep Warns of Impending Shortage Crisis – 20 January 2010

 

Palestinian News Network – Floods in the Gaza Strip Force Hundreds to Flee – 20 January 2010

 

Times of India – Israeli Blockade Jeopardising Health of 1.4 mn Palestinians – 20 January 2010

 

Washington Post – World Aid Agencies Appeal to Israel to Unlock Gaza – 20 January 2010

U.N. Says Israeli Blockade Threatens Gazans’ Health

By Meredith Lee-Clark
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

GAZA CITY, Gaza – The United Nations said that Israel’s year-long blockade on the Gaza Strip has jeopardized the health of 1.4 million Palestinians and threatens to undermine the crumbling health system in Gaza.  On January 20, the U.N. and aid organizations called on Israel to immediately open its borders with Gaza.

The blockade is causing “on-going deterioration in the social, economic, and environmental determinants of health,” according to Max Gaylord, the resident Humanitarian Coordinator for the U.N. in Gaza.  “It is hampering the provision of medical supplies and the training of health staff and is preventing patients with serious medical conditions getting timely specialized treatment outside Gaza.”

Israel imposed the blockade after the twenty-two-day war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip during December 2008 and January 2009.  Israeli officials have pointed to the dramatic decrease in rocket attacks from Gaza into Southern Israel as justification for continuing the blockade.  Israeli officials did not make any immediate comment after the U.N. statement.

During the 2008-2009 war, also known as Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, Israeli forces damaged fifteen of Gaza’s twenty-seven hospitals, as well as damaged or destroyed forty-three out of one hundred-ten primary care facilities, according to the U.N.  Patients who need advanced medical care at Israeli hospitals must apply for Israeli permits to enter into Israel, a process that is often unsuccessful.

Such was the case of Fida Hejji, an eighteen-year-old Gazan student with Hodgkin’s disease.  Fida had made three appointments at Israeli hospitals for bone marrow transplants, but each time the Israeli authorities did not respond in time with the requisite entry permit.  Three days after Fida died in November 2009, her family received word Fida had been granted a permit to an Israeli hospital.

While Israel and Egypt have opened their borders to basic humanitarian goods, the supply is often not enough to meet demand.  Additionally, construction supplies have not been allowed into Gaza, so the damaged or destroyed health centers have been unable to rebuild.

Matters appear to be growing worse as winter grips the region.  The flooded Wadi Gaza, south of Gaza City, has forced thousands of Palestinians to flee to evacuate their homes and farms.  But in a region the size of the American capital, Washington DC, it is unclear where these people will go.  Besides the flooding, local fuel suppliers warn of an impending fuel shortage, as only one hundred tons of fuel per week have been allowed through the blockade, in contrast with the needed three hundred tons. 

Many Gazans fear a humanitarian crisis is now inevitable.

For more information, please see:

 BBC News – UN Warns Israeli Blockade Puts Gazans’ Health at Risk – 20 January 2010

 Ma’an News Agency – Gaza Fuel Union Rep Warns of Impending Shortage Crisis – 20 January 2010

 Palestinian News Network – Floods in the Gaza Strip Force Hundreds to Flee – 20 January 2010

 Times of India – Israeli Blockade Jeopardising Health of 1.4 mn Palestinians – 20 January 2010

 Washington Post – World Aid Agencies Appeal to Israel to Unlock Gaza – 20 January 2010

Amnesty International Calls on New Zealand to Speak Out Against Repression in Fiji

By Cindy Trinh
Impunity Watch Reporter, Oceania

SUVA, Fiji – Amnesty International is calling on New Zealand and other countries in the region to speak out and intensify calls for Fiji to cease human rights abuses, including arbitrary arrests, intimidation, threats, assaults, and detention.

In its call for New Zealand and other countries to speak out against repression in Fiji, Amnesty urges that the topic of human rights are included in any dialogue with Fiji.

Human rights violations have been increasing in Fiji ever since Public Emergency Regulations (PER) were imposed in April of 2008, when ex-President Ratu Josefa Iloilo abrogated Fiji’s constitution and reappointed Commodore Frank Bainimarama as Prime Minister.

Under the PER, Fiji’s military and security forces retain absolute control over the country’s population, and soldiers and police enjoy complete immunity from prosecution for their actions, including serious violations of human rights.

Not only does the PER encourage violations of human rights, the Fiji regime is continually bringing in more measures to stifle dissent.

Amnesty’s Pacific Researcher, Apolosi Bose, stated that the Fiji regime has become “comfortable with getting away with human rights abuses, because they are shutting down their opponents one by one.” Amnesty urges New Zealand and other countries to maintain a strong stance against the Fiji regime.

Last week, Foreign Minister Murray McCully announced that New Zealand and Fiji had agreed to improve diplomatic relations. Amnesty believes that this “provides an increased opportunity to raise concerns about the recent intensified crackdown on opponents of the Fijian regime.”

Apolosi Bose further stated: “Fiji’s neighbors must urge the regime to restore the independence of the judiciary and cooperate with the United Nations in ending human rights abuses.”

For more information, please see:
Amnesty International – NZ-Fiji re-engagement must consider human rights – 21 January 2010

Radio New Zealand International – Amnesty calls on region to speak out against repression in Fiji – 21 January 2010

Silobreaker – Amnesty calls on region to speak out against repression in Fiji – 21 January 2010

Colombian Soldiers Indicted for Indigenous Deaths

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, South America

BOGOTA, Colombia-Seven soldiers were indicted last week for killing Edwin Legarda, the spouse of Aida Quilcue, an indigenous leader. Aida Quilcue lead indigenous protests of Colombian President Alvaro Uribe’s policies. Another indigenous leader was found brutally murdered in Northern Colombia this week.

The army initially explained the shooting death as the result of Legarda failing to stop at a checkpoint in the Cuaca village of San Pedro. However, investigators found no sign of a military check point at the location where Legarda was killed. However, sixteen bullets were found in the sides and just three in the back of the pickup truck Legarda was in.

Seven members of the army were arrested in April of 2009 for the shooting and were charged last week with aggravated assault. The death occurred not long after Legarda’s wife led a large march for several days along the Pan American Highway to the southwestern city of Cali. Protesters demanded that Uribe provide indigenous communities with land, protection from illegal armed groups, and full respect for indigenous rights.

Protest organizers estimate that more than 1,200 indigenous Colombians have been killed and at least 54,000 displaced from their ancestral lands since Uribe became president in 2002.

On Sunday a Zenu indigenous leader that had been reported missing in Northern Colombia was found dead. Efrain Antonio Basillo was beheaded and set on fire by unknown individuals. He was a medicine man and received calls for help in treating an ailing man the night he disappeared.

Tribal leaders believe that both deaths are related to land disputes.

For more information, please see:

Latin American Herald Tribune-Colombian Troops Indicted for Killing Indian -28 January 2010

Colombia Reports-Soldiers on Trial for the Murder of Indigenous Leader-25 January 2010

EFA-Siete Militares Son Llamados a Jucio Por el Homocidio de un Líder Indígena-26 January 2010

Iranian Nuclear Plant to be Operational by 2011

By Bobby Rajabi
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

MOSCOW, Russia – On January 21 Iranian and Russian officials said that Iran’s first nuclear power plant will be operating by mid-2011. Russian officials confirmed that the nuclear reactor would be started to be built in 2010. The plant will be located in the Iranian city of Bushehr. Russia’s nuclear chief, Sergei Kiryenko, commented that “2010 is the year of the Bushehr.”

Kiryenko also said that “all the work is going as scheduled. The tests are a success.” The Director of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization, Ali Akbar Salehi, also commented on the plants creation. Salehi said that the Bushehr nuclear power plant will be operational by late September. He also explained that experts are conducting final tests and there would be no delays on the part of the Russians in the launching of the nuclear plant.

This development comes amidst rising tensions over Iran’s refusal to accept a proposal by the United Nations aimed at easing the international concerns over Iran’s nuclear program. The IAEA (nuclear arm of the united nations) plan calls for the Islamic Republic to ship low-enriched uranium to Russia for further enrichment and then to France where it would converted into fuel for Tehran’s medical purpose reactor.

Iran’s refusal to accept this deal lead to Western nations in the UN Security Council to threaten to imposed further sanctions on the Islamic Republic. The other two members of the Security Council, Russia and China, have called for more restraint and patience. Iran insists that they only have peaceful intentions with their nuclear program. The West believes that these claims are a cover-up for a nuclear weapons program.

The Bushehr plant’s construction began in 1974 but was abandoned five years later after the Islamic Revolution led to upheaval in Iran’s government. Western companies reneged on their commitments and pulled out of the Islamic Republic and the project after political pressure from the United States federal government. Russia ultimately agreed to complete the project.

In 1992 the two countries signed a deal to complete the construction of the nuclear power plant. Russia started working on the plant in 1995 and its contract was estimated to worth close to one billion dollars. The plant was was originally scheduled to open in 1999 but has been repeatedly delayed.

For more information, please see:

BBC – Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant to Open in 2010 – 21 January 2010

Press TV – Russia: Bushehr Plant to Come on Stream in 2010 – 21 January 2010

RTT – Iran’s Bushehr Nuclear Plant to be Launched by Mid-2010 – 21 January 2010

Washington Post – Russia Says to Start Iran Nuclear Plant in 2010 – 21 January 2010