On September 19, Israel formally declared Gaza to be a “hostile entity”. This declaration came after Prime Minister Olmert met with members of the security cabinet in the morning. The government has been under growing pressure to react following a rocket attack on a training base that injured 69 recruits. Declaring Gaza to be a “hostile entity” will enable Israel to cut off or limit the delivery of utilities, like water, fuel, and electricity. Israel hopes that the sanctions will cause the Palestinians in Gaza to pressure Hamas and militant groups to stop the rocket attacks on Israel. Israel’s policy of air strikes and limited incursions into Gaza have had little success in stopping the attacks.
Prime Minister Olmert’s office did not set a starting date for the sanctions, but rather that they will be employed after an examination of the legal and humanitarian ramifications. Israel’s Foreign Minister, Tzipi Livni, said that the sanction will not affect the humanitarian situation in Gaza. She claimed that “all the needs that are more than the humanitarian needs will not be supplied by Israel to the Gaza Strip.” The humanitarian situation in Gaza is already grim since the region already experienced a economic sanctions this year, when the EU cut off electricity supplies following Hamas’ take over in June.
Hamas spokesperson, Fawzi Barhoum, described Israel’s decision as a “declaration of war against Hamas.” He claimed that Israel’s aim was to “starve our people and force them to accept humiliating formulas that could emerge from the so-called November peace conference.” He claims that the sanctions will be ineffective since Palestinians in Gaza are supporting Hamas by all means.
Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, called Israel’s decision as “illegal and null and void.” He argued that since Gaza is not an independent state, but rather an occupied territory of Israel, Israel cannot view it as a “hostile entity”. He stated that to stop the delivery of utilities to the region would be a collective punishment against all residents of Gaza and would violate international law.
UN officials agreed with Erekat and that any stoppage of utilities would be a violation of international law. UN Secretary General, Ban Ki-Moon, stated that “such a step would be contrary to Israel’s obligations towards the civilian population [of Gaza] under international humanitarian and human rights law.” Even though Israel withdrew its troops in 2005, it is still considered to occupy Gaza since it controls Gaza’s borders, air space and territorial waters.
Despite the UN’s negative reception, the US supports Israel’s decision. US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, said that the US also considers Hamas to be a “hostile entity”. But she also stated that the US would not “abandon the innocent Palestinians” of Gaza. Rice met with Israeli government officials, including Tivni and Olmert, today and will visit with the Palestinian president, Abbas, tomorrow to discuss restarting the peace process.
For more information, please see:
Al Jazeera- Israel labels Gaza “enemy entity”– 19 September 2007
BBC- Israel declares Gaza “hostile”– 19 September 2007
BBC- Israeli u-turn urged over Gaza– 19 September 2007
The Guardian- Israel declares Gaza “enemy entity”– 19 September 2007
Ha’aretz- ANALYSIS: Gaza as a “hostile territory” – a decision in the dark- 19 September 2007
Middle East Times- Israel declares Gaza “hostile entity”– 19 September 2007
Reuters- Israel declares Gaza “enemy entity” as Rice visits– 19 September 2007
Washington Post- Hamas says Gaza sanctions “declaration of war”– 19 September 2007
