The Middle East

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

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

Turkey Blocking Websites to Curb Freedoms

By Brandon Kaufman
Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

ANKARA, Turkey– Europe’s main security and human rights watchdog, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), said that Turkey was blocking over 3,700 internet sites solely for “arbitrary and political reasons.”  OSCE urged that Turkey rescind these restrictions in an effort to show further commitment to freedom of expression in the country.

Milos Haraszti, the spokesperson for the OSCE, said that Turkey’s Internet law is infringing upon freedom of expression in the country and that the law should be changed or rescinded immediately.  In a statement released by the OSCE, Haraszti said that “in its current form, Law 5651, commonly known as the Internet Law of Turkey, not only limits freedom of expression, but severely restricts citizens’ right to access information.”

Haraszti then commented that Turkey, a candidate for acceptance into the European Union, was barring access to some 3,700 websites including most notably YouTube, GeoCities and some Google pages.  He acknowledged that some of the content that is being barred is in fact bad, sites which for example promote child pornography.  Yet, in the end, Haraszti said that “by blocking access to entire websites, Turkey is paralyzing access to numerous modern file-sharing or social networks.”

“Some of the official reasons to block the Internet are arbitrary and capricious, and therefore incompatible with OSCE’s freedom of expression commitments,” said Haraszti.  When asked about the OSCE remarks, a Turkish communications ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity told Reuters that “Turkey provides unlimited and equal access for all parts of society.  It is above the EU average on this issue.”  The official added that “the regulations over Internet (usage) have a dynamic structure and necessary legal changes are made when problems are detected in implementation.”

Despite the official’s comments, Haraszti said Turkish law was still failing in its attempt to safeguard freedom of expression while numerous criminal codes clauses were being used against journalists who risk being sent to jail as a result.

Back in October, the European Commission’s annual report on Turkey’s progress toward EU membership said that Ankara needed to do more to protect freedom of expression and the press.

For more information, please see:

AFP- Turkey Should ‘Reform or Abolish’ Internet Law– 18 January 2010

Reuters- Turkey Blocking 3,700 Websites, Reform Needed– 18 January 2010

Times Online- YouTube Banned in Turkey After Video Insults– 7 March 2007

Human Rights Groups Push for Palestinian Internal War Crimes Investigation

By Meredith Lee-Clark

Impunity Watch Reporter, Middle East

 

GAZA CITY, Gaza – Eleven international human rights groups called upon Hamas and Fatah authorities to open investigations around allegations of war crimes by Palestinian forces during 2008’s Gaza war. The groups each sent identical letters to Palestinian President and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniya on January 18, asking the leaders to follow the recommendations of the United Nations’ Goldstone Report.

 

On November 5, 2009, the U.N.’s General Assembly endorsed the Goldstone Report, the result of an investigation led by South African jurist Richard Goldstone. Though the Goldstone Report found that most of the war crimes committed during the Gaza war was the at the hands of the Israelis, it did not absolve Palestinians of such crimes, and cited several violations of international law by Palestinian forces. Examples include Palestinian attacks on Israeli civilians, as well as instances of internal political repression both during and after the fighting, such as summary executions in the Gaza Strip and arrests and torture in the West Bank. Fatah has also admitted it previously tortured Hamas prisoners in its prisons in the West Bank and Gaza.

 

The call by the human rights groups came as Amnesty International accused Israel of “suffocating” the 1.4 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. Israel has imposed a blockade on the tightly populated territory since fighting ended in January 2009, cutting off reconstruction supplies. Much of the Gaza Strip remains covered in rubble from the Israeli mortars that rained down during the three-week war.

 

The letter from the human rights groups called on both Israel and the Palestinians to conduct internal investigations into the Goldstone Report’s allegations.

 

“Although a large part of the report deals with violations committed by Israel, it also touches on violations committed by armed Palestinian groups and the Palestinian authorities in the West Bank,” the letter said. “As international and Palestinian non-governmental associations, we call on Palestinian authorities in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip to immediately launch credible internal investigations.”

 

For more information, please see:

 

AFP – Palestinian Rights Groups Urge Internal Gaza War Probe – 18 January 2010

 

BBC News – Call For Palestinians to Investigate Gaza “Crimes” – 18 January 2010

 

Canadian Press – Palestinian Rights Groups Call For Independent Investigation of Hamas in Gaza Fighting – 18 January 2010

 

Ha’aretz – Palestinian Activists Urge Hamas to Probe Own Gaza War Crimes – 18 January 2010