Twaalf doden in Gaza in twee dagen door de Israelische aanvallen, sinds Israel de Gazastrook tot ‘vijandige entiteit’ heeft verklaard. Plus, opnieuw, verwoest bouwland, ontwortelde olijvenbomen, vernielde huizen. Om een idee te hebben, lees een bericht van een Palestijnse mensenrechtenorganisatie El Mezan (journalisten worden op dit moment Gaza niet binnengelaten) op de website van ICAHD. hier.
Hoe slecht de situatie al was voordat er nieuwe invasies kwamen, zie Bankrupt in Gaza. Hier
En lees het verslag van Gijs Berman, die er als hoofd voor de EU delegatie pas was, op zijn weblog. Hier.
Over de vergeten Palestijnen: de christenen. Er zijn nog tweehonderd katholieken in Gaza. Ze voelen zich dubbel in de steek gelaten, omdat zoveel westerse kerken automatisch de kant kiezen van Israel.
Christianity in Palestine-Israel today is experiencing what many describe as a crisis. This crisis is not due to the growth of so-called Islamic fundamentalism or the persecution of “believers” by their Muslim neighbors, misrepresentations that are unfortunately used to distract from the realities of military occupation. Instead, the plight of the Palestinian Christian is very much connected to that of the Palestinian Muslim in that both, whether in the occupied West Bank and Gaza or inside Israel itself, are experiencing daily injustices in the form of oppressive policies imposed on them by the Israeli government. Palestinian Christians, like their Muslim brothers and sisters, have experienced a long history of dispossession and have not been immune to Israeli policies of occupation and discrimination. If anything, they have felt more strongly the feelings of forsakenness, knowing full well that many Christians in North America and Europe support without question the state of Israel in its oppression of their people. Meanwhile, daily experiences of humiliation at checkpoints, of land confiscation to make way for the separation barrier, the illegal occupation and colonization of Palestinian territory, lack of mobility and access to basic services, unemployment, poverty, and no sense of hope for a better future for their children all contribute to a growing emigration of Palestinian Christians from the historical land of Palestine.
Niet dat het op de Westoever veel gezelliger is. Ook daar dagelijkse invasies door het Israelische leger. Zie hier.
(Palestijns huis in Qalqiliya, na een ‘bezoek’ door het Israelische leger)
Foto’s van ICAHD en Electronic Intifada
“De economie van Gaza wordt gewurgd”, schrijft Thijs (niet: Gijs) Berman. Een treffende omschrijving. Misschien moeten we zeggen, dat de hele bevolking langzaam wordt gewurgd. Onder goedkeurend oog van de VS. Want tegen de wurgslang, Israël, wordt niets effectiefs ondernomen.
Dag Anja,
Ik lees dat je binnenkort met een team naar Gaza gaat… Hoe doe je dat…?
Heb je dit artikel gelezen?
Herman
Israel Does Not Want Eyewitnesses of Its Crimes in the Gaza Strip Date: 23-10-2007
Author: PCHR
Israel Does Not Want Eyewitnesses of Its Crimes in the Gaza Strip
A Spanish Solidarity Delegation Denies Entry into the Gaza Strip
On Sunday, 21 October 2007, Israeli occupation authorities prevented a Spanish delegation from the Andalusia from entering the Gaza Strip through Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing for no apparent reason, although members of the delegation were informed by the Spanish Consul-General in Jerusalem that the coordination for their entry into the Gaza Strip was completed.
According to information available to PCHR from members of the Spanish Delegation, they arrived at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing at approximately 11:00 coming form Jordan. They had been forced to wait for nearly 7 hours, during which time they got conflicting answers with regard to their access to the Gaza Strip. In the end, they were informed that they were banned from entering the Gaza Strip. Although members of the delegation insisted to know the reasons for preventing them from entering the Gaza Strip, Israeli occupation authorities did not give any answers.
The 9-member delegation is headed by Christina Ruiz Sierra, Chairperson of al-Quds Malaga Association. Some members of the delegation had visited the Gaza Strip more than once before and they have strong relations with Palestinian civil society organizations, including PCHR, Cana’an Pedagogical Institute, Gaza Community Mental Health Programme, Women’s Affairs Center, Union of Palestinian Writers, and others.
During their planned 3-day visit, the delegation intended to check the human rights situation and the suffering of the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip as a result of the total siege, and to maintain cooperation, coordination and networking with Palestinian civil society groups.
PCHR is concerned over preventing the Spanish delegation from entering the Gaza Strip, especially as this measure coincides with increasing restrictions on the movement of Palestinian civilians and goods through the total siege imposed on the Gaza Strip. Restrictions imposed by Israeli occupation authorities on the movement of Palestinian civilians have transformed the Gaza Strip into an animal farm. Such measures have also restricted access of international and human rights defenders to the Gaza Strip.
http://www.euromedrights.net/pages/467/news/focus/47731
Wij hebben er nog redelijke hoop op dat we er in kunnen, omdat we een erkende humanitaire organisatie zijn die er al tien jaar komt. En die hulp is noodzakelijk om de Palestijnen nog een beetje in leven te houden. Dat is wat anders dan een delegatie die gezien wordt als pottenkijkers. Israelische journalisten komen er overigens ook niet meer in. De journalist Gideon Levy van Haaretz is er al een jaar niet meer geweest.