Stop Arming Israel: Amnesty
Amnesty said Israeli forces used US-made weapons, including white phosphorus ammunitions, against Gaza civilians.
CAIRO — A leading international rights organization is advocating a global arms embargo on Israel, along with Palestinian groups, to stop indiscriminate attacks on civilians, particularly singling out the US, Israel's main arms supplier.
"We urge the UN Security Council to impose an immediate and comprehensive arms embargo on Israel, Hamas and other Palestinian armed groups until effective mechanisms are found to ensure that munitions and other military equipment are not used to commit serious violations of international law," Amnesty International Middle East Director Malcolm Smart said in a press release on Monday, February 23.
The London-based group has sent a fact-finding mission to Gaza and south Israel after Israel's recent three-week onslaught.
The mission found that the Israeli military offensive has wrecked havoc on the infrastructure of the densely-populated Palestinian territory.
"Weaponry, munitions and other military equipment supplied to Israel have been used by Israeli armed forces to carry out direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects in Gaza and attacks which were disproportionate or indiscriminate," said Amnesty.
"Israeli forces’ use of artillery and other non-precision weapons in densely-populated residential areas increased the risk, and the harm done, to the civilian population."
Nearly 1400 Palestinians were killed and thousands others injured in 22 days of Israeli air, sea and ground attack on Gaza Strip.
Donatella Rovera, who headed the fact-finding mission, also criticized Palestinian groups for firing rockets into southern Israel.
"Though far less lethal than the weaponry used by Israel, such rocket firing also constitutes a war crime and caused several civilian deaths."
Only three Israelis were killed in Palestinian rocket attacks during the three weeks of war.
US Arms, Money
Amnesty's fact-finding mission cited detailed evidence of Israel's extensive use of US-made weaponry during its Gaza onslaught.
"To a large extent, Israel's military offensive in Gaza was carried out with weapons, munitions and military equipment supplied by the USA and paid for with US taxpayers’ money," said Smart.
"Israeli forces used white phosphorus and other weapons supplied by the USA to carry out serious violations of international humanitarian law, including war crimes," Rovera agreed.
"Their attacks resulted in the death of hundreds of children and other civilians, and massive destruction of homes and infrastructure."
Amnesty researchers found fragments and components from munitions used by the Israeli army - including many that are US-made – in school playgrounds, hospitals and homes.
They included artillery and tank shells, mortar fins and remnants from Hellfire and other airborne missiles and large F-16 delivered bombs.
The researchers also found remnants of a new type of missile, seemingly launched from unmanned drones, which explodes large numbers of tiny sharp-edged metal cubes, each between 2mm and 4mm square in size.
"These lethal purpose-made shrapnel had penetrated thick metal doors and were embedded deep in concrete walls, and are clearly designed to maximize injury."
Amnesty affirms that even before the Gaza war, the US has long been the largest arms supplier to Israel.
Under a current 10-year agreement negotiated by the Bush administration, the US will provide $30 billion in military aid to Israel.
Amnesty urged US President Barack Obama to review the former administration's agreements with Tel Aviv.
"The Obama Administration should immediately suspend US military aid to Israel," said Smart.
"As the major supplier of weapons to Israel, the USA has a particular obligation to stop any supply that contributes to gross violations of the laws of war and of human rights."
By IOL Staff
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Israel, Israelkritik, Antisemitism, Antisemitismen, SKMA, Politik, Ockupationspolitik, Sverige, Sionism, Sionismen, Sionister, Ockupation, Mänskliga Rättigheter, Palestina, US Arms, vapen, embargo, amnesty, amnesty international
tisdag 24 februari 2009
Israel 'evicts Jerusalem families'
Israel 'evicts Jerusalem families'
More than 1,500 people could be left homeless
by the threatened demolitions [AFP]
More than 1,500 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem could be made homeless after Israel told them their homes are illegal and are to be demolished.
"The owners of 80 houses in the al-Bustan neighbourhood have received eviction notices saying that the structures will be destroyed because they are illegal," Hatem Abdel Kader, an official responsible for Jerusalem affairs in the Palestinian government, said.
Kader said that several of the houses served with demolition orders had been built before the 1967 war, when Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan, but that numerous extensions have been built since.
"The [Jerusalem] municipality used this as a pretext to issue the demolition orders despite appeals by the residents," he said.
No comment was immediately available from the city authorities.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital and has annexed the Arab east of the city, but under international law east Jerusalem is considered to be occupied and has not been recognised by world powers as the Israeli capital.
According to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organisation, Israeli authorities have demolished about 350 houses in east Jerusalem since 2004, saying that they were built without permits.
AJE and agencies
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Israel, Israelkritik, Antisemitism, Antisemitismen, SKMA, Politik, Ockupationspolitik, Sverige, Sionism, Sionismen, Sionister, Ockupation, Mänskliga Rättigheter, Palestina
More than 1,500 people could be left homeless
by the threatened demolitions [AFP]
More than 1,500 Palestinians living in East Jerusalem could be made homeless after Israel told them their homes are illegal and are to be demolished.
"The owners of 80 houses in the al-Bustan neighbourhood have received eviction notices saying that the structures will be destroyed because they are illegal," Hatem Abdel Kader, an official responsible for Jerusalem affairs in the Palestinian government, said.
Kader said that several of the houses served with demolition orders had been built before the 1967 war, when Israel captured east Jerusalem from Jordan, but that numerous extensions have been built since.
"The [Jerusalem] municipality used this as a pretext to issue the demolition orders despite appeals by the residents," he said.
No comment was immediately available from the city authorities.
Israel claims all of Jerusalem as its capital and has annexed the Arab east of the city, but under international law east Jerusalem is considered to be occupied and has not been recognised by world powers as the Israeli capital.
According to B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organisation, Israeli authorities have demolished about 350 houses in east Jerusalem since 2004, saying that they were built without permits.
AJE and agencies
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Israel, Israelkritik, Antisemitism, Antisemitismen, SKMA, Politik, Ockupationspolitik, Sverige, Sionism, Sionismen, Sionister, Ockupation, Mänskliga Rättigheter, Palestina
fredag 20 februari 2009
Sexual Abuse in Britain's Baghdad Embassy
By Afif Sarhan, IOL Correspondent
BAGHDAD — Eman (not her real name) is locking herself home, refusing to meet anyone and sinking into despair over what she describes as sexual abuse and bullying at the British Embassy.
"My sister has been in a deep depression since the incident," her brother Ahmed told IslamOnline.net.
"What happened is a shame to her honor. It will affect her future if she gets exposed."
Eman is the latest victim of alleged sexual harassment at the British Embassy, located inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
She is accusing a manager for the services company Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) of sexual harassment on the embassy's property.
The unidentified official was accused of sexually abusing three other workers at the embassy, an Iraqi cleaner and two cooks, more than 18 months ago.
But an internal investigation by KBR cleared him from any wrongdoing and the Iraqi employers were sacked.
He was allowed to return to his job at the embassy soon after the investigation ended as if nothing has happened.
"When we asked for help from the Ministry of Women Affairs, they said that they were also in a very difficult situation and cannot do much for us," said Ahmed, the victim's brother.
"They just recommended a lawyer who is asking a fortune to defend my sister but we don’t have another choice."
The lawyer told Eman's family that the task would not be easy, warning they would be "fighting against very powerful people."
"We are feeling weak, hand-tied and unable to fight for her rights," fumed her brother.
"My sister wants justice, but she might carry her wound for the rest of her life without healing."
Lost Dignity
When Nadia (not her real name) heard about Eman, hellish memories of her own ordeal came blazing into her mind.
"I lost the most important thing in my life after the incident," she told IOL fighting back the bitter memory.
"I lost my dignity."
Nadia is one of the three employees who accused the same KBR manager of sexual abuse.
"After nothing was proved, people started to look at me as if I was a hooker, not someone who suffered abuse."
She was forced out of her home and her husband couldn’t stand the shame and decided to leave her.
"I lost the love of my husband," Nadia said in a voice tinged with pain.
Hikmad Ahmed, the lawyer who followed her case, laments that his unyielding efforts failed to bring justice to Nadia and her colleagues.
"At the end, the poor women were seen as liars."
That's why he insists that the British Embassy should not allow the KBR to investigate the new abuse charges.
"If they were so fair on their law of conduct, they would have never accepted KBR to hold the investigation 18 months ago and allow the same mistake again."
Just like the first time, the accused KBR manager has been suspended from duty pending the end of the investigation.
"I just hope that the Embassy and the British government take it more serious than before, because their image has been destroyed," Ahmed says.
Anna Areen, a British lawyer specialized in sexual misconduct cases, is still surprised by the way the Embassy and Foreign Office reacted to the old charges.
"The UK has long been very serious on the law of conduct inside government and similar places. If they don’t take on their hands the investigation in Baghdad, they will be saying that it is allowed in Britain on the coming future," she told IOL.
"[Those] responsible should pay for what they did and it will be honorable if UK officials take head of this investigation and punishment.
By Afif Sarhan, IOL Correspondent
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om sexual abuse, British Embassy, Baghdad, UK
BAGHDAD — Eman (not her real name) is locking herself home, refusing to meet anyone and sinking into despair over what she describes as sexual abuse and bullying at the British Embassy.
"My sister has been in a deep depression since the incident," her brother Ahmed told IslamOnline.net.
"What happened is a shame to her honor. It will affect her future if she gets exposed."
Eman is the latest victim of alleged sexual harassment at the British Embassy, located inside Baghdad's fortified Green Zone.
She is accusing a manager for the services company Kellogg Brown and Root (KBR) of sexual harassment on the embassy's property.
The unidentified official was accused of sexually abusing three other workers at the embassy, an Iraqi cleaner and two cooks, more than 18 months ago.
But an internal investigation by KBR cleared him from any wrongdoing and the Iraqi employers were sacked.
He was allowed to return to his job at the embassy soon after the investigation ended as if nothing has happened.
"When we asked for help from the Ministry of Women Affairs, they said that they were also in a very difficult situation and cannot do much for us," said Ahmed, the victim's brother.
"They just recommended a lawyer who is asking a fortune to defend my sister but we don’t have another choice."
The lawyer told Eman's family that the task would not be easy, warning they would be "fighting against very powerful people."
"We are feeling weak, hand-tied and unable to fight for her rights," fumed her brother.
"My sister wants justice, but she might carry her wound for the rest of her life without healing."
Lost Dignity
When Nadia (not her real name) heard about Eman, hellish memories of her own ordeal came blazing into her mind.
"I lost the most important thing in my life after the incident," she told IOL fighting back the bitter memory.
"I lost my dignity."
Nadia is one of the three employees who accused the same KBR manager of sexual abuse.
"After nothing was proved, people started to look at me as if I was a hooker, not someone who suffered abuse."
She was forced out of her home and her husband couldn’t stand the shame and decided to leave her.
"I lost the love of my husband," Nadia said in a voice tinged with pain.
Hikmad Ahmed, the lawyer who followed her case, laments that his unyielding efforts failed to bring justice to Nadia and her colleagues.
"At the end, the poor women were seen as liars."
That's why he insists that the British Embassy should not allow the KBR to investigate the new abuse charges.
"If they were so fair on their law of conduct, they would have never accepted KBR to hold the investigation 18 months ago and allow the same mistake again."
Just like the first time, the accused KBR manager has been suspended from duty pending the end of the investigation.
"I just hope that the Embassy and the British government take it more serious than before, because their image has been destroyed," Ahmed says.
Anna Areen, a British lawyer specialized in sexual misconduct cases, is still surprised by the way the Embassy and Foreign Office reacted to the old charges.
"The UK has long been very serious on the law of conduct inside government and similar places. If they don’t take on their hands the investigation in Baghdad, they will be saying that it is allowed in Britain on the coming future," she told IOL.
"[Those] responsible should pay for what they did and it will be honorable if UK officials take head of this investigation and punishment.
By Afif Sarhan, IOL Correspondent
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om sexual abuse, British Embassy, Baghdad, UK
UN Urges World Support For Somalia's Sharif
UN Urges World Support For Somalia's Sharif
By Abdirahman Yusuf Jabril (IOL)
"I call on the international community to give him the strongest support to help him (Sharif) stabilize the country," Ould-Abdallah said. (Reuters)
BRUSSELS/MOGADISHU — Decrying years of neglect of the Horn of African country, the United Nations has called for global support to Somalia's new president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to rebuild the war-torn nation.
"The president was elected in a transparent manner and has legitimacy," UN Envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told Reuters on Thursday, February 19.
"I call on the international community to give him the strongest support to help him stabilize the country."
Sheikh Sharif, the moderate leader of the Islamic Courts Union, which ruled Somalia for six months before the 2006 Ethiopian invasion, was elected president last month.
His elections won plaudits from the United States and Ethiopia, Somalia's traditional Christian rival.
However, the Eritrea-based opposition and the Shebab group, a splitter of the ICU, denounced Sheikh Sharif's election as an illegitimate "puppet" administration.
The UN envoy warned that neglecting Somalia harms the credibility of the international community as a whole.
"To avoid double standards, we cannot have this presence in Afghanistan and Iraq and neglect Somalia," Ould-Abdallah said.
He said that foreign governments, the UN and non-governmental organizations should re-establish permanent missions in Somalia.
"Somalia is the only country on earth with no effective international presence -- no diplomats, no large NGOs, no large UN presence," he said.
"People are crying out for it."
Somalia has been without effective government since the ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
More than 14 attempts to restore a functional government have since failed.
Shari`ah
"This version of Shari`ah should be a moderate version, not the one sought by Shebab fighters," Salad said.
The UN call comes as Sheikh Sharif won support from Somali scholars, who backed the enforcement of a moderate version of Islamic Shari`ah in Somalia.
"The Somali parliament should meet within 120 days to announce the enforcement of Shari`ah in Somalia and amend Constitution articles that clash with Shari`ah," Sheikh Ahmed Salad, the chairman of the Council of Somali Scholars for Reform and Reconciliation, said in a statement following a meeting of more than 100 scholars.
"This version of Shari`ah should be a moderate version, not the one sought by Shebab fighters."
Sheikh Sharif's election platform calls for enforcing the rules of Shari`ah in Somalia.
It says Somali scholars will be the main source to explain how to enforce Shari`ah and that the government, not the armed groups, will be the only party responsible for implementing it.
The platform also calls for restoring security, order and rule of law to help bring about peace in Somalia.
"Dialogue and understanding are the bases for dealing with those who did not take part in the political process and that shedding the Somali blood is forbidden," it says.
Somali scholars also called for the withdrawal of 3,500 African peacekeeping forces from Somalia within three months.
Extra troops must not be sent to Somalia and the foreign troops can not be attacked with in the period mentioned above, they said
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om somalia, sharia, islamiska domstolar, islamic courts, Somalie, shabab
By Abdirahman Yusuf Jabril (IOL)
"I call on the international community to give him the strongest support to help him (Sharif) stabilize the country," Ould-Abdallah said. (Reuters)
BRUSSELS/MOGADISHU — Decrying years of neglect of the Horn of African country, the United Nations has called for global support to Somalia's new president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed to rebuild the war-torn nation.
"The president was elected in a transparent manner and has legitimacy," UN Envoy to Somalia Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah told Reuters on Thursday, February 19.
"I call on the international community to give him the strongest support to help him stabilize the country."
Sheikh Sharif, the moderate leader of the Islamic Courts Union, which ruled Somalia for six months before the 2006 Ethiopian invasion, was elected president last month.
His elections won plaudits from the United States and Ethiopia, Somalia's traditional Christian rival.
However, the Eritrea-based opposition and the Shebab group, a splitter of the ICU, denounced Sheikh Sharif's election as an illegitimate "puppet" administration.
The UN envoy warned that neglecting Somalia harms the credibility of the international community as a whole.
"To avoid double standards, we cannot have this presence in Afghanistan and Iraq and neglect Somalia," Ould-Abdallah said.
He said that foreign governments, the UN and non-governmental organizations should re-establish permanent missions in Somalia.
"Somalia is the only country on earth with no effective international presence -- no diplomats, no large NGOs, no large UN presence," he said.
"People are crying out for it."
Somalia has been without effective government since the ouster of former president Mohamed Siad Barre in 1991.
More than 14 attempts to restore a functional government have since failed.
Shari`ah
"This version of Shari`ah should be a moderate version, not the one sought by Shebab fighters," Salad said.
The UN call comes as Sheikh Sharif won support from Somali scholars, who backed the enforcement of a moderate version of Islamic Shari`ah in Somalia.
"The Somali parliament should meet within 120 days to announce the enforcement of Shari`ah in Somalia and amend Constitution articles that clash with Shari`ah," Sheikh Ahmed Salad, the chairman of the Council of Somali Scholars for Reform and Reconciliation, said in a statement following a meeting of more than 100 scholars.
"This version of Shari`ah should be a moderate version, not the one sought by Shebab fighters."
Sheikh Sharif's election platform calls for enforcing the rules of Shari`ah in Somalia.
It says Somali scholars will be the main source to explain how to enforce Shari`ah and that the government, not the armed groups, will be the only party responsible for implementing it.
The platform also calls for restoring security, order and rule of law to help bring about peace in Somalia.
"Dialogue and understanding are the bases for dealing with those who did not take part in the political process and that shedding the Somali blood is forbidden," it says.
Somali scholars also called for the withdrawal of 3,500 African peacekeeping forces from Somalia within three months.
Extra troops must not be sent to Somalia and the foreign troops can not be attacked with in the period mentioned above, they said
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om somalia, sharia, islamiska domstolar, islamic courts, Somalie, shabab
US expands prison in Afghanistan
US expands prison in Afghanistan
Obama has been urged to give Bagram detainees basic legal rights [AFP]
The US military is about to complete a $60m expansion to its prison at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan, where it holds more than 600 so-called enemy combatants.
The near doubling of the prison's size comes as Robert Gates, the US denfence secretary, prepares to "refine" the US postion on its use of Bagram and other facilities, including Guantanamo Bay, on Firday.
Gates, along with Eric Holder, the US attorney general, has been tasked with carrying out a review to determine the fate of detainees held in the US facilities.
Barack Obama, the US president, has been widely praised for moving to shut down the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, within days of taking office last month.
But with his move to send 17,000 more US troops to Afghanistan to shore up US operations there, the Bagram prison looks set to become more visible and controversial.
Rumi Nielson-Green, a spokeswoman for the US military, told Al Jazeera that the detainees held at Bagram were "unlawful enemy combatants".
"They are individuals who have been removed from the battlefield because they are dangerous to our forces or our coalition partners," she said.
Basic rights urged
Amnesty urged Obama to continue its break from his predecessor's "unlawful detention policies" by ensuring "all US detentions in Afghanistan comply with international law" and giving the detainees access to US courts to challenge their detentions.....
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om terrorism, rättigheter, hemliga fängelser, prisons, USA, afghnistan, MR
Obama has been urged to give Bagram detainees basic legal rights [AFP]
The US military is about to complete a $60m expansion to its prison at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan, where it holds more than 600 so-called enemy combatants.
The near doubling of the prison's size comes as Robert Gates, the US denfence secretary, prepares to "refine" the US postion on its use of Bagram and other facilities, including Guantanamo Bay, on Firday.
Gates, along with Eric Holder, the US attorney general, has been tasked with carrying out a review to determine the fate of detainees held in the US facilities.
Barack Obama, the US president, has been widely praised for moving to shut down the US prison at Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, within days of taking office last month.
But with his move to send 17,000 more US troops to Afghanistan to shore up US operations there, the Bagram prison looks set to become more visible and controversial.
Rumi Nielson-Green, a spokeswoman for the US military, told Al Jazeera that the detainees held at Bagram were "unlawful enemy combatants".
"They are individuals who have been removed from the battlefield because they are dangerous to our forces or our coalition partners," she said.
Basic rights urged
Amnesty urged Obama to continue its break from his predecessor's "unlawful detention policies" by ensuring "all US detentions in Afghanistan comply with international law" and giving the detainees access to US courts to challenge their detentions.....
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om terrorism, rättigheter, hemliga fängelser, prisons, USA, afghnistan, MR
fredag 13 februari 2009
Hamas providing emergency relief to Gazans
ISRAEL-OPT: Hamas providing emergency relief to Gazans
GAZA CITY, 13 February 2009 (IRIN) - The Hamas government in Gaza has said it is trying to help thousands of Palestinians who lost their homes and/or loved ones in the 22-day Israeli offensive which ended on 18 January. According to deputy minister of social affairs, Sobhi Redwan, Hamas has so far spent an estimated US$50 million on emergency relief assistance, but more aid is needed.
Scores of men have been queueing up outside the deputy minister's office to try to persuade officials they need emergency food assistance and have not received any aid from the UN or other agencies.
"We are supplying all people in Gaza who are in need. It is the government's duty to provide relief during and after the war," Redwan told IRIN on 11 February.
The government has formed a "national high committee for relief" comprised of representatives from all Gaza factions except Fatah. "The goal of the committee is to provide assistance equally to all those who are suffering," Loay Qaryuout, committee spokesperson and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine representative on the committee, told IRIN.
Hamas has drawn up lists of potential and actual beneficiaries in order to make aid distribution effective and fair, explained spokesperson Qaryuout.
Hamas has also asked international and local aid organisations, including UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian affairs), to coordinate relief efforts http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82870 with the government.
About 900,000 Palestinians have asked UNRWA for food aid. [http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29827&Cr=gaza&Cr1=unrwa]
"In general UNRWA donates food to refugees and the World Food Programme to non-refugees, although there has been some overlap since the war," UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness told IRIN by phone from Jerusalem.
Since Hamas took over in Gaza in June 2007, the Israeli and international blockade has meant Hamas has had to seek the funds with which to run the enclave by unconventional means - using secret tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, the services of local middlemen, and money changers with affiliates in Amman and Cairo, to obtain the cash they need.
Cash handouts
Some 4,000 Gazans whose homes were completely destroyed have so far received about US$5,000 each from the government. Another 4,000, whose homes were partially destroyed, have received about $2,500 each, he said.
Some 4,000 homes were destroyed and about 17,000 badly damaged during the war, according to a recent UN Gaza flash appeal.
The government was providing about $1,300 to families who had suffered the loss of loved ones; injured people were getting about $650 each, said Redwan.
Hamas said it had also distributed a one-off relief payment of $100 to 80,000 social hardship cases on 11 February.
Ala (he did not want to give his full name), aged 37, a Fatah supporter from Gaza City, received $100 from the government for his wife and four children.
"It helps for a few days. We need milk and pampers [nappies] for the children, which are now expensive," said Ala. But he said he lacked the funds to repair damaged water tanks on the roof of his home and replace broken windows.
Food aid
The government said it had distributed an emergency food package - including basic items like sugar, oil, rice, flour, tea, and tinned food - to nearly all families whose homes were destroyed. These families had also received thin mats for sleeping on, and blankets.
A one-off food distribution, including flour and tinned food, was also made by the government to 30,000 people whose homes were partially destroyed.
Before the hostilities, over 50 percent of the population were living below the poverty line and 42 percent were unemployed.
es/ar/cb
[END]
© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om hamas, OPT, Israel, Okupation, apartheid, sionism, zionism
GAZA CITY, 13 February 2009 (IRIN) - The Hamas government in Gaza has said it is trying to help thousands of Palestinians who lost their homes and/or loved ones in the 22-day Israeli offensive which ended on 18 January. According to deputy minister of social affairs, Sobhi Redwan, Hamas has so far spent an estimated US$50 million on emergency relief assistance, but more aid is needed.
Scores of men have been queueing up outside the deputy minister's office to try to persuade officials they need emergency food assistance and have not received any aid from the UN or other agencies.
"We are supplying all people in Gaza who are in need. It is the government's duty to provide relief during and after the war," Redwan told IRIN on 11 February.
The government has formed a "national high committee for relief" comprised of representatives from all Gaza factions except Fatah. "The goal of the committee is to provide assistance equally to all those who are suffering," Loay Qaryuout, committee spokesperson and Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine representative on the committee, told IRIN.
Hamas has drawn up lists of potential and actual beneficiaries in order to make aid distribution effective and fair, explained spokesperson Qaryuout.
Hamas has also asked international and local aid organisations, including UNRWA (the UN agency for Palestinian affairs), to coordinate relief efforts http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=82870 with the government.
About 900,000 Palestinians have asked UNRWA for food aid. [http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=29827&Cr=gaza&Cr1=unrwa]
"In general UNRWA donates food to refugees and the World Food Programme to non-refugees, although there has been some overlap since the war," UNRWA spokesperson Chris Gunness told IRIN by phone from Jerusalem.
Since Hamas took over in Gaza in June 2007, the Israeli and international blockade has meant Hamas has had to seek the funds with which to run the enclave by unconventional means - using secret tunnels along the Gaza-Egypt border, the services of local middlemen, and money changers with affiliates in Amman and Cairo, to obtain the cash they need.
Cash handouts
Some 4,000 Gazans whose homes were completely destroyed have so far received about US$5,000 each from the government. Another 4,000, whose homes were partially destroyed, have received about $2,500 each, he said.
Some 4,000 homes were destroyed and about 17,000 badly damaged during the war, according to a recent UN Gaza flash appeal.
The government was providing about $1,300 to families who had suffered the loss of loved ones; injured people were getting about $650 each, said Redwan.
Hamas said it had also distributed a one-off relief payment of $100 to 80,000 social hardship cases on 11 February.
Ala (he did not want to give his full name), aged 37, a Fatah supporter from Gaza City, received $100 from the government for his wife and four children.
"It helps for a few days. We need milk and pampers [nappies] for the children, which are now expensive," said Ala. But he said he lacked the funds to repair damaged water tanks on the roof of his home and replace broken windows.
Food aid
The government said it had distributed an emergency food package - including basic items like sugar, oil, rice, flour, tea, and tinned food - to nearly all families whose homes were destroyed. These families had also received thin mats for sleeping on, and blankets.
A one-off food distribution, including flour and tinned food, was also made by the government to 30,000 people whose homes were partially destroyed.
Before the hostilities, over 50 percent of the population were living below the poverty line and 42 percent were unemployed.
es/ar/cb
[END]
© IRIN. All rights reserved. More humanitarian news and analysis: http://www.irinnews.org
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om hamas, OPT, Israel, Okupation, apartheid, sionism, zionism
måndag 9 februari 2009
Challenges of getting aid to Gazans
ISRAEL-OPT: Challenges of getting aid to Gazans
GAZA CITY, 8 February 2009 (IRIN) - Aid agencies are becoming increasingly frustrated with the difficulties of getting humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip.
"For us to move ahead with rehabilitation and repairs, we must get building materials into Gaza," Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), told IRIN by telephone. "Two hundred and twenty-one schools for 200,000 children only have 40 percent of their books because we can't get paper and glue into Gaza."
Some US$93 million-worth of UNRWA construction projects have been on hold since before Israel's military operation in Gaza began in late December due to a lack of cement, said Gunness.
Israel's military offensive in the Strip began on 27 December 2008 with aerial bombardments and combined with a ground assault beginning on 3 January. Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire on 18 January. Hamas declared its own ceasefire later that day. Over 1,300 people in Gaza were killed and more than 5,300 were injured during this period, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
More than 21,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged while health facilities, schools, power, water and sanitation installations, and agricultural and economic production were destroyed or seriously damaged, according to the UN.
The result has been a humanitarian crisis in the Strip, where essential items such as construction materials, pipes, electrical wires, transformers and spare parts are in short supply.
Border lists
"We have had difficulties entering our education supplies, like paper," Marixie Mercato, a UNICEF spokesperson, told IRIN from Jerusalem. "These are not problematic goods," he added, referring to Israeli restrictions on goods entering the Strip that have security implications.
Several UN agencies and other aid organisations say Israeli authorities have a confidential list of items prohibited from entering Gaza. Certain items, such as cement and paper, are commonly denied entry. Other items are on a priority list for entry.
"The government of Israel has a priority list of items allowed to enter [Gaza]," CARE officer Juliette Seibold told IRIN by telephone in Jerusalem. "[But] people are waiting for political outcomes before we are granted access."
Only two CARE staff members have been allowed into Gaza since 2 November, said Seibold.
...........
http://www.irinnews.org
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Israel, okupation, hamas, sionism, Zionism, bojkotta Israel
GAZA CITY, 8 February 2009 (IRIN) - Aid agencies are becoming increasingly frustrated with the difficulties of getting humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip.
"For us to move ahead with rehabilitation and repairs, we must get building materials into Gaza," Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), told IRIN by telephone. "Two hundred and twenty-one schools for 200,000 children only have 40 percent of their books because we can't get paper and glue into Gaza."
Some US$93 million-worth of UNRWA construction projects have been on hold since before Israel's military operation in Gaza began in late December due to a lack of cement, said Gunness.
Israel's military offensive in the Strip began on 27 December 2008 with aerial bombardments and combined with a ground assault beginning on 3 January. Israel declared a unilateral ceasefire on 18 January. Hamas declared its own ceasefire later that day. Over 1,300 people in Gaza were killed and more than 5,300 were injured during this period, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
More than 21,000 homes were destroyed or badly damaged while health facilities, schools, power, water and sanitation installations, and agricultural and economic production were destroyed or seriously damaged, according to the UN.
The result has been a humanitarian crisis in the Strip, where essential items such as construction materials, pipes, electrical wires, transformers and spare parts are in short supply.
Border lists
"We have had difficulties entering our education supplies, like paper," Marixie Mercato, a UNICEF spokesperson, told IRIN from Jerusalem. "These are not problematic goods," he added, referring to Israeli restrictions on goods entering the Strip that have security implications.
Several UN agencies and other aid organisations say Israeli authorities have a confidential list of items prohibited from entering Gaza. Certain items, such as cement and paper, are commonly denied entry. Other items are on a priority list for entry.
"The government of Israel has a priority list of items allowed to enter [Gaza]," CARE officer Juliette Seibold told IRIN by telephone in Jerusalem. "[But] people are waiting for political outcomes before we are granted access."
Only two CARE staff members have been allowed into Gaza since 2 November, said Seibold.
...........
http://www.irinnews.org
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Israel, okupation, hamas, sionism, Zionism, bojkotta Israel
tisdag 3 februari 2009
OPT/Gaza-News
Headlines
The two 18 January unilateral ceasefires held, despite various exchanges of fire. Eleven rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel, causing no casualties. Israeli airstrikes targeted several tunnels and two motorcycles, wounding 12 Palestinians.
Over the week 2 Palestinian deaths and a total of 18 injuries were reported. An explosive device targeting Israeli soldiers resulted in one Israeli death and three injuries, Israeli media reported.
It is estimated that 37% of Gaza's population, more than 500,000 people, were displaced at some time during the hostilities. OCHA estimates that tens of thousands of Gazans remain homeless, with most staying with relatives or other host families.
Amnesty International issued a report (27 January) claiming Israeli use of flechette shells in populated areas. Flechettes are 4cm metal darts with four fins at the rear. Each flechette shell has between 5,000 to 8,000 flechette darts. When the shells explode in the air, flechettes are scattered over a wide area—about 300m wide by 100m long.
Two weeks after the ceasefire, NGOs continue having difficulties to access Gaza to carry out humanitarian work. OCHA reports that humanitarian personnel are able to enter Gaza through Erez crossing only after receiving prior clearance by the Israeli authorities. Many NGOs did not receive a response from the Israeli authorities regarding their applications, while others were requested to provide additional information regarding their specific mandates, activities, funding sources, etc. Others have been denied entry altogether. A key problem has been inconsistency in the process; some staff members are informed that they have been approved, only to be denied entry when they reach Erez. In other cases, staff receive conflicting information from Israeli authorities regarding regulations that must be met before entry is allowed. (See link below to OCHA Weekly update on the protection of civilians 21-27 Jan.)
Access for humanitarian supplies is also still severely restricted. Israel told the humanitarian community last week that it will only admit a maximum of 120 trucks daily (90 trucks with humanitarian goods and 30 commercial trucks) - not on Friday afternoons and Saturdays - to pass through Kerem Shalom, the only crossing which is now open to trucks. The Karni crossing to the north has the capacity to import 750 truckloads a day. The crossing has been closed to trucks since 15 June 2007.
Approval of goods for entry does not appear to follow a clear or consistent pattern. USAID reports that trucks with items like macaroni or flour that were initially cleared, were refused entry at Kerem Shalom. Oxfam International conservatively estimates that Israel is denying Gaza more than 50 percent of its normal minimum daily requirements, when the needs are even greater today than before the conflict. (641 trucks entered Gaza for humanitarian purposes last week compared to a weekly average of 1320 trucks which entered Gaza before the start of the Israeli blockade in June 2007).
Shops and markets continue to offer limited food supplies at prices which have doubled or tripled since before 27 December. This makes food extremely difficult to obtain due to the shortage of currency.
Most health facilities have resumed operations similar to those before the Israeli ‘Operation Cast Lead’. Large volumes of medical supplies have been received and cover almost all drug and pharmaceutical needs. Full stocks of drugs are in place in most health facilities, a few items are missing in others. Immunization and other public health programs have resumed. Referral abroad of patients requiring specialized care has resumed but at a lower level than before the crisis. Psychotropic drugs however are still lacking and urgently needed.
A large need remains for spare parts to repair and maintain hospital and clinic equipment ranging from dialysis machines, neonatal incubators and diagnostic imaging equipment to washing machines and kitchen equipment although some medical equipment and spare parts have been received recently.
According to the World Health Organisation assessment, enduring health risks are: complications and permanent disability in people with traumatic injuries because of early discharge and lack of appropriate follow-up; complications and excess mortality in patients with chronic diseases as a result of suspension of treatment and delayed access to health care; diarrhoea outbreaks from water-born and food-born diseases as a result of lack of access to clean water and sanitation and weak public health surveillance system; long term mental health problems as a result of the effects of the conflict, on-going insecurity and lack of protective factors; slow deterioration of health and nutritional status leading to increasing morbidity and mortality as a result of a further decline in socio-economic and security conditions and in the quality of health care; lack of access to specialized tertiary care.
International and national agencies working in disability and rehabilitation estimated that as many as half of the over 5,000 men, women and children injured in the latest active conflict may suffer life-long impairment, unnecessarily exacerbated by the inability of rehabilitation workers to provide early
intervention.
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Sionism, Headlines,
The two 18 January unilateral ceasefires held, despite various exchanges of fire. Eleven rockets were fired from Gaza into Israel, causing no casualties. Israeli airstrikes targeted several tunnels and two motorcycles, wounding 12 Palestinians.
Over the week 2 Palestinian deaths and a total of 18 injuries were reported. An explosive device targeting Israeli soldiers resulted in one Israeli death and three injuries, Israeli media reported.
It is estimated that 37% of Gaza's population, more than 500,000 people, were displaced at some time during the hostilities. OCHA estimates that tens of thousands of Gazans remain homeless, with most staying with relatives or other host families.
Amnesty International issued a report (27 January) claiming Israeli use of flechette shells in populated areas. Flechettes are 4cm metal darts with four fins at the rear. Each flechette shell has between 5,000 to 8,000 flechette darts. When the shells explode in the air, flechettes are scattered over a wide area—about 300m wide by 100m long.
Two weeks after the ceasefire, NGOs continue having difficulties to access Gaza to carry out humanitarian work. OCHA reports that humanitarian personnel are able to enter Gaza through Erez crossing only after receiving prior clearance by the Israeli authorities. Many NGOs did not receive a response from the Israeli authorities regarding their applications, while others were requested to provide additional information regarding their specific mandates, activities, funding sources, etc. Others have been denied entry altogether. A key problem has been inconsistency in the process; some staff members are informed that they have been approved, only to be denied entry when they reach Erez. In other cases, staff receive conflicting information from Israeli authorities regarding regulations that must be met before entry is allowed. (See link below to OCHA Weekly update on the protection of civilians 21-27 Jan.)
Access for humanitarian supplies is also still severely restricted. Israel told the humanitarian community last week that it will only admit a maximum of 120 trucks daily (90 trucks with humanitarian goods and 30 commercial trucks) - not on Friday afternoons and Saturdays - to pass through Kerem Shalom, the only crossing which is now open to trucks. The Karni crossing to the north has the capacity to import 750 truckloads a day. The crossing has been closed to trucks since 15 June 2007.
Approval of goods for entry does not appear to follow a clear or consistent pattern. USAID reports that trucks with items like macaroni or flour that were initially cleared, were refused entry at Kerem Shalom. Oxfam International conservatively estimates that Israel is denying Gaza more than 50 percent of its normal minimum daily requirements, when the needs are even greater today than before the conflict. (641 trucks entered Gaza for humanitarian purposes last week compared to a weekly average of 1320 trucks which entered Gaza before the start of the Israeli blockade in June 2007).
Shops and markets continue to offer limited food supplies at prices which have doubled or tripled since before 27 December. This makes food extremely difficult to obtain due to the shortage of currency.
Most health facilities have resumed operations similar to those before the Israeli ‘Operation Cast Lead’. Large volumes of medical supplies have been received and cover almost all drug and pharmaceutical needs. Full stocks of drugs are in place in most health facilities, a few items are missing in others. Immunization and other public health programs have resumed. Referral abroad of patients requiring specialized care has resumed but at a lower level than before the crisis. Psychotropic drugs however are still lacking and urgently needed.
A large need remains for spare parts to repair and maintain hospital and clinic equipment ranging from dialysis machines, neonatal incubators and diagnostic imaging equipment to washing machines and kitchen equipment although some medical equipment and spare parts have been received recently.
According to the World Health Organisation assessment, enduring health risks are: complications and permanent disability in people with traumatic injuries because of early discharge and lack of appropriate follow-up; complications and excess mortality in patients with chronic diseases as a result of suspension of treatment and delayed access to health care; diarrhoea outbreaks from water-born and food-born diseases as a result of lack of access to clean water and sanitation and weak public health surveillance system; long term mental health problems as a result of the effects of the conflict, on-going insecurity and lack of protective factors; slow deterioration of health and nutritional status leading to increasing morbidity and mortality as a result of a further decline in socio-economic and security conditions and in the quality of health care; lack of access to specialized tertiary care.
International and national agencies working in disability and rehabilitation estimated that as many as half of the over 5,000 men, women and children injured in the latest active conflict may suffer life-long impairment, unnecessarily exacerbated by the inability of rehabilitation workers to provide early
intervention.
Läs även andra bloggares åsikter om Gaza, Hamas, Israel, Sionism, Headlines,
Thank CBS 60 Minutes for Exposing Israeli Apartheid
Thank CBS 60 Minutes for Exposing Israeli Apartheid
During Israel's war on Gaza we launched a campaign to end the media blackout and that journalists expose Israel's crimes and apartheid. Thousands of supporters used our website to contact the presidents of big Media calling for better coverage. The campaign got their attention and some journalist have positively responded to our collective pressure.
On Sunday, January 25, CBS 60 Minutes aired an amazing segment exposing Israel's apartheid against Palestinians. The piece is by Senior CBS Foreign Correspondent Bob Simon, who is Jewish living outside Tel-Aviv and produced by Robert G, Anderson.
TAKE ACTION:
1. Watch this video (link below)
2. Send a thank you note to 60 Minutes, Bob Simon and Robert Anderson, using the below form
3. Urge & Invite everyone you know to watch the video and send a thank you note
http://action.gazajustice.org/t/4436/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=963
During Israel's war on Gaza we launched a campaign to end the media blackout and that journalists expose Israel's crimes and apartheid. Thousands of supporters used our website to contact the presidents of big Media calling for better coverage. The campaign got their attention and some journalist have positively responded to our collective pressure.
On Sunday, January 25, CBS 60 Minutes aired an amazing segment exposing Israel's apartheid against Palestinians. The piece is by Senior CBS Foreign Correspondent Bob Simon, who is Jewish living outside Tel-Aviv and produced by Robert G, Anderson.
TAKE ACTION:
1. Watch this video (link below)
2. Send a thank you note to 60 Minutes, Bob Simon and Robert Anderson, using the below form
3. Urge & Invite everyone you know to watch the video and send a thank you note
http://action.gazajustice.org/t/4436/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=963
Prenumerera på:
Inlägg (Atom)