Opinion | Editorials
Harsh winter to increase woes of Gazans
Global community needs to pressurise Israel to end the inhuman blockade.
- Gulf News
- Published: 23:30 November 21, 2008
As Gaza embraces the repercussions of an inhuman Israeli blockade, the consequences will not be limited to the Palestinians entrapped in this cycle of misery. Instead, the world community will also be affected, as its ineffectiveness and indifferent stance would lead to negative consequences.
As the winter sets in, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has reached an intolerable level. Shortages of basic goods are not being met, as there is a serious scarcity of food, medical supplies and fuel. The closure of main border posts to Gaza has had a crippling effect on the 1.4 million Palestinians.
Gaza residents were already living under impoverished circumstances, which has worsened further since the blockade. United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has recently called on Israel to relieve Gaza from any further suffering as the crisis faced by the civilian population has reached a dangerous level.
Complete blackouts in the city as a result of lack of fuel have now become a common scenario. It is also a common scene to see the sick languish as a result of medicine shortages.
The two most recent serious developments are the halting of operations of Gaza's largest mill as it ran out of wheat, which means a shortage in the availability of bread. In addition, the UN said that it had been forced to suspend its cash grants to 98,000 of the poorest people because of a currency shortage. At all levels, the situation in Gaza is that of misery and suffering.
Yet Israel has staunchly rejected all pleas, arguing that attacks from Gaza should stop first before the blockade is eased. But such an argument is counterproductive as the tightening of any siege leads people to resort to violence as a means of protest and despair. Inhuman practices have never offered any solutions.
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