UN REPORT: Locked In: Humanitarian impact of two years of blockade on the Gaza Strip

but ALL of your posts do not acknowledge at all any responsability to the palastinians.
my post states pacively that all people should be equal yours present the picture that only israel bears responsability not the israelis and palastinians equaly.
the death of palastinian children is tragic while the death of israelis is easily ignored. thats why you get the heat you do mo4bratts.
instead of saying repeatedly that israel makes you sick you should say that the israeli palastinian conflict makes you sick.
if you want to call for an end to violence you should recognize both sides are equally guilty of this.

If you would do a story about the crap that goes on in Chinense prisons and thier people i would be just as pissed. I refused to see the Human Body Show that was in the mueseum because they have used the prisoners without consent. The Chinese revere thier dead these people were killed for thier body to be used by an English business man who makes millions off the show.I am not just against the things that go on in Gaza but through out the world. Darfur,Somalia,Afganistan,ect. So if you are against whats going on in Israel you are pegged an antisemite,that is not true at least for me.And my Jewish friends find these statements about me funny because I have eaten Sabbth with them and I have been to a brist and bahmizvah. So please use that word in the rite situation. When we talk about Israel I don't mean Jews.There are Israelis that don't condone the pratice. My friend Eli came to America because he was sick of the fighting not his saftey he left because of what was going on in the settlements.

y is the brutality palastinians suffer more important to you than the suffering of israeli children?shouldnt they be equal?

There is NO comparison Mymicz. The shear brutality against innocent children and people stand as evidence to the fact that Israels policy is initself an act of war as well as illegal in the worlds eyes and justice system.
Why is Israel above the law?
Putting a people under siege is an attack that people have to defend themselves against. I dont agree with their (hamas) methodology, that is illegal too, but what else can they do to defend themselves? Israel pulled out of Gaza, and broke the accord first. Even cnn Among many others) came to that conclusion. Nevertheless, Israel can do this whole thing differently.
I yearn to see the day that Israeli Jews and Arabs can live in harmony, can intermarry, have the same rights as Jews in Israel, can have the same treatment, can have their share of water and state help, can be treated the same. But that doesn't look good since Israel wants to be and has said they want to be mostly a jewish nation. Being 'mostly' a Jewish nation seems like it has not worked. It probably can if Israel squared away the land and let people be free and they shared with their fellow human beings.
I put my life on this: If Israel changed its way 180, Palestine, Gaza (Hamas) and the world would welcome and help to ensure security and peace on all sides. Israels tarnished (putting it lightly) image would be restored and much respected again.
All Israel has to do is share and treat all the same. Go in and re-build/build infrastructure, schools, factories in the West Bank and Gaza, take down the walls (after the good will has begun and each other PROVED themselves), and treat the Palestinians with respect. The same for the Palestinians. Treat EACH other with respect. They will if Israel removes the major psychological barriers first and let food, medical, water and rebuilding materials in-maybe under supervision of an inter-army of peace building soldiers from all over the world. Not war soldiers.

The senseless WHITE FLAG killings, use of White Phosphorous in areas of civilians, civilians that HAD NO WHERE TO GO! and when they did go to safety, they were attacked there too! This is NOT the way to PEACE!

The evidence you show is sad of course and I do feel for those children and people (especially the children), but the sheer magnitude of what Israel did is incomprehensible and insane. It is like swatting a fly with a shotgun! Or hanging someone for stealing a candy bar.

Israel CAN do PEACE. Palestine CAN do PEACE. Israel is BIG enough to let PEACE happen.

BOTH sides have to compromise. Israel has to SHARE and give back and STOP being the big bully! Palestinians must speak louder against ANY violence. (and I believe they are and will speak louder) Gandhi had it right. If needed, dont do what an army of guns do, do what an army of Gandhi's would do!

The Hamas can bring in weapons bombs and ammo using underground tunnels bit they can't bring in food and medicine.???

They won't because u can't kill Jews with food and medicine ..

People please stop being Naive

"Many Palestinians in the West Bank -- despite their hatred of Israel -- have developed animosity toward Hamas. These Palestinians vividly recall Hamas's violent takeover of Gaza in 2007, during which 400 Fatah supporters were brutally murdered, often falling to their deaths from rooftops."
Huffinfton Post, isn't that one of your sources WPTV????

Shall I go on or have you had enough?

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1251145107193&pagename=JPost%2FJP...

Like Swedish newspaper reporters, who had their cliams completely disavowed by the Palestinian families of the supposed, "victims" today? (see above if you dare!)
Or WPTV who never mentions Egypts role in blocking off Gaza, ever. Because that would mean someone else is sick of Hamas' Islamofascism?
Or the UN body who's own investigator of Israel called their methodology on investigating Israel out of context of Hamas behavior biased?
Or the Saudis who raise oil prices after every terror attack?
Or the Iranians, who violate their own people daily, and women hourly, but distract you by saying the Holocaust is a ploy? And also love to play with oil prices?
Or the wealthy Palestinian aristocracy who drives Mercedes and has all the permits to travel wherever they wish?
Just who are you talking about GodsnLiberals?
I hope you are including all of them.

By the way MAO, you get flagged for being a potty mouth, and being hostile, and many of your pro Palestinian colleagues agree. Just ask cztheday. He and I discuss the issue, and read the articles, and both of us have been offended by you even though we are on opposite sides. There are others but they asked to remain anonymous. If you are offending people who share your beliefs, maybe you should realize you go too far.

I think that benevolent calling to kill non Muslims and Jews might have something to do with in. As far as I am concerned we should deal with those who uses the palestinian people as pawns

Everytime i post on any of these storys I get flagged by Miz and panzer and who ever is on their side I will write to you on your personal email. I can't stand these people who flag me becausei tell Panzer he is a racist because he said the President is a Muslim because he wished the Muslims happy Ramadon. NO MORE!!!!! He hates the Muslims and says it all the time but nothing is done to him or whatever it is. He/She? Double standard!

No matter where you come down on the Israel/Palestine debate there is no doubt that the situation in Gaza is tragic.

I just don't get it...and I offer no fancy words here...what have we all become, to stand back, and watch the disintergration of humanity. Most of us don't have a voice, we don't set policies, we don't run countries. This is one of the most appalling (and there are numerous, all around the planet) of the slow annilihation of humanity, and I bow my head...

The agricultural sector, which is the source of livelihood to approximately 40,000 farmers, fishermen, herders, and farm laborers has also been affected by the blockade.12 Essential materials such as certain pesticides, seedlings, livestock, fuel, and spare parts for irrigation systems have been largely restricted since the imposition of the blockade, impacting on the level of overall agricultural production.13 The ban on exports has resulted in saturation of the local market with previously exported items (strawberries, cherry tomatoes, green peppers and cut flowers) pushing their prices down and reducing the income of 5,000 farmers and 10,000 farm laborers.14 As a result of the saturation in the market of previously exported agricultural products some farmers have resorted to feeding their livestock with these products.15

“Cast Lead” destruction

The state of the private sector in Gaza has been further affected due to the widespread destruction and damage incurred during the “Cast Lead” offensive. A comprehensive survey performed by the Gaza Private Sector Council indicates that 268 establishments were totally destroyed and 432 sustained damage, resulting in a combined loss estimated at US $139 million.16 Forty percent of the affected establishments (297) were industrial - small and medium size enterprises mainly in the manufactured food, textile, garment, furniture and plastic sectors, while the remaining 60 percent were commerce, contracting, and fuel establishments. Though much of the damage was sustained by establishments that had already shut down due to the blockade, the recent damage means that these businesses will be unable to recover quickly once conditions improve. 17

The extent of damage caused to the construction sector is significant in relation to the current lack of reconstruction capacity in Gaza. Twenty out of 29 ready-mix concrete factories, as well as 39 other construction-related establishments, were damaged during the conflict, causing a loss of 70 percent of the sector’s capacity and an estimated loss of USD $27 million.18 In addition, the most recent Israeli military operation resulted in the widespread loss of productive agricultural assets with an estimated direct loss of USD 180 million and an indirect loss over a six month period of USD 88 million.19

more at the story link

The systematic destruction of livelihoods

The already weakened economy of Gaza has drastically deteriorated during the past two years. According to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), in the first quarter of 2009 over 140,000 Gazans, willing and able to work, were unemployed, constituting 41.5 percent of Gaza’s workforce, up from 32.3 percent in the second quarter of 2007;5 unemployment among those less than 30 years of age reached almost 60 percent.6 While these figures are among the highest across
the world, actual unemployment rates may be even higher, as PCBS records workers who were not formally laid off, but do not work and do not receive salaries as “temporarily absent employees”, rather than classifying them as “unemployed”. The inability of the unemployed to sustain their livelihoods is a key factor contributing to the ongoing human dignity crisis in Gaza.

The private sector has been devastated by the blockade. According to the Palestine Trade Center (PalTrade), since the imposition of the blockade an estimated 120,000 private sector jobs have been lost, including jobs in the industrial, commercial, construction, agricultural and service sectors.7 A number of coping mechanisms that have evolved since the imposition of the blockade, mainly the expansion of the public sector by the Hamas authorities and the growth of the tunnel economy (see below), have partially compensated for the loss of these jobs and prevented an even more pronounced increase in unemployment.

An ICRC household survey conducted in May 2008, after nearly a year of blockade, indicated that over 70 percent of the surveyed families were living on an income of less than one dollar a day per person, and up to 40 percent of the families lived with less than 0.5 dollars a day per person (excluding the value of humanitarian assistance).8 As elaborated in this report (section II), the rise in poverty has had a negative impact on the level of food security and nutritional status of the population.

Import and export restrictions

During the two years following the imposition of the blockade, the daily average of truckloads of goods entering Gaza (112) was reduced to less than one fifth of the comparable figure for truckloads entering in the first five months of 2007 (583).9 Approximately 70 percent of imports during this period consisted of food products, while most industrial, agricultural and construction materials were either prohibited or severely restricted. The impact of these prohibitions and restrictions has been compounded by the absence of clearly defined processes used by Israel for the authorization of imports.

Prior to the blockade, 95 percent of the inputs used by Gaza manufacturers were imported through the crossings with Israel.10 There are currently an estimated 1,700 commercial containers with imported goods on hold in warehouses in Israel and the West Bank, some since the beginning of the blockade, causing an estimated loss of US $10 million, including freight container charges and storage fees.

Exports were almost totally banned in the past two years, with the exception of 147 truckloads of cut flowers and strawberries allowed out of Gaza, compared to a monthly average of 1,090 truckloads exported during the first five months of 2007 to the West Bank, Israel, and Europe. Even if manufacturers were able to overcome the import restrictions, many sectors’ were dependent on the ability to export their products; for example, previous goods regularly exported from Gaza included 76 percent of all Gaza-manufactured furniture products, 90 percent of garments and 20 percent of all food products. As a result, 95 percent of the industrial establishments, or 3,750 establishments, were forced to shut down and the remaining five percent were forced to reduce their level of activity.11

Inability to reconstruct

• The ban on the import of building materials has prevented the reconstruction of most of the 3,540 homes destroyed and the 2,870 homes severely damaged during the last military offensive. No new construction for 7,500 planned housing units to cater for Gaza’s rapidly expanding population has been possible due to the lack of building materials available in Gaza.

• More than 20,000 displaced people are forced to continue living in rented apartments, in the houses of relatives and in tents next to their damaged houses. Additionally a small number of families continue to live in tented camps. The lives of these displaced families have been disrupted with children being among the worst affected.

A protracted energy crisis

• The reduction in the amounts of industrial fuel allowed entry has forced Gaza’s sole power plant to reduce its level of production, creating a 15-20 percent electricity deficit. Ninety percent of the population currently experience scheduled electricity power cuts of 4-8 hours a day. The remaining 10 percent have no electricity supply due to the lack of construction materials needed to maintain and repair the network.

• In the extreme heat of summer, families are forced to leave food without refrigeration for hours; public institutions have to rely extensively on backup generators, causing problems as a result of the inconsistent supply of spare parts.

The deterioration of water and
sanitation infrastructure

• Some 10,000 people in northern Gaza still do not have access to running water due a lack of available building materials to maintain and upgrade the wastewater infrastructure.

• As a result of the lack of adequate maintenance and upgrading of the wastewater infrastructure, 80 million liters of raw and partially-treated sewage are being discharged daily into the environment. This has led to a further pollution of the sea and underground aquifer, creating serious health concerns; only 5-10 percent of the water extracted from Gaza’s aquifer meets the WHO safety standards.

A challenged health system

• Follow-up treatment for people suffering from complex injuries and permanent disabilities inflicted during the most recent Israeli offensive has created an enormous burden for a health system weakened by shortages of facilities, equipment, and drugs. The inability of medical staff to upgrade their knowledge and skills due to the continued travel restrictions has significantly undermined the quality of health services in Gaza.

• Patients in need of specialized treatment outside Gaza must go through an arduous and uncertain process to obtain the necessary permits required to leave Gaza, adding considerable anguish and stress to patients’ lives. Since January 2008, 40 percent of the applications for permits to leave Gaza were rejected or delayed, compared to approximately 10 percent in 2006.

Education undermined

• Over-crowding of schools as a result of the inability to expand and repair existing facilities, compounded by the recurrent shortages of educational materials delayed or denied entry at the crossings, and frequent electricity power cuts have contributed to a decline in school attendance and performance. In the first semester of the 2007-2008 school year only 20 percent of sixth graders in Gaza passed standardized exams in math, science, English and Arabic.

• Most students are prevented from accessing universities outside of Gaza due to the strict criteria imposed by the Israeli authorities in relation to the authorization of permits for students to exit Gaza as well as the limited openings of the Rafah crossing. For example between July and September 2008, prior to the beginning of the last academic year, only 70 students managed to leave the Gaza Strip through Israel to attend universities outside Gaza.

Two years of blockade in Gaza has resulted in:

The devastation of livelihoods

• The lack of essential imports, including raw materials, coupled with the ban on exports, has decimated economic activity in the private sector and resulted in the loss of approximately 120,000 jobs. Over 40 percent of Gaza’s workforce, or more than 140,000 people, are currently unemployed.

• The local market has been saturated with previously exported agricultural products (mainly cut flowers, strawberries and cherry tomatoes), reducing the income of producers. Approximately 3,500 households were negatively impacted by Israeli-imposed restrictions on fishing in the sea of Gaza. Such restrictions significantly reduced the volume of the fishing catch and subsequent income of fishermen in Gaza.

Rising food insecurity:

• Approximately 75 percent of Gaza’s population (more than 1.1 million people) is food insecure, up from 56 percent in the first quarter of 2008.4 The main auses of food insecurity are the increase in poverty, the destruction of agricultural assets and the inflation in prices of key food items.

• There has been a gradual shift in the diet of Gazans from high-cost and protein-rich foods such as fruit, vegetables and animal products, to low-cost and high carbohydrate foods such as cereals, sugar and oil, which can lead to micro-nutrient deficiencies, particularly among children and pregnant women.

Physical insecurity
• The reported number of Palestinian fatalities during “Cast Lead” ranges from 1,116 (IDF) to 1,455 (Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza). Based on the cross-checking of multiple fatality lists, OCHA has identified the records of 1,383 Palestinians, including 333 children whose death was confirmed by at least two independent sources; a significant proportion of these fatalities were civilians not involved in the hostilities.

• At least 360 people were killed since 15 May 2007 (one month before the Hamas take over) in the context of inter-factional violence. Individuals suspected of affiliation with opposition factions have allegedly been the victims of arbitrary arrests, torture and extra-judiciary executions.