(1/22/08) Since Friday, the humanitarian crisis in Gaza has escalated to previously unimaginable levels. Over the past five days, Gaza has been completely shut off from the rest of the world due to an Israeli – and Egyptian-enforced – closure of all border crossings. By Sunday, approximately 800,000 Gazans were left without electricity as Gaza’s only power plant ran out of fuel. Many of the hospitals and medical clinics were also left with dwindling medical supplies and little to no fuel to power generators. As a result, approximately 75 Palestinians have already died from the closure, and a number of patients in intensive care units have died as their emergency life support equipment cannot function without electricity. Many hospitals are forced to choose which equipment to keep running: dialysis machines, neonatal units, or heart and oxygen machines.
Furthermore, with no fuel or electricity for the water pumps and sewage treatment plants, most Gazans have now lost their running water, with several neighborhoods, including the large Zatoun neighborhood east of Gaza City, flooded with sewage.
The closure has resulted in a deliberate and collective punishment of the entire civilian population of Gaza (nearly 1.5 million Palestinians). Such collective punishment directly contravenes explicit provisions of the 4 th Geneva Convention, to which Israel is a signing party.
John Ging, director of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza said the civilian population was living in “abject misery” and had been stripped of their human dignity.
“People here in Gaza have been living in abject misery and hardship now for a long time,” Ging told Al-Jazeera. “On top of that they are living in darkness… You have to see how miserable the situation is. The civilian population is under occupation. It is collective punishment – they are victims.”
For its part, Egypt has willingly assisted Israel in the closure, preventing any Palestinian from leaving Gaza through the Rafah crossing. In particular, several ambulances carrying critically ill patients have been refused entry by Egyptian authorities. Faced with starvation and death, a group of Palestinian female protesters attempted to leave Gaza, only to be turned away by water cannons, gunfire, and baton-wielding Egyptian soldiers. At least 25 Palestinians have been injured by Egyptian soldiers enforcing Israel’s closure.
Though the media has reported that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak telephoned Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to express opposition to the humanitarian crisis, Mubarak has followed these empty words with affirmative acts to enforce the closure. Egypt does have the power to alleviate Palestinian suffering by at least allowing entry of fuel, emergency medicine and medical supplies, and supplies needed by aid agencies to distribute food .
Call the Egyptian Embassy in Washington D.C. and demand that Egypt open the Rafah crossing, and cease enforcing the closure of Gaza now!
Embassy of Egypt
3521 International Ct. NW
Washington, DC 20008
TELEPHONE: (202) 895-5400 – or – (202) 966-6342 –or- (202) 667-3402
Email: Embassy@egyptembdc.org
For example: “As an [Arab/Arab-American/Egyptian/Concerned American], I am concerned with the humanitarian crisis that is currently transpiring in Gaza. I am especially concerned with Egypt’s participation in the closure, and refusal to open the Rafah crossing as hundreds of thousands of Palestinians are trapped in life-threatening conditions.”
Call the Israeli Embassy in Washington D.C. and demand an end to the closure of Gaza now!
Embassy of Israel
3514 International Dr., NW
Washington, DC 20008
TELEPHONE: (202) 364-5500
Emergency Protests
Anaheim, California: Saturday, Jan. 26, 1 p.m. 512 S. Brookhurst St. Between Orange Ave. & Broadway)
Washington DC: Friday, Jan. 25 (time tba), at the Israeli Embassy, 3514 International Dr. N.W.
San Francisco, California: Friday, Jan. 25, 4-6 p.m., Israeli Consulate, 456 Montgomery St. (near California)
New York, New York: Saturday, Jan. 26, 1 p.m. at the Israeli Embassy, 43rd St. and 2nd Ave.
Chicago, Illinois: Tues., Jan. 29, 5 pm at the Lakeshore Theater, 3175 North Broadway (at benefit for the Friends of the Israeli Defense Force).
Seattle Washington: Friday, January 25, 4 p.m., Westlake Park, 4th & Pine Sts.
Info for this post was taken FROM
eileen fleming said,
January 23, 2008 at 3:47 pm
Rafah is OPEN and ALL MAN MADE WALLS WILL FALL when parents must feed their starving children.
I RECEIVED this email action alert 2 hours ago:
The months-old border blockade of Gaza by Israel is at crisis point:
Gaza’s southern border has broken open, 350,000 Palestinians are crossing and Israel could act by force to close it.
After power blackouts caught the attention of the world, now the situation is slipping out of control.
The world MUST step in to prevent an explosion and protect civilians on all sides, but your voice is needed urgently — we’re running an emergency global campaign to international, European and Arab leaders, calling on them to stop the siege, oversee open borders and help broker a ceasefire.
We’ll deliver the petition when we reach 150,000 signatures – so please add your name below, then spread the word:
http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_end_the_siege/98.php?cl_tf_sign=1
To the United Nations, the European Union, the Quartet, the Arab League & Israel: We demand that you end the blockade and growing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, ensure the free flow of supplies by land, sea or air, and help to broker the ceasefire which civilians on both sides desperately need.
i was #22,460 to sign this
what R U?
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy…History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people.”- Martin Luther King Jr
Calypso said,
January 23, 2008 at 4:36 pm
O.K. I will sign.
But after 6 years of watching Israel’s actions I am convinced they will never stop until they have decimated the Palestines.
I have called and written to my congressional representives over and over about the US making it possible for Israel to do what they are doing, it makes no difference.
Want to end it? Tell the Saudis to cut off the oil, all of it. Just shut us down and announce to the world that it will stay that way for as long as Palestine is occupied. Either the Arab and European world boycott the US until it is so painful we can’t take it or this slow motion genocide continues.
Masher1 said,
January 23, 2008 at 5:15 pm
If anyone cares to hear it the sound of Palestine restoring it’s lettering on the world map is now very distinct. I see a world without the Rich and Powerful Money Changer pushing around the little folk.
Well Little folk have done some serious amazing next level things in the name of doing GOOD.
And the good thing right now is if the Palestinian INVASION FORCE gives up and pulls out of PALESTINE 100%.
“Else” is going to lead to worldwide corrective measures.
And Bollix to the whiny boo hoo sessions after the FIX is in and done.
Depleted Uranium is the SECRET taboo topic.
Those responsible for it’s use (since 91′ officially) or more accurately 45′ Will have to lead the CLEANUP directly. Everyone of Em. Scraping off the radioactive waste and doing what ever else will slow the Death toll of THERE mess.
I see right now America,UK and the military force known as israel have a lot of work to complete. Just try to wiggle out of this one.
China was not screwing around shooting down that weather bird. They can take EVERY flying TARGET. An if needs be then i hope they take space for peace.
Because PEACE is the ONLY option.
And yes PEACE and it’s pursuit have a number of THORNS to remind us the path is not being walked enough.
Nativewmn said,
January 23, 2008 at 7:21 pm
Here we go again! All the islands around the US were at one time inhabited by native people who had lived there for thousands of years. Then while they (the New European Americans) were destroying the native people they also destroyed, wiped out, cleansed the indigenous people from ALL the islands. Here we are 200 plus years later and STILL they are systematically destorying people. I am sick to death of this poor excuse of human decay; my grandfather was a Basque and a Spanish Jew he fled here where he met my Hopi grandmother. I am disgusted with Israel – Egypt – United States; these are very dark times for humanity.
The natives do not throw out genocide; they simply deal with what they have. But the Zionist are at best, at least by example, are no different than the Nazis. I am a pagan; I believe in Harming none – I believe in honor, dignity and respect. I have faith that people will respond; I hope for the best and do what I can in my own way. I have emailed the Egyptian Counsel I suggest you do also – beg for help. It is all that we can hope for.
MUST IT TAKE GAS CHAMBERS TO DECLARE THE EVENTS IN GAZA A HOLOCAUST? « Muslim in Suffer said,
January 24, 2008 at 2:21 am
[...] MUST IT TAKE GAS CHAMBERS TO DECLARE THE EVENTS IN GAZA A HOLOCAUST? [...]
michael said,
January 24, 2008 at 12:52 pm
It is necessary to say that the Polish communist govt in the mid 90s admitted that the gas chamber shown to the tourists going through Auschwitz was built in 1948. The tourists are allowed to believe by the tour guides that this gas chamber was built during the war.
I know that the Gas Chamber story is the bedrock on which Israel was founded, and so to have some hope in stopping what is happening in Gaza really becoming an accelerated genocide (slow motion at the moment), this foundation stone needs careful reassessment for it is precisely this story which paralyses the whole world into impotence lest the dreaded word `antisemite` be flung into its face.
I for one could care less what i am called in the face of protesting against plain bloody mass murder, and just because some jew had grandparents who allegedly had a harder time of it in Hitler Europe than others should behoove that jew to show compassion inversely as the hardship experienced by his grandparents; and not try to outdo the crimes real and imagined of the Hitler regime when relating to defenseless people.
And don’t tell me about useless Qassams into Sderot, because it is in the character of Israel to create provocations when there are none; just like the firing of equally useless Katyusha rockets allegedly by Hezbollah into northern Israel in July/August 2006 provided the fraudulent continued justification for the IDF to casually mass murder innocent Lebanese by the thousand.