with heart, pain &love for hurted Palestine

Human Rights Watch slams Gaza blockade

Says it's a serious violation of international humanitarian law

Posted by Aharon Etengoff at 09:23 AM GMT on Mar 03, 2009

HUMAN RIGHTS Watch (HRW) has issued a statement criticising Israel's "punishing blockade" of the Gaza Strip.

The organisation also emphasised that ending the closure was "absolutely critical" for Gaza's economic recovery.

"All the pledges of aid [from the recent emergency conference in Egypt] will be worth next to nothing if donors do not demand that Israel open the borders to commercial goods as well as humanitarian essentials," explained Kenneth Roth, executive director of Human Rights Watch. "This unlawful blockade is the primary impediment to reconstruction and economic activity that is essential to any society."

According to Human Rights Watch, the blockade, which has been in place since Hamas seized control of the coastal territory in June 2007, amounts to "collective punishment of the civilian population" and is a serious violation of international humanitarian law. HRW also claims that Israel "has provided no security or other justification for its refusal to allow goods to enter or leave Gaza via the Karni crossing, or for its strict limits on what is allowed in and in what quantities." Indeed, security officials have reportedly refused entry to a variety of items, including chickpeas, macaroni, wheat flour, notebooks, freezer appliances, generators, water pumps and cooking gas.

"If Gaza business people can ship one truckload of flowers for Valentine's Day, why can't they export flowers, or strawberries and oranges, every day? Israel's blockade policy can be summed up in one word and it is punishment, not security," said Roth.

However, Dan Kosky, a spokesperson for the Jerusalem-based NGO Monitor, told The News that Roth "unfairly placed [the] blame entirely on Israel."