On
Thursday, 6 March 2008, PCHR organized a conference on the repercussions of the
siege on the civilian population of the Gaza Strip. Representatives of NGOs
working in the field of health, education, economy and human rights and a number
of academics and journalists participated in the conference.
In
his opening speech, Mr. Khalil Shaheen, Director of PCHR Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights Unit, welcomed the participants. He then pointed out that the
conference was organized in the context of efforts jointly made by PCHR and a
number of local, regional and international organizations to exert pressure on
Israeli occupation authorities to lift the tightened siege imposed on the Gaza
Strip, which has disastrously impacted about 1.5 million Palestinians living in
the Gaza Strip. Mr. Shaheen further emphasized that this Israeli policy
constitutes a form of collective punishment against Palestinian civilians, which
is prohibited under international humanitarian law and human rights law.
In
his speech, Mr. Jaber Wishah, Deputy Director of PCHR, emphasized the importance
of the conference as an integral part of the agenda of economic and social
rights, which enjoys a special attention. He indicated that the conference was a
complementary effort to other efforts made by civil society groups to highlight
the siege as a form of the renewing Palestinian suffering, whose repercussions
should be addressed. The conference, Mr. Wishah added, seeks to discuss the
repercussions of the siege and to formulate a national plan to appeal to the
world to lift the siege.
In
the first session, titled “Economic and Social Rights of the Civilian Population
under the Siege,” Mr. Khaleel Shaheen explained PCHR’s view of the economic and
social rights of the civilian population under the siege imposed on the Gaza
Strip from the perspectives of international humanitarian law and human rights
law. He pointed out that the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip and the closure of
its border crossings violate international human rights law, and constitute a
form of collective punishment prohibited under the International Bill of Human
Rights. Mr. Shaheen further explained that Israel has developed such policy
since the first Palestinian Intifada, which started in 1987. He also highlighted
a number of international human rights instruments, which clearly prescribe
Israel’s legal obligations, as an occupying power, towards the civilian
population, stressing that such instruments prohibit penal measures and
reprisals against civilians.
In
her intervention, Ms. Hanan Taha, Executive Director of Palestinian Trade
Center, focused on the impacts of the closure of commercial border crossings on
the Palestinian private sector. She provided a survey of commercial activities
at the crossings of the Gaza Strip in 2007. Ms. Taha also referred to the losses
resulted from the Israeli siege, especially the losses incurred to the
Palestinian private sector in the Gaza Strip since June 2007.
In
his intervention, Dr. Jihad Hamad, Professor of Sociology at al-Azhar
University, focused on the impacts of the Israeli siege on social conditions in
the Gaza Strip. He highlighted a series of measures taken by Israel in the
context of practicing such policy and their impacts on health, education, living
conditions, unemployment and poverty in the Palestinian society. He further
stressed the importance of supporting social services to be appropriately
provided to the Palestinian population.
In
the last working paper submitted at the first session, Ms. Nadia Abu Nahla,
Director of Women’s Affairs Technical Committee in the Gaza Strip, highlighted
the status of women and children in the Gaza Strip under the siege. She
indicated that Palestinian women have become a representation of the suffering
of a whole people because of the Israeli aggression and the tightened siege. She
further discussed the impacts of the siege on the Palestinian people, especially
women, with regard to production, agriculture, national income, humanitarian
aids, construction and education.
In
the second session, which focused on the impacts of the siege on humanitarian
services in the Gaza Strip, Dr. Bassam Abu Hasheesh, Professor of Education at
al-Aqsa University in Gaza, highlighted the conditions of education under the
siege. He pointed out that the Israeli siege is not a new policy rather it is an
old Israeli strategy practiced against Palestinians since the beginning of
occupation. He further stressed that the siege has become a rule and allowing
Palestinians to enjoy their right to the freedom of movement has become an
exception. Additionally, Dr. Abu Hasheesh highlighted some impacts of the siege,
including: The suffering of students due to shortages of school needs; the lack
of school equipment; denial of access of students to universities; the lack of
financial resources to cover the costs of education.
In
his intervention, Eng. Munther Shublaq, Director of Association of Coastal
Municipalities Water, talked about environmental health services under the
siege, indicating that many projects aimed at providing clean drinking water to
the population of the Gaza Strip have been suspended due to the siege imposed on
the Gaza Strip. He highlighted a number of obstacles that have impacted his
association’s ability to carry out its activities, including: The disability to
implement several projects due to the lack of raw materials and machines;
suspension of donations to emergency projects; denial of entry of spare parts
needed for the facilities of water and sewage; shortages in fuel supplies;
obstruction of the entry of some materials needed for the desalination of water;
and others.
In
his intervention, Dr. Bassam al-Badri, Director of External Medical Treatment
Department at the Palestinian Ministry of Health, talked about health services
under the siege. He highlighted the impacts of the siege on his department,
including: Increasing applications for transferring patients to hospitals abroad
due to the lack of medical supplies at Palestinian hospitals; and increasing
applications for transferring patients suffering from cancer to hospitals
outside the Gaza Strip due to the lack of chemotherapy. Dr. al-Badri pointed out
that at least 20 Palestinian patients have died due to restrictions imposed by
Israeli occupation authority at Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.
In
a concluding intervention, Dr. Mahmoud al-Khuzondar, Deputy Chairman of the
Association of Owners of Fuel Stations, talked about the shortages in fuel
supplies on economic and social conditions. He highlighted a series of decisions
taken by Israeli occupation authorities since October 2007 to decrease fuel
supplies allowed into the Gaza Strip. He further explained the steps taken by
his association to confront those decisions, including: Refusing to receive
decreased amounts of fuel supplies; exposing this policy to the media;
submitting a complaint to the United Nations and discussing the issue with its
representatives in the Gaza Strip; appealing to European and Arab states to
intervene with Israeli decision maker; and directly communicating with Israeli
authorities to explain the repercussions of such policy.
Following the two sessions, the participants discussed the impacts of the siege
and mechanisms of pressure to the lift the siege. The conference concluded a
number of recommendations, including:
1)
Calling upon the international community, especially the
High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention, to immediately
intervene to pressure for lifting the siege, reopening border crossings, ending
the suffering of thousands of Palestinians who have been stuck at border
crossing; and ensuring access of Palestinian patients to appropriate medical
treatment; and
2)
Calling upon the international community to take
necessary measures to exert pressure on Israel to stop policies of collective
punishment against the population of the Gaza Strip, including the closure of
border crossings and the denial of right to freedom of movement of persons and
goods.
