[DEBATE] : Statement by the UN Agencies working in the occupied Palestinian terrotory

[MFleshman at aol.com]

Statement by the United Nations Agencies working  in the  occupied
Palestinian territory


8th July 2006


The United  Nations Humanitarian Agencies working in the occupied
Palestinian territory,  are alarmed by developments on the ground, which
have seen innocent  civilians, including children, killed, brought increased
misery to hundreds  of thousands of people and which will wreak far-reaching
harm on Palestinian  society. An already alarming situation in Gaza, with
poverty rates at nearly  eighty per cent and unemployment at nearly forty
per cent, is likely to  deteriorate rapidly, unless immediate and urgent
action is  taken.


The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), which  works with
980,000 refugees, believes that Gaza is on the brink of a public  health
disaster. Since the strike on Gaza’s only power plant on June 28th,  the
entire strip is without electricity for between 12 and 18 hours every  day.
The Coastal Municipality Water Utility is now relying on its own  backup
generators to operate its 130 water wells and 33 sewage pumping  plants. As
it only has 5,000 liters of the 18,000 liters of fuel needed, the  Water
Utility’s daily operation has been cut by two thirds, resulting in  water
shortages and a critical situation at the sewage plants. With  restrictions
on the humanitarian supply lines there is now a backlog of over  230
containers of food awaiting delivery through the Karni Crossing and  the
bill for surcharges arising from these delays has reached as  staggering
half a million dollars.


According to the World Health  Organisation (WHO) the public health system
is facing an unprecedented  crisis. WHO estimates that though hospitals and
50 per cent of Primary Health  Care Centres have generators, the current
stock of fuel will last for a  maximum of two weeks. Those generators which
are being used were intended for  backup purposes and the malfunctioning of
these generators will have grave  consequences. According to WHO in the last
week, there has been a 160 per  cent increase in cases of diarrhea compared
with the same period last year.  Compounding these problems, WHO estimates
that 23 per cent of the essential  drug list will be out of stock within one
month.  WHO is also alarmed by  the tightening of restrictions on patients
needing to leave Gaza for  treatment. Only a handful of extremely critical
cases  have crossed  through Erez since June 25th even though prior to
current developments, an  average of 25 cancer patients left through Erez
every week. According to WHO,  the monthly referral rate of emergency
patients stands now at between 500 and  700 people.



The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that in June  70 % of the Gaza
population were already unable to cover their daily food  needs without
assistance. The escalation of hostilities has made food an  increasingly
critical issue. Wheat flour mills, food factories and bakeries,  reliant on
electricity are being forced to reduce their production due to  power
shortages; furthermore the loss of capacity to preserve perishable food  in
the Gaza heat is resulting in high food losses in the home. Supplies  of
sugar, dairy products and milk are running extremely low due to  limited
commercial supplies from Israel; as a result food prices have  increased by
10% in the past 3 weeks. WFP is assisting 160,000 of the most  food insecure
non refugees in Gaza and is standing by to respond to  additional needs as
they emerge as part of a coordinated interagency  response. WFP believes it
is essential that a humanitarian corridor for  relief items and personnel
remains open to avert a further deterioration in  the food security
situation at this critical time.

According to the  United Nations Childrens’ Fund, (UNICEF) children in Gaza
are living in an  environment of extraordinary violence, insecurity and
fear. Electricity and  fuel shortages are leading to a reduction in the
quantity and quality of  health care and water accessible to children. The
ongoing fighting is hurting  children psychologically. Caregivers say
children are showing signs of  distress and exhaustion, including a 15%-20%
increase in bedwetting, due to  shelling and sonic booms. UNICEF-supported
counseling teams also report a  large increase in the number of requests for
assistance. UNICEF says steady  supplies of fuel and electricity are needed
to store safely and transport  vaccine and drugs, and for operating primary
health care facilities. UNICEF  stressed that children are always most
vulnerable to outbreaks of  communicable disease brought on by lack of water
and sanitation.

The  use of force by Israel during its military operations into the Gaza
Strip has  resulted in an increasing number of deaths and other casualties
amongst the  Palestinian civilian population, and significant damage to
civilian property  and infrastructure, says the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human  Rights. Whilst Israel has legitimate security
concerns, international  humanitarian law requires that the principles of
proportionality and  distinction between civilians and combatants be
respected at all times. The  prohibition on targeting civilians is also
being violated by Palestinian  armed groups, launching missiles from the
Gaza Strip into Israel, and must  therefore end. The deterioration in the
current human rights situation  requires that measures are promptly taken to
put an end to these actions and  to ensure the protection of civilians.

The Office of the Co-Ordination of  Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is calling
for the continuous and unimpeded  access for humanitarian assistance and
fuel supplies. Nahal Oz and Karni must  remain open twenty-four hours a day,
if humanitarian need is to be adequately  met. In addition, OCHA is calling
for the opening of the Rafah Crossing, to  allow in 250 passengers stranded
in Egypt and to allow the passage of  emergency health cases that cannot be
treated in Gaza. UN operations to  deliver assistance are already being
hampered by the fighting. But  humanitarian assistance is not enough to
prevent suffering. With the bombing  of the electric plant, the lives of 1.4
million people, almost half of them  children, worsened overnight. The
Government of Israel should repair the  damage done to the power station.
Obligations under international  humanitarian law, applying to both parties,
include preventing harm to  civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure
and also refraining from  collective measures, intimidation and reprisals.
Civilians are  disproportionately paying the price of this conflict. In the
immediate  future, OCHA fears that the humanitarian situation could easily
deteriorate,  with continued Israeli military operations and artillery
shelling, which  could damage the remaining infrastructure and essential
services.

The  United Nations humanitarian agencies believe that the facts on the
ground  speak for themselves and carry their own imperatives to all parties.
Unless  urgent action is taken, we are facing a humanitarian crisis that
will have  far reaching consequences for the communities we work in and the
institutions  we work through.