GAZA BLOCKADE MUST BE LIFTED TO STOP HUMANITARIAN CRISIS

12.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Thu 11th Oct 2007

The blockade of the Gaza strip by Israel is only securing the successful transmission of poverty, misery, oppression and hatred to a new generation of Palestinian's according to local MEP Liz Lynne.

Liz, who is Member of the European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights co-authored a resolution adopted by the European Parliament today calling for urgent action to reverse the worsening humanitarian crisis.

Speaking during the debate on the resolution, Liz Lynne said:

"There is nothing more demoralising than a life lived in poverty, a life without any prospects, a life marred by a conflict and yet this is the sad reality for many of Gaza's 1.3 million people"

"As a humanitarian catastrophe haunts the people of Gaza, it is clear the only objective Israeli and Palestinian leaders are securing is the transmission of pain, poverty, misery and hatred to a new generation of young Palestinians.

"As a direct result of the Israeli blockade on the movement of people and goods, children do not have basic educational facilities; everyone is denied the basic utilities we all take for granted; livelihoods are destroyed as fisherman and farmers cannot trade and individuals suffer needless pain and death due to limited medical services and treatment. All this set against a background of violence and oppression."

"Israel must fulfil its international obligations, such as the Geneva Convention, to guarantee the flow of humanitarian aid, humanitarian assistance and essential services, and open up its borders.

"The European Council and the Commission must keep up the pressure.

"We must above all talk to all sides. Only in that way can we find a lasting solution."

"If nothing is done, people will continue to die needlessly and 1.3 million people in Gaza will continue to be stripped of their dignity."

ENDS

NOTES TO EDITORS:

The resolution adopted today by the European Parliament is as follows:

DRAFT European Parliament resolution on the humanitarian situation in Gaza

The European Parliament,

• having regard to its previous resolutions on the Middle East, in particular those of 2 February 2006 on the result of the Palestinian elections and the situation in East Jerusalem, 1 June 2006 on the humanitarian crisis in the Palestinian territories and the role of the EU, 7 September 2006 on the situation in the Middle East, 16 November 2006 on the situation in the Gaza Strip, 21 June 2007 on the MEDA programme and financial support to Palestine: evaluation, implementation and control, and 12 July 2007 on the Middle East;

• having regard to UN Security Council Resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973),

• having regard to the Quartet's Statement of 23 September 2007,

• having regard to the conclusion of the External Relations Council of 23 July 2007,

• having regard to the statement of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on 21st of September 2007 on Middle East;

• having regard to the Rule 103(4) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. Whereas, as a result of the blockade on the movement of people and goods, the massive devastation of public facilities and private homes, the disruption of hospitals, clinics and schools, the partial denial of access to proper drinking water, food and electricity, and the destruction of agricultural land, the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip has reached a catastrophic level,

B. Whereas Karni and Rafah border-crossings have been closed for months, whereas the blockade on the movement of people and goods has further paralysed the economy and has caused significantly contributed to an extremely high rate of unemployment in the Gaza Strip,

C. Whereas the water and water waste sector is in critical conditions, whereas this situation may result, due to the shortage of water and the possibility of sewage flooding, in further environmental and humanitarian crises,

D. Whereas the health system is under severe pressure, and a significant part of the population is suffering of a lack of treatment or medicines urgently needed,

E. Whereas the educational system has to face serious shortcomings due to a lack of basic materials in its functioning and the quality of education is declining, whereas this situation will have serious consequences on the future of the young generation of Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip,

F. Whereas the European Union provided considerable financial support to the Palestinians in the past years, whereas the Temporary International Mechanism and the project-financing provided by the EU have played an important role in avoiding a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank since 2006,

G. Whereas the blockade on the movement of people and goods, and the internal insecurity are considerably obstructing the operations of the European Communities Humanitarian Office (ECHO), the UN agencies, the Red Cross and the Red Crescent, and other humanitarian organisations providing aid and assistance to people living in the Gaza Strip, whereas the European Commission, UNDP, UNRWA and the World Bank have suspended several infrastructure projects due to the inability to import raw materials, whereas these humanitarian offices, agencies and organisations are continuing their activities despite all the obstacles, stressing the need to fulfil the financial commitments related to these activities made by the EU and its Member States,

I. Whereas the Quartet expressed its deep concern over the conditions in the Gaza Strip, agreed on the importance of continued emergency and humanitarian assistance without obstruction, and called for the continued provision of essential services in its Statement of 23 September 2007,

J. Whereas the improvement of the living conditions of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, together with the revival of the peace process and the setting up of functioning Palestinian institutions, is a key aspect in the efforts aimed at finding a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians,

1. Expresses its deepest concern about the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip and its possible grave consequences; stresses that human rights and the international humanitarian law must fully be respected in the area, reiterates its call to all sides to renounce violence;

2. Calls on Israel to fulfil its international obligations, according to the Geneva Conventions, to guarantee the flow of humanitarian aid, humanitarian assistance and the essential services, such as electricity and fuel, to the Gaza Strip; calls on the Israeli government to lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip and to ensure the movement of people and goods at Rafah, in compliance with the Agreement on Movement and Access and the EU Border Assistance Mission, as well as the movement of goods at Karni; calls on the Council, the High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy, and the Commission to face their full responsibility on the implementation of this Agreement; calls on Israel to guarantee the flow of financial assets to the Gaza Strip, which has been revoked since 25th September 2007, and considers that having no access to any financial assets has a large impact on the economic, social and daily life of the Palestinian people;

3. Calls on the Palestinian Authority and Hamas to facilitate, despite the political deadlock, the functioning of the public institutions providing essential services and the operations of the international humanitarian offices, agencies and organisations aiming to ameliorate the living conditions of all Palestinians living in the area;

4. Calls on the Council and the Commission to continue to guarantee, together with the international community, essential humanitarian aid for the Palestinian population, with special regard to the specific needs of particularly vulnerable groups; urges the Council and the Commission to obtain, in compliance with the Association Agreements with Israel and with the Palestinian National Authority, full respect for international humanitarian law and human rights in the area, including by non-state actors, in order to preserve the necessary humanitarian space;

5. Expresses its wishes that the efforts to convene an international peace conference should contribute to finding a just and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians, based on the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions, the right of Israel to live within secure and recognized borders, and the right to a viable state for Palestinians;

6. Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the High Representative for CFSP, the governments and parliaments of the Member States, the UN Secretary-General, the Quartet's Envoy to the Middle East, the acting President of the Euro-Mediterranean Parliamentary Assembly, the President of the Palestinian Authority, the Palestinian Legislative Council, the Israeli Government and Knesset, and the Government and Parliament of Egypt.