GISHA: Israel Deliberately Withholding Supplies

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Again, we see how despite promises to facilitate humanitarian aid...despite talk of ceasefire...the deliberate suffocation of Gaza continues. Here, a press release from GISHA-the Tel-Aviv based Legal Center for Freedom of Movement.

Israel Is Preventing Repair of the Electrical, Water and Sewage Systems in Gaza

Policy of Deliberate Obstruction Continues Even After the Ceasefire:

* The amount of industrial diesel Israel has permitted to enter Gaza is just 64% of the total needed to operate the power station.

*Since the fighting ended, Israel has totally obstructed the transfer of vital spare parts needed to repair the electrical, water and sewage systems.

*As a result, 1/4 million people have been without electricity in Gaza for the past month; power outages span 16-18 hours a day for the others.

*More than 200,000 people have no access to running water; the rest get water for only a few hours every 2-5 days.

Wednesday, January 28, 2009 – Ten days after the ceasefire, and despite promises to permit humanitarian aid to reach Gaza residents, Israel is continuing its deliberate policy of restricting supply of industrial diesel and humanitarian goods to the Gaza Strip.The policy, in place for the past 15 months, is preventing the supply of electricity to humanitarian facilities in Gaza.

As a result of the restrictions on the supply of industrial diesel and the mass devastation caused by the military operation, 1/4 million people have been entirely without electricity for over a month, and more than 200,000 people are denied access to running water. Those who receive electricity -- suffer power outages of 16-18 hours per day, on average.

Ihab Abu Zaiter, a 32-year-old father of three, living east of Jabaliya, whose home was partially destroyed in the bombings, has been living entirely without electricity for the past month:“We don't buy any food that requires refrigeration; it’s like living in the Middle Ages,” he said. “We light a fire inside the house in order to keep the children warm.This is a very cold month, and we can’t sleep without the fire, but I’m afraid that the rest of the house will catch fire or that the children will burn themselves.”