Monday, January 10, 2011

Meanwhile in Palestine

The Red Cross says the siege [by Israel of Gaza] has led to a steady rise in chronic malnutrition among the 1.5 million people living in the strip. According to the UN, 80 per cent of the population is dependent on foreign aid and 61 per cent is classified as "food-insecure"; it also says 90 per cent of the water supplied to residents is not suitable for drinking.

[...]

Have things changed since the global outcry over the Israeli attack on the aid flotilla? In November, a report released by 21 different charities and human rights groups, including Oxfam, Amnesty and Save the Children, concluded that there has been "little improvement" for the people of Gaza since Israel announced it was easing the blockade in June 2010. John Ging, director of UN operations in Gaza, agreed. "There's been no material change for the people on the ground here in terms of their status, the aid dependency, the absence of any recovery or reconstruction, no economy." He added: "The easing, as it was described, has been nothing more than a political easing of the pressure on Israel and Egypt."

  New Statesman

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