As Israel’s enforced blockade of the Gaza Strip continues for the sixth consecutive year, humanitarian conditions have drastically deteriorated in the coastal enclave, with severe restrictions imposed on the movement of individuals and the flow of goods in and out of the Gaza Strip.
In the wake of their sudden closure of the tunnels along the borders between Gaza and Egypt, Egyptian authorities have introduced a number of restrictive measures and carried out several policies along the border since Thursday, 20th June 2013.
These policies have eventually brought to a complete halt all work at the tunnels area since Wednesday, 26th June 2013.
This, in turn, has resulted in sharp shortages in oil and fuel supplies which are on steady decline, in addition to halting the import of all construction material particularly steel and cement, which are similarly banned by the Israeli authorities.
Moreover, this has led to denying scores of Palestinians from exercising their right to freedom of movement as Egyptian authorities have prevented a huge number of Palestinians from travelling through the Rafah crossing.
According to Al Mezan’s monitoring and documentation activities, the transportation sector in the Gaza Strip has been deeply hit by the current gas and fuel crisis as thousands of taxis and cars queuing at filling stations dominated the scene in Gaza.
This, meanwhile, reflects the larger picture of the dire human rights and humanitarian situation in Gaza.
It also gravely impacts the provision of basic needs and services by local municipalities and most importantly it seriously impacts the health sector as hospitals face the threat of not being able to provide services to patients due to the sharp shortages in oil and electricity.
The closure of the Rafah crossing prevents thousands of Palestinian medical patients from travel outside of Gaza to receive medical treatment at hospitals in Egypt, Jordan and other countries due to the lack of such treatment in Gaza’s hospitals.
According to statistics by the Palestinian Ministry of Health, the average number of medical patients crossing the Rafah crossing is 1500 per month; however, in light of the recent closure of the crossing and the restrictive measures imposed on travel by the Egyptian authorities, their lives are put at peril.
Al Mezan is deeply concerned about the worsening human rights and humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian people in Gaza as a result of the Egyptian authorities’ recent restrictive measures along the southern border with Egypt while also stressing the responsibility of the Israeli occupation authorities for the lives and safety of the people in Gaza.
Al Mezan furthermore calls on the international community to promptly intervene in order to put an end to the steadily worsening conditions of the Palestinian people in Gaza by applying pressure on Israeli authorities to lift the blockade on Gaza and undo all the restrictive policies they enforces on the movement of individuals and goods in and out of Gaza.