Contrary to what Netanyahu told the commission, COGAT confirms that the closure was meant to exert pressure on the civilian population in Gaza.
Whereas Netanyahu testified that restrictions were vital to "prevent the entry of weapons and war materiel to the Gaza Strip, Dangot admitted that the restrictions were meant to paralyze the economy in order to weaken Hamas.
Gisha: the motives behind the closure have bearing on its legality.
Tuesday, August 31, 2010 - The testimony today by Maj. Gen. Eitan Dangot, the Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories, before the Turkel Commission to Examine the Maritime Incident, confirms Gisha's claim that the closure was imposed on Gaza not only for security reasons to prevent the entry of war materiel, but also to paralyze the economy, meanwhile harming civilian life in the Gaza Strip. According to Gen. Dangot's testimony, Israel declared economic warfare against the Gaza Strip and prevented the entry of goods – including certain kinds of food and other civilian items – that posed no security threat, with the goal of disrupting civilian life in the Gaza Strip.
In a letter from Gisha to the commission ahead of Dangot's testimony, written by Adv. Tamar Feldman, the organization noted that the state had previously declared its goal of paralyzing the economy in Gaza to pressure the civilian population, and therefore "the closure was based not only on security considerations but was also a declared attempt to hurt the civilian population." Gisha claimed that these motives, as well as the way the policy was implemented, have implications for the legality of the closure. International law allows restrictions whose purpose is to preventing the smuggling of war materiel, but does not allow for the prevention of passage of goods which are clearly civilian in nature.
Riferendosi agli accordi di Oslo il compianto Edward Said usava ripetere che il processo di pace è il primo ostacolo alla pace. Alla vigilia di questi ennesimi colloqui, sono andato a tastare il polso dell'uomo della strada di Gaza. Juber, contadino di Khan Younis: «Abbiamo sempre avuto negoziati e cosa abbiamo ottenuto? Sempre meno terra e più colonie. E qui a Gaza più miseria e disperazione. Questa è solo un'operazione mediatica concessa da Netanyahu a Obama come semaforo verde per attaccare l'Iran. Non ce ne facciamo niente di strette di mano in un album di fotografie, se c'era la buona volontà sarebbe prima stato rimosso l'assedio, ma a Gaza non cambierà nulla, lo sanno anche le galline nel mio pollaio». Non sorprenda la padronanza dell'argomento del palestinese qualunque della Striscia, qui anche nell'analfabetismo si cresce a pane olio zaatar e politica. Mahfuz , pescatore di Gaza city: «Dare il tempo a Israele di ripulire Gerusalemme dagli arabi, questo il senso dei negoziati. Ramallah avrebbe dovuto richiedere la fine dell'assedio, e poi sedersi al tavolo. È importante ricompattarci fra di noi palestinesi, prima di inviare un rappresentate».
International pressure has been mounting on Israel to lift its blockade of Gaza since the deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Palestinian territory.
The UN has said 80 per cent of people there depend on food hand-outs.
But Israeli officials insist that there is no humanitarian crisis in the enclave.
UN aid workers inside Gaza, however, see a different reality.
Al Jazeera's Nicole Johnston reports from Gaza, where it has been reported that about 14 per cent of children suffer from stunted growth due to malnutrition.
12. First of all, the [Fact-finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict] FFM report pays no attention to the surrounding circumstances of a temporary Israel-Hamas ceasefire that had beenput in place in June 2008, with notable success in reducing cross-border violence, especially as regards rockets. It also ignores the provocative violence of Israel during the ceasefire, especially the incident of 4 November 2008 in which Israel killed six Palestinians inside Gaza, as well as the frequent attempts by Hamas representatives to extend the ceasefire for as long as 10 years if Israel would lift the blockade and open the crossings. It is notable that these overtures by Hamas were made notwithstanding the failure by Israel to fulfil its commitments during the temporary ceasefire by easing, if not lifting, the blockade, which was in any event intrinsically unlawful under the Fourth Geneva Convention. The Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs acknowledges that the number of rockets fired from Gaza into Israel declined by 80 per cent during the ceasefire.
Humanitarian affairs office: Israel restricts entry to 17% of Gaza lands, 85% of beachfront zone, enforces restrictions with live fire.
Over the last ten years, the Israel Defense Forces have increasingly restricted Palestinian access to farmland on the Gazan side of the Israeli-Gaza border as well as to fishing zones along the Gaza beach, a United Nations report revealed Thursday.
Palestinian fishermen preparing their boats before leaving the Gaza City port to fish on the Mediterranean sea.
Photo by: AP
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) wrote in the report, complied in cooperation with the World Food Program (WFP), that Israel's justification for these restrictions was the prevention of attacks on Israel, including the firing of rockets.
The report was compiled in an effort to understand the extent of the restrictions as well as their effect on the Palestinians' sense of personal security, their ability to make a living and their ability to access services. The report was based on more than 100 interviews and focus group meetings, as well as the analysis of data gathered from other sources.
According to the report, since 2008 the IDF has prevented access to land up to 1,500 meters outside the Green Line, and to naval zones up to 4.5 kilometers from the shore. All in all the IDF restricts access to 17 percent of Gaza's territory. At sea, the fishermen are completely barred from 85 percent of the naval territory to which they are entitled under the Oslo Accords.
