« Urgent call for international support in the face of Israeli war crimes and an impending humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip »

Urgent Call for International Support in the Face of Israeli War Crimes and
an Impending Humanitarian Crisis in the Gaza Strip

Dear Friends,

I would like to urgently draw your attention to the severe public health and
humanitarian disaster facing the Gaza Strip following the Israeli military
invasion that began on the night of Wednesday 28 June.

In the 4-day period between Wednesday 5th and Saturday 9th July alone, a
total of 46 Palestinians have been killed in a series of Israeli aerial,
artillery and ground attacks, 44 in the Gaza Strip, and 2 during an Israeli
military incursion into Jenin and Nablus.

One of those killed in the attacks on Gaza was 20-year-old Shadi Omar, a
disabled man suffering from a hearing and speech impairment. Another of
those killed had been handcuffed and blindfolded before being executed
through a shot to the head at close range.

A further 115 people have been injured, predominantly in the Gaza Strip, the
majority of whom are civilians and half of whom are children. Fourteen are
said to be in critical condition.

Israeli tanks now stand within 500 metres of Gaza City, and all former
Israeli settlements in northern Gaza, abandoned under last August’s
’disengagement plan’ have now been reoccupied by the Israeli army, together
with the industrial zone.

Since the re-occupation of Gaza began 10 days ago, the Israeli military has
systematically targeted civilian infrastructure, including the bombardment
of key roads and bridges connecting northern, central, and southern Gaza,
the destruction of Gaza’s only electrical power station, which has left 80
percent of Strip without electricity, and the bombing of the Strip’s main
water plant in the southern city of Rafah.

As a result, road networks have been disrupted, and water supplies and the
sewage system have been critically affected in that they depend entirely on
electricity to power water and sewage pumps.

The electricity, water and sewage systems in the Gaza Strip are now
currently depending on insufficient local generators to remain partially
functional, yet Israel’s closure of Gaza’s borders has meant that there are
limited fuel supplies to operate these generators. While Israel opened the
Karni crossing yesterday to allow in some food, fuel and medical supplies,
this temporary response is inadequate to address current needs in Gaza.

Once fuel supplies run out, the population of Gaza faces a severe
humanitarian disaster, exacerbated by high summer temperatures and
overcrowded living conditions. Gaza will find itself without potable water
and literally sinking in sewage, which would lead to a severe public health
disaster.

In addition, 300,000 of Gaza’s 1.4 million inhabitants live in high-rise
apartment buildings which do not have the necessary generators to pump water
up, and are therefore completely without water supplies.

In the almost complete absence of electricity, hospitals can no longer
guarantee the stable functioning of basic equipment essential to the
survival of patients, including dialysis patients and new born infants in
need of special treatment.

With the closure of the Rafah crossing, 5,000 Palestinians have been
stranded on the Egyptian side of the border without adequate food and
shelter. Hundreds of chronically ill patients, including cancer and heart
patients requiring essential life-saving medical treatment in Gaza itself,
have been unable to leave. One man, 78-year-old Abu Khalid Daoud, died at
the crossing on Friday 7 July.

This, together with the ongoing campaign of aerial bombardment and
continuous sonic booms which cause widespread distress to families,
especially young children, represents a gross form of collective punishment.

The kidnapping of 27 parliamentarians, 8 of whom are cabinet ministers,
together with the virtual imprisonment of many other legislative council
members in Gaza over the last 11 days also represents a serious attempt to
undermine democratically elected Palestinian institutions.

The actions of our friends throughout the world have always been of immense
importance to us, not just in terms of raising awareness and encouraging
shifts in government and international policies in different countries, but
also in reminding the Palestinian people that they are not alone during such
difficult times.

As the Occupation enters its 40th year, and as we prepare to mark the second
anniversary of the International Court of Justice ruling on the illegality
of Israel’s Apartheid Wall, the Palestinian people are once more facing
acutely difficult circumstances.

As such, we appeal to you to help in bringing the imminent humanitarian and
public health catastrophe in the Gaza Strip to the attention of your
respective governments, and the general public in your countries, by
engaging in actions to :

– Lobby governments to place pressure on Israel to seek a diplomatic
solution to this crisis, and to end its bombardment, stop the targeting of
civilian infrastructure, allow for immediate repairs to begin on Gaza’s
electricity and water plants, and allow the free movement in and out of Gaza
and allow the entry of fuel, food, and other essential items into the Gaza
Strip ;
– Raise public awareness of the current situation in Palestine through
demonstrations and other events ;
– Lobby media outlets to cover current events both accurately and
objectively ;
– Participate in solidarity visits to Palestine to bear witness to, and seek
to prevent human rights violations, and provide protection to the
Palestinian people ;
– Generate donations to help Palestinians cope under current, critical
economic conditions ;
– Call on Israel to immediately release all kidnapped parliamentarians and
legislators ; and
– Mobilise and work at the grassroots level to promote support for
international peace conference to seek a peaceful end to the Occupation and
a just resolution of the conflict.

In solidarity, and with gratitude for all your tireless efforts in support
of the Palestinian people.

D^r. Mustafa Barghouthi

Member of the Palestinian Legislative Council
General Secretary of the Palestinian National Initiative