12 dec 2019
The UN on Wednesday launched the final phase of its humanitarian response plan for 2020 in the occupied Palestinian territories with an appeal for $348 million.
This came in a news conference held by Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General, at the UN headquarters in New York.
The multi-year humanitarian response plan, which kicked off in 2018, encompasses 199 projects that will be implemented by 85 organizations, including 43 national non-governmental organizations (NGOs), 32 international NGOs, and 10 UN agencies.
About 76 percent of the requested funds target Gaza, where the humanitarian situation remains extremely fragile.
Despite some improvement in the economy in 2019, unemployment in Gaza has risen, with almost half the population unemployed and nearly half the population lives below the poverty line of $5.5 per day.
This came in a news conference held by Farhan Haq, deputy spokesperson for the Secretary-General, at the UN headquarters in New York.
The multi-year humanitarian response plan, which kicked off in 2018, encompasses 199 projects that will be implemented by 85 organizations, including 43 national non-governmental organizations (NGOs), 32 international NGOs, and 10 UN agencies.
About 76 percent of the requested funds target Gaza, where the humanitarian situation remains extremely fragile.
Despite some improvement in the economy in 2019, unemployment in Gaza has risen, with almost half the population unemployed and nearly half the population lives below the poverty line of $5.5 per day.
11 dec 2019
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As 2020 approaches, we are just weeks away from the deadline by which the UN has warned the Gaza Strip could become uninhabitable.
The UN and other aid agencies have issued many subsequent reports warning of a humanitarian disaster in this densely populated, isolated enclave. Last year, Michael Lynk, the UN’s special rapporteur on human rights in the Palestinian territories, noted that with 70 percent youth unemployment, a collapsed healthcare system and widely contaminated drinking water, Gaza was already unfit to live in. |
The UN’s warning seven years ago was meant to inspire change, but for Palestinians inside Gaza, our daily realities have only grown grimmer.
Isolated in Gaza
As a direct result of Israel’s blockade on Gaza, the territory has been isolated from the outside world for more than a decade.
Despite Israel’s claim that it withdrew from the area in 2005, it is still the main dominating force over Gaza’s people.
Israel still surrounds most of the Gaza Strip, and it highly restricts the ability of Palestinians and foreign visitors to leave or enter the territory. Special permission may be granted, but it is rare.
Israel also controls what goods enter or leave the territory - everything from construction materials to medical devices. All of this undermines Israel’s claim to have disengaged from Gaza.
The blockade has severely damaged the mental health of Palestinians in Gaza. The territory has long been likened to an open-air prison, where residents are deprived of their basic rights.
Young people are unable to travel or meet people from different countries and cultures. Most have never been on a plane, train or ship. They have never seen mountains or rivers, visited the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, or been given the opportunity to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque - one of the holiest sites for Muslims - even though the mosque is located on their land, just around 100 kilometres from the Gaza fence.
Most young people in Gaza cannot find work to support their basic needs, forcing them to accept 15-hour days for just a few dollars of pay. Rampant unemployment has paralysed their ability to secure housing, marriage and stability, which has increased their psychological distress, leading to suicide in some cases.
The sense of desperation gripping youth in Gaza today is a direct consequence of the collective punishment Israel practises against Palestinians.
Israel has destroyed Palestinians’ lives over and over again. In 1948, some 750,000 Palestinians were forced into exile; today, around two-thirds of the Gaza Strip’s inhabitants are refugees.
Israel has massacred the Palestinian population and occupied their lands, and in Gaza, the blockade has shut the door to their futures.
The conditions that Palestinians in Gaza live with daily - including deprivations of food, medicine and employment - have led to a general sense of creeping despair.
And Israel wants it this way: it is part of the state’s decades-long strategic plan to eliminate Palestinians.
Earlier this year, a government source reportedly acknowledged that Israel was pushing Palestinians to leave Gaza permanently, and that the government was even willing “to arrange transportation” to help them reach other countries.
International pressure
The fundamental problem facing Palestinians in Gaza is a political one, manifested in Israel’s ongoing policies of transfer, occupation and defying international law. We need more international pressure on Israel to end its siege and give Palestinians their right to self-determination.
The UN’s warning of how bad things would be by 2020 was clearly not enough.
Gaza is eagerly awaiting real intervention from the international community, which could open a window of hope and break the territory’s isolation.
Knowing that we have reached this deadline of 2020 - a time when the international community must acknowledge the dire conditions we are living in - Gaza needs an emergency programme to open a humanitarian route linking it to the outside world, creating jobs, and providing the type of economic opportunities that could finally rescue our youth from despair.
Ahmed Abu Artema
Ahmed Abu Artema is a Palestinian journalist and peace activist. Born in Rafah, in 1984, Abu Artema is a refugee from Al Ramla village. He authored the book "Organized Chaos".
Isolated in Gaza
As a direct result of Israel’s blockade on Gaza, the territory has been isolated from the outside world for more than a decade.
Despite Israel’s claim that it withdrew from the area in 2005, it is still the main dominating force over Gaza’s people.
Israel still surrounds most of the Gaza Strip, and it highly restricts the ability of Palestinians and foreign visitors to leave or enter the territory. Special permission may be granted, but it is rare.
Israel also controls what goods enter or leave the territory - everything from construction materials to medical devices. All of this undermines Israel’s claim to have disengaged from Gaza.
The blockade has severely damaged the mental health of Palestinians in Gaza. The territory has long been likened to an open-air prison, where residents are deprived of their basic rights.
Young people are unable to travel or meet people from different countries and cultures. Most have never been on a plane, train or ship. They have never seen mountains or rivers, visited the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories, or been given the opportunity to pray at al-Aqsa Mosque - one of the holiest sites for Muslims - even though the mosque is located on their land, just around 100 kilometres from the Gaza fence.
Most young people in Gaza cannot find work to support their basic needs, forcing them to accept 15-hour days for just a few dollars of pay. Rampant unemployment has paralysed their ability to secure housing, marriage and stability, which has increased their psychological distress, leading to suicide in some cases.
The sense of desperation gripping youth in Gaza today is a direct consequence of the collective punishment Israel practises against Palestinians.
Israel has destroyed Palestinians’ lives over and over again. In 1948, some 750,000 Palestinians were forced into exile; today, around two-thirds of the Gaza Strip’s inhabitants are refugees.
Israel has massacred the Palestinian population and occupied their lands, and in Gaza, the blockade has shut the door to their futures.
The conditions that Palestinians in Gaza live with daily - including deprivations of food, medicine and employment - have led to a general sense of creeping despair.
And Israel wants it this way: it is part of the state’s decades-long strategic plan to eliminate Palestinians.
Earlier this year, a government source reportedly acknowledged that Israel was pushing Palestinians to leave Gaza permanently, and that the government was even willing “to arrange transportation” to help them reach other countries.
International pressure
The fundamental problem facing Palestinians in Gaza is a political one, manifested in Israel’s ongoing policies of transfer, occupation and defying international law. We need more international pressure on Israel to end its siege and give Palestinians their right to self-determination.
The UN’s warning of how bad things would be by 2020 was clearly not enough.
Gaza is eagerly awaiting real intervention from the international community, which could open a window of hope and break the territory’s isolation.
Knowing that we have reached this deadline of 2020 - a time when the international community must acknowledge the dire conditions we are living in - Gaza needs an emergency programme to open a humanitarian route linking it to the outside world, creating jobs, and providing the type of economic opportunities that could finally rescue our youth from despair.
Ahmed Abu Artema
Ahmed Abu Artema is a Palestinian journalist and peace activist. Born in Rafah, in 1984, Abu Artema is a refugee from Al Ramla village. He authored the book "Organized Chaos".
Foreign Ministers of the European Union are expected to exchange views, next month, on whether the 28-nation bloc should recognize Palestine as a sovereign state as the US pushes ahead with pro-occupation policies, undermining the prospect of the so-called two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Ireland and Luxembourg are among the EU member states seeking to raise the issue at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, on January 20, 2020.
Speaking on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the top diplomats will discuss whether the bloc should modify its Middle East policy, following Washington’s decision “on the legality of the Israeli colonies and some fears that they (the Americans) can continue taking decisions on this in this way.”
He was referring to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement, last month, that the establishment of settlements in the occupied West Bank “is not per se inconsistent with international law.”
“Certainly we are in a difficult period in the Middle East Peace Process. We continue holding our position, that is to say a negotiated two-state solution. But for sure if we want a two-state solution we need to help and encourage both parties to enter a serious and credible negotiation. And this is not the case – really, it is not the case,” Borrell said, according to the PNN.
“Recognition is not an EU competence. It is a responsibility of individual Member States. But we continue, as European Union, supporting a two-state solution. And what we have decided is that in January, we will devote one point of the agenda to deeply discuss the situation in Middle East and of the Middle East Peace Process,” he added.He also noted that the recognition of the Palestine is among the “very much dividing” issues among EU countries.
On Sunday, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn sent a letter to his EU counterparts and Borrell, saying the only way to save the so-called two-state bid was to create “a more equitable situation” between Israel and Palestine.
“It is time to start a debate within the European Union on the opportunity of a recognition of the State of Palestine by all its Member States,” Channel 13 cited the letter. Such recognition “would neither be a favor, nor a blank check, but a simple recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to their own State.”Asselborn further stated that hopes for the two-state solution were “being dismantled piece by piece, day after day.”
“The policy of settlement and demolition risks replacing the two-state solution with a one-state reality, marked by perpetual conflict, occupation and unequal rights,” he pointed out.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state in the territories of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem al-Quds, with the latter as its capital.
In November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state” despite strong opposition from Israel.
The Palestinian national flag was hoisted, for the first time, at the UN headquarters in New York, in September of 2015.
Ireland and Luxembourg are among the EU member states seeking to raise the issue at the EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels, on January 20, 2020.
Speaking on Monday, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said the top diplomats will discuss whether the bloc should modify its Middle East policy, following Washington’s decision “on the legality of the Israeli colonies and some fears that they (the Americans) can continue taking decisions on this in this way.”
He was referring to US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s announcement, last month, that the establishment of settlements in the occupied West Bank “is not per se inconsistent with international law.”
“Certainly we are in a difficult period in the Middle East Peace Process. We continue holding our position, that is to say a negotiated two-state solution. But for sure if we want a two-state solution we need to help and encourage both parties to enter a serious and credible negotiation. And this is not the case – really, it is not the case,” Borrell said, according to the PNN.
“Recognition is not an EU competence. It is a responsibility of individual Member States. But we continue, as European Union, supporting a two-state solution. And what we have decided is that in January, we will devote one point of the agenda to deeply discuss the situation in Middle East and of the Middle East Peace Process,” he added.He also noted that the recognition of the Palestine is among the “very much dividing” issues among EU countries.
On Sunday, Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn sent a letter to his EU counterparts and Borrell, saying the only way to save the so-called two-state bid was to create “a more equitable situation” between Israel and Palestine.
“It is time to start a debate within the European Union on the opportunity of a recognition of the State of Palestine by all its Member States,” Channel 13 cited the letter. Such recognition “would neither be a favor, nor a blank check, but a simple recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to their own State.”Asselborn further stated that hopes for the two-state solution were “being dismantled piece by piece, day after day.”
“The policy of settlement and demolition risks replacing the two-state solution with a one-state reality, marked by perpetual conflict, occupation and unequal rights,” he pointed out.
Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state in the territories of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem al-Quds, with the latter as its capital.
In November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestine’s status from “non-member observer entity” to “non-member observer state” despite strong opposition from Israel.
The Palestinian national flag was hoisted, for the first time, at the UN headquarters in New York, in September of 2015.
9 dec 2019
Luxembourg’s Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn arrives for a meeting of EU foreign ministers at the Europa building in Brussels on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018. European Union foreign ministers meet in Brussels on Monday Feb. 26 to debate ways to revive Middle East peace efforts and discuss the crisis in Venezuela.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn has urged his European Union counterparts to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as a response to US support for the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“The recognition of Palestine as a State would be neither a favor nor a carte blanche, but rather a mere recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to their own state,” Asselborn said, in a letter to the EU foreign ministers, adding: “Indeed, if we want to contribute to solving the conflict between Israel and Palestine, we must never lose sight of Israel’s security conditions, as well as of justice and dignity for the Palestinian people.”
Despite US administration saying that settlements are not inconsistent with international law, the EU said, nevertheless, that it continues to believe that the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law. It also supports the two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital.
Asselborn’s letter was sent in advance of the monthly EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels planned for today, PNN reports.
Luxembourg Foreign Minister, Jean Asselborn has urged his European Union counterparts to recognize a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, as a response to US support for the illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“The recognition of Palestine as a State would be neither a favor nor a carte blanche, but rather a mere recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to their own state,” Asselborn said, in a letter to the EU foreign ministers, adding: “Indeed, if we want to contribute to solving the conflict between Israel and Palestine, we must never lose sight of Israel’s security conditions, as well as of justice and dignity for the Palestinian people.”
Despite US administration saying that settlements are not inconsistent with international law, the EU said, nevertheless, that it continues to believe that the Israeli settlements in the occupied Palestinian territory are illegal under international law. It also supports the two-state solution, with Jerusalem as a shared capital.
Asselborn’s letter was sent in advance of the monthly EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting in Brussels planned for today, PNN reports.
