The State of Gaza Strip Border Crossings

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has issued a new report on the Israeli closure of Gaza for the period January 10-31, 2008. PCHR summarizes the report:

The publication of this update coincides with a continuing threat to the lives and well being of 1.5 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. This threat stems from the tightening of the siege and closure imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). These increasingly draconian closure measures are directly affecting the ability of the civilian population to secure food and other basic necessities, such as medical care and even fresh water. On January 17, 2008, the Israeli Defense Minister, Ehud Barak, announced the closure of all border crossings to the Gaza Strip regarding the movement of individuals and essential goods, including food, medicine, and fuel. As a direct result, the chronic humanitarian crisis further deteriorated. This humanitarian crisis continues in light of shameful international failure to agree a nonbinding UN Security Council statement condemning the policy of collective punishment being imposed on the civilians of the Gaza Strip, and calling for an immediate end to the siege and closure of Gaza.

Read the entire report here >