Fwd: The PA’s ill-treatment of Gaza residents does not mean Israel can shirk it responsibility for...

June 13, 2017 Press Release - for immediate publication The PA’s wrongful actions towards Gaza residents does not mean Israel can shirk its responsibility for their fate The Gaza Strip is in the throes of a humanitarian disaster. It is a crisis with severe, sometimes even fatal, consequences for the two million or so people living there. Without a regular power supply, all aspects of life are harmed; even the water and sewage systems are paralyzed, and untreated sewage flows straight into the Mediterranean. This reality is part of an Israeli policy, of the blockade Israel has imposed on Gaza for the past ten years, consigning its residents to living in abject poverty under practically inhuman conditions unparalleled in the modern world. Despite this intolerable reality, the Israeli cabinet has decided to accept the Palestinian Authority’s cruel plan to further reduce the power supply to Gaza. Should the Israeli decision be implemented, the situation in Gaza will deteriorate even further, making the area virtually unlivable. This is not some sort of natural disaster. Had that been the case, Israel would have likely sent in a humanitarian aid mission. Instead, the reality in Gaza is the result of Israel’s handiwork, achieved by its decade-long implementation of a brutal policy. Israel can, and must, change this reality.

For additional information: Amit Gilutz, +972-54-6841126, amit@btselem.org Our mailing address is B'Tselem, The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories P.O. Box 53132, Jerusalem 9153002