17 aug 2014
A rebel fighter watches as workers from the Syrian Red Crescent and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees arrive with aid at the rebel controlled Garage al-Hajz checkpoint near Aleppo, on April 8, 2014
Aid workers rushing to save lives worldwide are increasingly becoming targets for attack, in a worrying development for NGOs trying to ease suffering in hostile war zones.
From South Sudan, where roaming militias killed six aid workers this month -- three of them in an ambush -- to Gaza, where 11 UN staff were killed in Israeli attacks on UN-run shelters, relief workers are living dangerously.
Over the past decade, the number of aid workers killed in attacks has tripled, reaching over 100 deaths per year, UN officials say.
Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Syria now rank as the most dangerous countries for humanitarian staff.
"Fifteen years ago, the greatest risk to the lives of aid workers were road traffic accidents. That is no longer the case. Violent incidents claim the lives of more aid workers than anything else," said Bob Kitchen, from the International Rescue Committee.
With operations in more than 40 countries, the IRC has lost 12 staff over the past six years: five were executed by the Taliban in 2011 and two were killed in April in a horrific attack on the UN base in Bor, South Sudan.
Kitchen, who heads the IRC's emergency response team, attributes the increase to the changing nature of warfare, with more civilians being displaced internally, either unable or unwilling to flee the country.
"We are increasingly seeing the need for aid organizations to go into environments of war," he said.
'Deficit of humanity'
Armed groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq consider aid workers a legitimate target, either as a quick way to earn money or to punish those who help their enemies.
"More and more, we're seeing parties to conflicts around the world ignore the rules of war to achieve a political end," said John Ging, head of operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"I believe unfortunately that we are seeing more attacks on humanitarian workers as part of a growing deficit of humanity in conflict and in global politics."
The UN Security Council on Tuesday will discuss ways of better protecting aid workers during a meeting that coincides with World Humanitarian Day, which marks a 2003 attack on the UN compound in Baghdad when 22 UN staff were killed.
For UN aid worker Ken Payumo, helping civilians in South Sudan meant standing up to armed soldiers who demanded access to the UN compound in Bor after thousands had sheltered there, including probably rebel supporters.
On Jan. 19, Payumo ordered the gates of the compound shut and refused to let the soldiers in. He stood unarmed with two other UN officials outside the compound refusing to let them in as some 80 battle-weary men pointed rifles at him.
"I remember making a decision at that time that everyone in that compound was really more important than I was," said Payumo, a 46-year-old former New York police officer.
"If we didn't show how serious we were in protecting civilians right there and then, it would have been a very different story and we would have had to live with it."
The soldiers finally decided to leave, but a few months later, the compound was attacked, leaving close to 50 dead.
Payumo had by then left Bor, after receiving death threats, but the experience has not deterred him.
"The reality is that wherever humanitarians are working, it's not because it's a peaceful environment -- something has gone wrong somewhere," he said.
Local help
Researcher Larissa Fast said that the rise in the number of attacks on aid workers is "just the tip of the iceberg."
"The everyday incidents, such as being stopped at a checkpoint, being denied access to populations, a threat communicated via SMS or letter, or the theft of equipment or supplies proportionally have a much greater effect in terms of preventing or hindering the work of aid agencies and the delivery of aid.
"Yet these types of incidents receive far less attention," said Fast, who tracks threats to aid workers at the Kroc Institute of the University of Notre Dame.
Fast said aid agencies need to pay more attention to risk management.
On that front, many non-governmental organizations are putting much effort in developing "community liaison," relying on local residents to help keep their staff safe.
"Just unloading food from the back of a truck is no longer how we work," said the IRC's Kitchen.
Developing ties with local communities means "they will say to us, 'Listen, it's not safe for you to come today.' That makes a massive difference for our security."
Aid workers rushing to save lives worldwide are increasingly becoming targets for attack, in a worrying development for NGOs trying to ease suffering in hostile war zones.
From South Sudan, where roaming militias killed six aid workers this month -- three of them in an ambush -- to Gaza, where 11 UN staff were killed in Israeli attacks on UN-run shelters, relief workers are living dangerously.
Over the past decade, the number of aid workers killed in attacks has tripled, reaching over 100 deaths per year, UN officials say.
Afghanistan, South Sudan, and Syria now rank as the most dangerous countries for humanitarian staff.
"Fifteen years ago, the greatest risk to the lives of aid workers were road traffic accidents. That is no longer the case. Violent incidents claim the lives of more aid workers than anything else," said Bob Kitchen, from the International Rescue Committee.
With operations in more than 40 countries, the IRC has lost 12 staff over the past six years: five were executed by the Taliban in 2011 and two were killed in April in a horrific attack on the UN base in Bor, South Sudan.
Kitchen, who heads the IRC's emergency response team, attributes the increase to the changing nature of warfare, with more civilians being displaced internally, either unable or unwilling to flee the country.
"We are increasingly seeing the need for aid organizations to go into environments of war," he said.
'Deficit of humanity'
Armed groups such as the Islamic State in Iraq consider aid workers a legitimate target, either as a quick way to earn money or to punish those who help their enemies.
"More and more, we're seeing parties to conflicts around the world ignore the rules of war to achieve a political end," said John Ging, head of operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.
"I believe unfortunately that we are seeing more attacks on humanitarian workers as part of a growing deficit of humanity in conflict and in global politics."
The UN Security Council on Tuesday will discuss ways of better protecting aid workers during a meeting that coincides with World Humanitarian Day, which marks a 2003 attack on the UN compound in Baghdad when 22 UN staff were killed.
For UN aid worker Ken Payumo, helping civilians in South Sudan meant standing up to armed soldiers who demanded access to the UN compound in Bor after thousands had sheltered there, including probably rebel supporters.
On Jan. 19, Payumo ordered the gates of the compound shut and refused to let the soldiers in. He stood unarmed with two other UN officials outside the compound refusing to let them in as some 80 battle-weary men pointed rifles at him.
"I remember making a decision at that time that everyone in that compound was really more important than I was," said Payumo, a 46-year-old former New York police officer.
"If we didn't show how serious we were in protecting civilians right there and then, it would have been a very different story and we would have had to live with it."
The soldiers finally decided to leave, but a few months later, the compound was attacked, leaving close to 50 dead.
Payumo had by then left Bor, after receiving death threats, but the experience has not deterred him.
"The reality is that wherever humanitarians are working, it's not because it's a peaceful environment -- something has gone wrong somewhere," he said.
Local help
Researcher Larissa Fast said that the rise in the number of attacks on aid workers is "just the tip of the iceberg."
"The everyday incidents, such as being stopped at a checkpoint, being denied access to populations, a threat communicated via SMS or letter, or the theft of equipment or supplies proportionally have a much greater effect in terms of preventing or hindering the work of aid agencies and the delivery of aid.
"Yet these types of incidents receive far less attention," said Fast, who tracks threats to aid workers at the Kroc Institute of the University of Notre Dame.
Fast said aid agencies need to pay more attention to risk management.
On that front, many non-governmental organizations are putting much effort in developing "community liaison," relying on local residents to help keep their staff safe.
"Just unloading food from the back of a truck is no longer how we work," said the IRC's Kitchen.
Developing ties with local communities means "they will say to us, 'Listen, it's not safe for you to come today.' That makes a massive difference for our security."
EU to ban imports of dairy/animal products coming from settlements
EU foreign affairs ministers held a meeting in Brussels, on Friday, during which a number of conclusions on the Middle East Peace process were adopted, with special regard to the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip.
According to WAFA Palestinian News and Info Agency, it was stressed during the meeting that "the situation in the Gaza Strip has been unsustainable for many years and a return to the status quo prior to the latest conflict is not an option."
The EU Foreign Affairs Council has issued a press release outlining seven crucial points which iterate its conclusions on the Middle East, in the aftermath of recent Israeli military aggressions and ongoing Egyptian-backed blockade on Gaza.
See related -- "Oxfam: Lifting of Gaza Blockade Crucial to Recovery"
Concerning the Cairo-based indirect talks to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement, the EU expressed ‘extreme concerns’, according to WAFA, about “the fragile situation on the ground following the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip”.
In this regard the Council “strongly welcomes the ceasefire which has been in place since 11 August and calls on all the parties concerned to agree on and abide by a durable ceasefire. It also commended the ‘considerable efforts’ and ‘commitment’ of Egypt to broker this and earlier deals.
The EU also collectively stated that it “remains concerned about the disastrous humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip particularly the conditions of the displaced population, water supplies, electricity services, unexploded ordnance as well as destroyed and uninhabitable homes.”
It called for “increased efforts to facilitate, in accordance with international humanitarian law, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip including for humanitarian personnel and supplies, and for the mobilization of humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza.”
In line with recent statements from Ofxam and UNRWA, special note was given to the importance of lifting the eight-year blockade, adding that “the situation in the Gaza Strip has been unsustainable for many years and a return to the status quo prior to the latest conflict is not an option.”
In this regard: “A durable ceasefire must lead to a fundamental improvement in the living conditions for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip through the lifting of the Gaza closure regime, and it must end the threat to Israel posed by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza as demonstrated by rocket attacks and tunnel construction,” calling for disarming the ‘militant groups’ in Gaza.
“In this context and subject to the requests of our partners based on the outcome of the Cairo talks, the EU reiterates its readiness to contribute to a comprehensive and sustainable solution enhancing the security, welfare and prosperity of Palestinians and Israelis alike. The EU will develop options for effective and comprehensive action in the following areas: movement and access, capacity building, verification and monitoring, humanitarian relief and post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation through international donor efforts including the eventual organisation of a donors' conference,” stated the press release.
“The EU is ready to support a possible international mechanism endorsed by the UNSC, including through the reactivation and possible extension in scope and mandate of its EUBAM Rafah and EUPOL COPPS missions on the ground, including the launch of a training programme for Palestinian Authority customs personnel and police for redeployment in Gaza,” it further added.
The EU has demonstrated its willingness to contribute to “arrangements that prevent ‘illicit’ trafficking in arms and ammunition to the Gaza Strip and which can ensure the sustained re-opening of Gaza's crossing points,” as well as to “study options for an internationally-supervised mechanism to enable full access and movement through all Gaza ports of entry.”
The halting of Israeli aggression on Gaza and administering to the situation in Gaza should fall within the broader framework of achieving a two-state solution, according to the EU:
“The EU recalls that the situation in the Gaza Strip has to be seen within the broader context of the Middle East Peace Process and the prospect of comprehensive peace where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders.
“This remains our ultimate objective. The Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 and will be part of a future State of Palestine. The situation in the Gaza Strip cannot and must not be seen separately from the broader challenges and developments on the ground that continue to make the prospect of the two-state solution increasingly difficult to attain.”
Furthermore, according to WAFA, the EU has demonstrated its commitment to working with the Israeli government and with the Palestinian consensus government comprised of independent personalities under its leadership and expressed commitments of defacto President Mahmoud Abbas, “which must exercise its full government responsibilities in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip including in the field of security, civil administration and through its presence at Gaza's crossing points...
"The EU reiterates that commitment today," it was said.
According to Israeli daily news publication, Maariv, Europe is to ban imports of dairy and other animal products coming from Israeli settlements. The decision is to take effect in September.
In related news, the German Federal Government has made available an additional sum of 20 million Euros for immediate distribution within the region.
EU foreign affairs ministers held a meeting in Brussels, on Friday, during which a number of conclusions on the Middle East Peace process were adopted, with special regard to the ongoing crisis in the Gaza Strip.
According to WAFA Palestinian News and Info Agency, it was stressed during the meeting that "the situation in the Gaza Strip has been unsustainable for many years and a return to the status quo prior to the latest conflict is not an option."
The EU Foreign Affairs Council has issued a press release outlining seven crucial points which iterate its conclusions on the Middle East, in the aftermath of recent Israeli military aggressions and ongoing Egyptian-backed blockade on Gaza.
See related -- "Oxfam: Lifting of Gaza Blockade Crucial to Recovery"
Concerning the Cairo-based indirect talks to reach a permanent ceasefire agreement, the EU expressed ‘extreme concerns’, according to WAFA, about “the fragile situation on the ground following the recent conflict in the Gaza Strip”.
In this regard the Council “strongly welcomes the ceasefire which has been in place since 11 August and calls on all the parties concerned to agree on and abide by a durable ceasefire. It also commended the ‘considerable efforts’ and ‘commitment’ of Egypt to broker this and earlier deals.
The EU also collectively stated that it “remains concerned about the disastrous humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip particularly the conditions of the displaced population, water supplies, electricity services, unexploded ordnance as well as destroyed and uninhabitable homes.”
It called for “increased efforts to facilitate, in accordance with international humanitarian law, immediate and unimpeded humanitarian access into the Gaza Strip including for humanitarian personnel and supplies, and for the mobilization of humanitarian aid for the population of Gaza.”
In line with recent statements from Ofxam and UNRWA, special note was given to the importance of lifting the eight-year blockade, adding that “the situation in the Gaza Strip has been unsustainable for many years and a return to the status quo prior to the latest conflict is not an option.”
In this regard: “A durable ceasefire must lead to a fundamental improvement in the living conditions for the Palestinian people in the Gaza Strip through the lifting of the Gaza closure regime, and it must end the threat to Israel posed by Hamas and other militant groups in Gaza as demonstrated by rocket attacks and tunnel construction,” calling for disarming the ‘militant groups’ in Gaza.
“In this context and subject to the requests of our partners based on the outcome of the Cairo talks, the EU reiterates its readiness to contribute to a comprehensive and sustainable solution enhancing the security, welfare and prosperity of Palestinians and Israelis alike. The EU will develop options for effective and comprehensive action in the following areas: movement and access, capacity building, verification and monitoring, humanitarian relief and post-conflict reconstruction and rehabilitation through international donor efforts including the eventual organisation of a donors' conference,” stated the press release.
“The EU is ready to support a possible international mechanism endorsed by the UNSC, including through the reactivation and possible extension in scope and mandate of its EUBAM Rafah and EUPOL COPPS missions on the ground, including the launch of a training programme for Palestinian Authority customs personnel and police for redeployment in Gaza,” it further added.
The EU has demonstrated its willingness to contribute to “arrangements that prevent ‘illicit’ trafficking in arms and ammunition to the Gaza Strip and which can ensure the sustained re-opening of Gaza's crossing points,” as well as to “study options for an internationally-supervised mechanism to enable full access and movement through all Gaza ports of entry.”
The halting of Israeli aggression on Gaza and administering to the situation in Gaza should fall within the broader framework of achieving a two-state solution, according to the EU:
“The EU recalls that the situation in the Gaza Strip has to be seen within the broader context of the Middle East Peace Process and the prospect of comprehensive peace where two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, live side by side in peace with secure and recognized borders.
“This remains our ultimate objective. The Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 and will be part of a future State of Palestine. The situation in the Gaza Strip cannot and must not be seen separately from the broader challenges and developments on the ground that continue to make the prospect of the two-state solution increasingly difficult to attain.”
Furthermore, according to WAFA, the EU has demonstrated its commitment to working with the Israeli government and with the Palestinian consensus government comprised of independent personalities under its leadership and expressed commitments of defacto President Mahmoud Abbas, “which must exercise its full government responsibilities in both the West Bank and the Gaza Strip including in the field of security, civil administration and through its presence at Gaza's crossing points...
"The EU reiterates that commitment today," it was said.
According to Israeli daily news publication, Maariv, Europe is to ban imports of dairy and other animal products coming from Israeli settlements. The decision is to take effect in September.
In related news, the German Federal Government has made available an additional sum of 20 million Euros for immediate distribution within the region.
photo: the Palestinian News Network (PNN)
A full recovery from the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza will be impossible, according to Oxfam, unless Israel’s blockade is lifted permanently. Oxfam recently held a demonstration in London's Parliament Square in highlighting the suffering which the ongoing blockade causes, and has released official statements in this regard.
The Palestinian News Network (PNN) reports that Oxfam, along with other members of the Disasters and Emergency Committee, is delivering urgent humanitarian aid but that notes that reconstruction efforts have not yet begun in earnest.
The need to rebuild Gaza's destroyed civilian infrastructure alone makes it more urgent than ever to lift the blockade.
See: "Gaza Municipality -- Targeting Public Facilities a Willful Crime"
Even before the destruction inflicted on Gaza by Israel, over the past month, seven years of blockade had turned urban essentials like power, clean water, and sewage systems into scarcities.
Under the blockade, 80% of the people in Gaza are reliant on aid.
Note also PCHR's statistics on victims of the Israeli offensive since 08 July, 2014.
The entirety of the region's civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility. Such measures contsitute collective punishment and are illegal under international law.
Oxfam is now challenging the UK and international governments, says the PNN, in order to clarify what they are doing to bring an end to these crimes, noting that this the best step toward securing a lasting peace between opposing factions.
Head of Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, Nishant Pandey, was quoted to say that: “The international community will be guilty of a dereliction of duty if it stands by and watches the blockade continue to impose further misery on Palestinians in Gaza. Israel does have legitimate security concerns, but punishing everyone in Gaza will not achieve lasting peace and security for either Palestinians or Israelis. Enough is enough – the blockade must be lifted now.”
Over the last few weeks, the world has reacted in shock as it witnessed both indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza and disproportionate attacks from Israel which resulted in enormous civilian casualties.
WARNING: Extremely graphic images linked above.
*Note that default Hamas rockets are not equipped with a guidance system and basically consist of hollow tubes stuffed full of dynamite, which land mostly in unpopulated areas. Palestinians have no official army, navy or air force to speak of and PA security is heavily coordinated with that of the Israelis.
Much of Gaza has once again been turned to rubble, the PNN further reports, with over 100,000 people having had their houses destroyed and been left displaced (homeless). Gaza must be rebuilt, and for the last time.
The destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza is reportedly the worst Oxfam has witnessed in nearly 20 years of working in in the region. At least 15 hospitals and 16 clinics have been damaged – including four supported by Oxfam.
More than 200 schools have been damaged, with 25 completely destroyed. Gaza’s only power plant has been destroyed. Before the current crisis, Gazans were running on 8 hours of electricity per day, at best.
Wells, pipelines, and reservoirs have suffered crippling damages, leaving half of Gaza’s 1.8 million people without access to clean water and the other half receiving water only every five days.
See related: "Tens of Thousands of Jerusalemite Palestinians Still Lacking Water"
Up to 90 per cent of the water extracted from Gaza’s aquifer is not even fit for human consumption -- some residents regularly spend up to a third of their income on drinking water. The recent bombings have so severely damaged water and sanitation infrastructure that raw sewage is now spilling onto the streets and risking a health crisis.
Beyond basic humanitarian concerns, the blockade on the Strip -- backed by Egypt since 2007 -- has severely limited Gaza’s ability to rebuild its economy in the aftermath of the current devastation.
PNN reports that Gaza was dependent upon its exports of strawberries to UK supermarkets, flowers to the Netherlands, as well as an abundance of goods to Israel and the West Bank. Today, Israeli restrictions have cut off trade to Israel and to the West Bank – Gaza’s natural markets – and exports are at just two per cent of pre-blockade levels.
See:"Damages on Gaza Agriculture to Have Long-term Effects on the Region"
Without access to external markets, Gaza’s once vibrant economy is now condemned to a future of aid dependency.
Nishant Pandey additionally stated: “Even before the current crisis, Gaza’s isolation was strangling its economy. There is a closing window of opportunity for international pressure to end this blockade, and the UK government should play a vital role. The people of this region deserve good news, and lifting the blockade is a necessary step toward a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.”
A full recovery from the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza will be impossible, according to Oxfam, unless Israel’s blockade is lifted permanently. Oxfam recently held a demonstration in London's Parliament Square in highlighting the suffering which the ongoing blockade causes, and has released official statements in this regard.
The Palestinian News Network (PNN) reports that Oxfam, along with other members of the Disasters and Emergency Committee, is delivering urgent humanitarian aid but that notes that reconstruction efforts have not yet begun in earnest.
The need to rebuild Gaza's destroyed civilian infrastructure alone makes it more urgent than ever to lift the blockade.
See: "Gaza Municipality -- Targeting Public Facilities a Willful Crime"
Even before the destruction inflicted on Gaza by Israel, over the past month, seven years of blockade had turned urban essentials like power, clean water, and sewage systems into scarcities.
Under the blockade, 80% of the people in Gaza are reliant on aid.
Note also PCHR's statistics on victims of the Israeli offensive since 08 July, 2014.
The entirety of the region's civilian population is being punished for acts for which they bear no responsibility. Such measures contsitute collective punishment and are illegal under international law.
Oxfam is now challenging the UK and international governments, says the PNN, in order to clarify what they are doing to bring an end to these crimes, noting that this the best step toward securing a lasting peace between opposing factions.
Head of Oxfam in the Occupied Palestinian Territory and Israel, Nishant Pandey, was quoted to say that: “The international community will be guilty of a dereliction of duty if it stands by and watches the blockade continue to impose further misery on Palestinians in Gaza. Israel does have legitimate security concerns, but punishing everyone in Gaza will not achieve lasting peace and security for either Palestinians or Israelis. Enough is enough – the blockade must be lifted now.”
Over the last few weeks, the world has reacted in shock as it witnessed both indiscriminate rocket fire from Gaza and disproportionate attacks from Israel which resulted in enormous civilian casualties.
WARNING: Extremely graphic images linked above.
*Note that default Hamas rockets are not equipped with a guidance system and basically consist of hollow tubes stuffed full of dynamite, which land mostly in unpopulated areas. Palestinians have no official army, navy or air force to speak of and PA security is heavily coordinated with that of the Israelis.
Much of Gaza has once again been turned to rubble, the PNN further reports, with over 100,000 people having had their houses destroyed and been left displaced (homeless). Gaza must be rebuilt, and for the last time.
The destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza is reportedly the worst Oxfam has witnessed in nearly 20 years of working in in the region. At least 15 hospitals and 16 clinics have been damaged – including four supported by Oxfam.
More than 200 schools have been damaged, with 25 completely destroyed. Gaza’s only power plant has been destroyed. Before the current crisis, Gazans were running on 8 hours of electricity per day, at best.
Wells, pipelines, and reservoirs have suffered crippling damages, leaving half of Gaza’s 1.8 million people without access to clean water and the other half receiving water only every five days.
See related: "Tens of Thousands of Jerusalemite Palestinians Still Lacking Water"
Up to 90 per cent of the water extracted from Gaza’s aquifer is not even fit for human consumption -- some residents regularly spend up to a third of their income on drinking water. The recent bombings have so severely damaged water and sanitation infrastructure that raw sewage is now spilling onto the streets and risking a health crisis.
Beyond basic humanitarian concerns, the blockade on the Strip -- backed by Egypt since 2007 -- has severely limited Gaza’s ability to rebuild its economy in the aftermath of the current devastation.
PNN reports that Gaza was dependent upon its exports of strawberries to UK supermarkets, flowers to the Netherlands, as well as an abundance of goods to Israel and the West Bank. Today, Israeli restrictions have cut off trade to Israel and to the West Bank – Gaza’s natural markets – and exports are at just two per cent of pre-blockade levels.
See:"Damages on Gaza Agriculture to Have Long-term Effects on the Region"
Without access to external markets, Gaza’s once vibrant economy is now condemned to a future of aid dependency.
Nishant Pandey additionally stated: “Even before the current crisis, Gaza’s isolation was strangling its economy. There is a closing window of opportunity for international pressure to end this blockade, and the UK government should play a vital role. The people of this region deserve good news, and lifting the blockade is a necessary step toward a lasting peace between Palestinians and Israelis.”
Israel will not agree to any long-term ceasefire with Palestinian factions in indirect talks in Cairo unless its security needs are clearly met, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday.
"Only if there is a clear answer to Israel's security needs, only then will we agree to reach an understanding," he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
"Only if there is a clear answer to Israel's security needs, only then will we agree to reach an understanding," he said at the start of the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem.
Israeli forces bombed the historic al-Omari Mosque in the northern Gaza City of Jabaliya on Aug. 2
The tourism industry in Palestine has suffered a serious decline as a result of the Israeli offensive on Gaza, the head of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Saturday.
Tourism has declined by approximately 60 percent since the beginning of the assault, which in addition to causing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza has led to increased tensions in the West Bank, Minister of Tourism Rula Maayah told Ma'an.
Before the war, the tourism sector was experiencing a boom, but thousands of tourists have since canceled their reservations, Maayah said.
In August 2013, 83,000 tourists visited Palestine, but as war raged in Gaza at the beginning of August 2014, only 17,000 tourists visited.
Hotel owners say all rooms would have been booked in September if reservations hadn't been cancelled as a result of the Gaza war, the minister told Ma'an.
Maayah said she hoped tourism would approve ahead of the Christmas season, a time which typically sees the Palestinian city of Bethlehem swarming with tourists.
Separately, the war on Gaza has done physical damage to some of Palestine's historical and religious sites, she told Ma'an.
The Strip's ancient seaport, which is the site of a port believed to have been used in the spice trade in the first century B.C.E and later by the Romans, was damaged during the war.
The port, which has not been in operation since the imposition of the Israeli blockade on Gaza in 2006, was about to be named on the UNESCO world heritage list, Maayah told Ma'an.
Additionally, old mosques in Gaza such as the Hashim al-Mamlouki mosque and the al-Omari mosque were damaged, as well as the Prophet Yousef's sanctuary, she said.
The tourism industry in Palestine has suffered a serious decline as a result of the Israeli offensive on Gaza, the head of the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities said Saturday.
Tourism has declined by approximately 60 percent since the beginning of the assault, which in addition to causing a humanitarian crisis in Gaza has led to increased tensions in the West Bank, Minister of Tourism Rula Maayah told Ma'an.
Before the war, the tourism sector was experiencing a boom, but thousands of tourists have since canceled their reservations, Maayah said.
In August 2013, 83,000 tourists visited Palestine, but as war raged in Gaza at the beginning of August 2014, only 17,000 tourists visited.
Hotel owners say all rooms would have been booked in September if reservations hadn't been cancelled as a result of the Gaza war, the minister told Ma'an.
Maayah said she hoped tourism would approve ahead of the Christmas season, a time which typically sees the Palestinian city of Bethlehem swarming with tourists.
Separately, the war on Gaza has done physical damage to some of Palestine's historical and religious sites, she told Ma'an.
The Strip's ancient seaport, which is the site of a port believed to have been used in the spice trade in the first century B.C.E and later by the Romans, was damaged during the war.
The port, which has not been in operation since the imposition of the Israeli blockade on Gaza in 2006, was about to be named on the UNESCO world heritage list, Maayah told Ma'an.
Additionally, old mosques in Gaza such as the Hashim al-Mamlouki mosque and the al-Omari mosque were damaged, as well as the Prophet Yousef's sanctuary, she said.
Thousands of Israeli supporters of peace talks with the Palestinian Authority to end the Gaza offensive demonstrated in Tel Aviv on Saturday.
The pro-peace protest was the largest in Israel since it launched operation Protective Edge on July 8, an assault that has seen at least 1,980 Palestinian deaths and 67 on the Israeli side.
It was organized by the opposition left-wing Meretz party and Peace Now, a group opposed to Jewish settlement building on occupied territory, and the communist Hadash party.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were Saturday to resume indirect talks with Egyptian mediators on reaching a more permanent ceasefire before a current truce expires at midnight on Monday.
Demonstrators denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, accusing it of refusing to negotiate with Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas.
"All Netanyahu's government has done is weaken Abbas and strengthen Hamas," Meretz MP Nitzan Horowitz said.
Party chief Zehava Galon called on Netanyahu to resign. "He has failed, both for security and for peace -- he must go," he said.
Writer David Grossman said Israel must "make peace with the Palestinian Authority and negotiate with the Palestinian unity government."
He was referring to the government of independent experts formed in early June following a reconciliation deal between Hamas and Abbas' PLO.
However, Netanyahu has refused any discussion with the unity government, accusing it of having links with Hamas, which Israel brands a terrorist organisation.
Police were deployed in force Saturday night in Tel Aviv's Yitzhak Rabin Square to prevent trouble with counter-demonstrators from the right wing.
On Thursday, the same venue hosted a demonstration by around 10,000 Israelis, supportive of the military operation, urging the government and the army to end rocket attacks from Gaza once and for all.
The pro-peace protest was the largest in Israel since it launched operation Protective Edge on July 8, an assault that has seen at least 1,980 Palestinian deaths and 67 on the Israeli side.
It was organized by the opposition left-wing Meretz party and Peace Now, a group opposed to Jewish settlement building on occupied territory, and the communist Hadash party.
Israeli and Palestinian negotiators were Saturday to resume indirect talks with Egyptian mediators on reaching a more permanent ceasefire before a current truce expires at midnight on Monday.
Demonstrators denounced Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government, accusing it of refusing to negotiate with Palestinian Authority head Mahmoud Abbas.
"All Netanyahu's government has done is weaken Abbas and strengthen Hamas," Meretz MP Nitzan Horowitz said.
Party chief Zehava Galon called on Netanyahu to resign. "He has failed, both for security and for peace -- he must go," he said.
Writer David Grossman said Israel must "make peace with the Palestinian Authority and negotiate with the Palestinian unity government."
He was referring to the government of independent experts formed in early June following a reconciliation deal between Hamas and Abbas' PLO.
However, Netanyahu has refused any discussion with the unity government, accusing it of having links with Hamas, which Israel brands a terrorist organisation.
Police were deployed in force Saturday night in Tel Aviv's Yitzhak Rabin Square to prevent trouble with counter-demonstrators from the right wing.
On Thursday, the same venue hosted a demonstration by around 10,000 Israelis, supportive of the military operation, urging the government and the army to end rocket attacks from Gaza once and for all.
Feriel al-Zaaneen hasn't had a shower in more than a month. Like thousands of Palestinians, she doesn't have enough water to wash, adding to the miseries of life in war-battered Gaza.
In searing summer heat, where temperatures can reach 93 Fahrenheit, Feriel is one of more than 218,000 refugees sheltering in 87 UN-run schools from a conflict that has killed at least 1,980 Palestinians and 67 on the Israeli side since July 8.
"There's no water here and the toilets are very dirty; this is no kind of life," she said.
Zaaneen, her children and grandchildren, some 50 people, fled the Israeli bombardment of their homes.
She says she faces a daily struggle to get water, a precious resource in the enclave which has been under Israeli blockade since 2006.
The UN says that 365,000 Palestinians are still displaced in Gaza, like 37-year-old Faten al-Masri, who has to wash her children with bottles of drinking water.
As she sprinkles cold water on her two-year-old daughter, the toddler screams, her skin covered in angry red blotches.
"All my children got sick here because of the dirt and the lack of hygiene, they've all got skin infections and scabs," Faten said.
"There is no water in the bathrooms, and they were so dirty that we couldn't even go inside," she said.
"I have been bathing my sons every three days here in the classroom with bottles of water."
No privacy
She herself has not taken a shower since arriving at the school two weeks ago.
"Some people use water bottles inside the class, but I can't bring myself to do it. It would feel like I was taking a shower in the street if I did that. Anyone could open the door and come in, there's no privacy," she said.
"I feel really bad. Not being able to shower makes me feel restricted and anxious," she said.
Muntaha al-Kafarna, a mother of nine who has been living in a small tent she set up in the courtyard of the same school, near the toilets, managed to shower at a nearby hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.
"The water was cold, and there wasn't very much of it, but I didn't have any other solution," she said.
"People are fighting here in the school to use the toilets, my sons wet themselves before their turn comes," she said.
She points to her children, stood around her. She bends down and inspects the fair hair of her one-year-old son, picking out a louse.
"My sons have caught lice and nits because they can't shower here," she said.
"I wish a missile would hit us, me and my children. Dying is better than this life," she said in despair.
Water crisis
Her husband Hazem agreed.
"It's not really living," he said, his chin pocked with red spots he says were caused by poor hygiene in the school.
Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza, says skin diseases, rashes, and itchiness have been reported in shelters housing refugees.
Among the children, there have been "many cases of chronic diarrhea" and "several cases of meningitis reported," he added.
Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, says there are water shortages not only in shelters for the displaced but across the entire enclave.
"Because of the Israeli bombardment of the infrastructure, there is a lack of water across the Gaza Strip," he said.
Most residents suffered water shortages even before the war, but now Monzer Shoblak, an official from the local water board, said war damage meant that Gaza was pumping 50 percent less water.
Shoblak's water authority declared Gaza a "water and environmental disaster area."
The territory's only power station was knocked out by Israeli shelling during the conflict, practically stopping the provision of drinking water, he said.
Samar al-Masbah, 27, who lives in al-Zahra City southwest of Gaza City, said water to his home had been cut off around 10 days ago.
"When the water comes, the electricity cuts, so the water doesn't get to the tanks on the roof because it needs a motor to push it up," she said.
In searing summer heat, where temperatures can reach 93 Fahrenheit, Feriel is one of more than 218,000 refugees sheltering in 87 UN-run schools from a conflict that has killed at least 1,980 Palestinians and 67 on the Israeli side since July 8.
"There's no water here and the toilets are very dirty; this is no kind of life," she said.
Zaaneen, her children and grandchildren, some 50 people, fled the Israeli bombardment of their homes.
She says she faces a daily struggle to get water, a precious resource in the enclave which has been under Israeli blockade since 2006.
The UN says that 365,000 Palestinians are still displaced in Gaza, like 37-year-old Faten al-Masri, who has to wash her children with bottles of drinking water.
As she sprinkles cold water on her two-year-old daughter, the toddler screams, her skin covered in angry red blotches.
"All my children got sick here because of the dirt and the lack of hygiene, they've all got skin infections and scabs," Faten said.
"There is no water in the bathrooms, and they were so dirty that we couldn't even go inside," she said.
"I have been bathing my sons every three days here in the classroom with bottles of water."
No privacy
She herself has not taken a shower since arriving at the school two weeks ago.
"Some people use water bottles inside the class, but I can't bring myself to do it. It would feel like I was taking a shower in the street if I did that. Anyone could open the door and come in, there's no privacy," she said.
"I feel really bad. Not being able to shower makes me feel restricted and anxious," she said.
Muntaha al-Kafarna, a mother of nine who has been living in a small tent she set up in the courtyard of the same school, near the toilets, managed to shower at a nearby hospital in the northern Gaza Strip.
"The water was cold, and there wasn't very much of it, but I didn't have any other solution," she said.
"People are fighting here in the school to use the toilets, my sons wet themselves before their turn comes," she said.
She points to her children, stood around her. She bends down and inspects the fair hair of her one-year-old son, picking out a louse.
"My sons have caught lice and nits because they can't shower here," she said.
"I wish a missile would hit us, me and my children. Dying is better than this life," she said in despair.
Water crisis
Her husband Hazem agreed.
"It's not really living," he said, his chin pocked with red spots he says were caused by poor hygiene in the school.
Ashraf al-Qidra, spokesman for the health ministry in Gaza, says skin diseases, rashes, and itchiness have been reported in shelters housing refugees.
Among the children, there have been "many cases of chronic diarrhea" and "several cases of meningitis reported," he added.
Adnan Abu Hasna, a spokesman for the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, says there are water shortages not only in shelters for the displaced but across the entire enclave.
"Because of the Israeli bombardment of the infrastructure, there is a lack of water across the Gaza Strip," he said.
Most residents suffered water shortages even before the war, but now Monzer Shoblak, an official from the local water board, said war damage meant that Gaza was pumping 50 percent less water.
Shoblak's water authority declared Gaza a "water and environmental disaster area."
The territory's only power station was knocked out by Israeli shelling during the conflict, practically stopping the provision of drinking water, he said.
Samar al-Masbah, 27, who lives in al-Zahra City southwest of Gaza City, said water to his home had been cut off around 10 days ago.
"When the water comes, the electricity cuts, so the water doesn't get to the tanks on the roof because it needs a motor to push it up," she said.
