Day: 20 August 2021

Fifty-three House Democrats have urged the US administration to lift the siege of Gaza, and warned of the grim humanitarian situation in the enclave in a letter to US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, describing the Israeli siege as a collective punishment of Palestinians.

“The ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza is untenable,” the lawmakers wrote in a letter, quoted by the London-based Middle East Monitor.

“Ensuring that Palestinians residing in Gaza receive humanitarian aid is vital to securing the well-being of Gaza’s 2.1 million residents,” the letter continued.

Led by Democrat members of Congress Mark Pocan and Debbie Dingell, the letter calls for securing changes that are “vital to addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.” “Unfortunately the recent Israeli air campaign in Gaza has only worsened living conditions, inflicting $380 million in damage to the beleaguered strip and necessitating $485 million in immediate humanitarian and reconstruction aid,” said the letter referring to a recent report by the UN, the World Bank and EU.

Decrying the lack of clarity regarding which construction materials are prohibited from entering the Gaza Strip, the lawmakers said that Israel “selectively ban materials that it considers having ‘dual use’ any item it claims could have a military application.” They highlight vital materials that have been classified as dual use such as water disinfectants, desalination units and electricity generators.

Israel’s restriction of Gaza’s fishing zone to six nautical miles was also condemned by the lawmakers as a form of collective punishment.

“Although the restriction was recently reversed, the decision to collectively punish the people of Gaza by unilaterally restricting its fishing zone remains extremely concerning,” said the letter, urging Blinken “to work with the Israeli government to refrain from such harmful and illegal actions.” Wednesday’s letter is one of several sent to officials in the Biden administration in recent months highlighting Israel’s aggression against Palestinians. In June, 73 US lawmakers urged President Joe Biden to undo his predecessor’s pro-Israel policies.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

A Palestinian teenager sustained moderate injuries today after an explosive device left behind the Israeli occupation army exploded to the east of Gaza City, according to Palestinian security sources.

WAFA correspondent said a 17-year-old teenager was injured when an Israeli explosive device exploded in the neighborhood of Shejaeya, east of Gaza City, and was rushed to Shifa Medical Center for treatment, where his condition was described as moderate.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency

Ra’fat Darawish and Taha Taradi, two Palestinian prisoners who have been on open-ended hunger strike in protest of their administrative detention by Israel, ended today their hunger strike, said the Palestinian Detainees Affairs Commission.

The Commission said Darawish, who has been on hunger strike for 36 days in protest of his unfair detention without a charge or trial, ended his hunger strike after reaching an agreement with the Israeli Prison Service under which he will be released on December 9.

Taradi, meanwhile, broke his hunger strike which he has launched in solidarity with the hunger-striking administrative detainees, following a serious deterioration in his medical condition.

Israel’s widely condemned policy of administrative detention allows the detention of Palestinians without charge or trial for renewable intervals usually ranging between three and six months based on undisclosed evidence that even a detainee’s lawyer is barred from viewing.

Over the years, Israel has placed thousands of Palestinians in administrative detention for prolonged periods of time, without trying them, without informing them of the charges against them, and without allowing them or their counsel to examine the evidence.

Palestinian detainees have continuously resorted to open-ended hunger strikes as a way to protest their illegal administrative detention and to demand an end to this policy which violates international law.

Source: Palestinian News & Info Agency