Gaza blockade entered its third year, more people died in smuggling tunnels

A Gaza tunnel

Picture: www.telegraph.co.uk

For 3 years, a total blockade has been imposed on the Gaza Strip by Israel after the territory’s designation as a ‘hostile entity’. As a hostile entity, Israel argued that it was no longer its responsibility to deliver protection for civilians, as demanded by international humanitarian law.

The blockade consisted in systematic and prolonged closures of any access points to the strip leading to extreme shortage of food, fuel, and other basic supplies, further deteriorating the living conditions of the Gazan population (52% of whom are already living below the poverty line and 45% were unemployed).

For three years the complex matrix of border crossing has remained mostly closed, resulting in headlines such as the above mentioned in local newspapers, notifying us of the opening of the giant jail.

Gaza crossings terminals are indeed complex. They are several of them, serving different purposes, and of course, not open all at the same time- that would make it too easy- and could lead to news headlines such as Israeli authorities decided to open the Kerem Shalom and Nahal Oz border crossings into the Gaza Strip on Sunday, while Karni remains closed.

There are 6 crossing points in total that control access to everything in and out the Strip through Egypt or Israel. Erez crossing, in the North of the Strip, is the primary crossing for Palestinian workers –needless to say – they are not working anymore. Nahal Oz terminal, is the entry point for liquid fuels will Karni crossing is the primary point for import and export crossing. Sufa terminal, South of the Strip, acts as an entry point predominantly for aggregates and building material. Finally, two other often heard terminals are linking the besieged Strip to Egypt, with the Kerem Shalom crossing point that is the entry point for goods from Egypt, and the Rafah terminal, being the crossing point for people.

Between all of these crossings, a series of walls and electric fences are hermetically sealing the Strip from the rest of the world.

Therefore, when speaking about continuous closures, it implies that there is often no food to feed families, no provisions to fill shops, no flour, to provide bakeries with, no fuel for cars, or ambulances, no cooking gas for family or industrial purpose, no drugs and medicine-even the most basic ones- and no building materials. Palestinians are also restricted in their movements, as neither workers are granted permits for work nor patients for treatment abroad.

In only the month of May 2009 the Israeli army closed international crossing points on 47 occasions and crossing points to Israel on 100 occasions. Since then, Gaza’s largest and best-equipped commercial crossing, Karni, has been shut down; the amount of imports allowed in have been reduced to approximately 20 percent of the level before the imposition of the blockade and limited, to a large extent, to food, medical and hygiene products; exports were entirely banned. According to OCHA, These measures have devastated the private sector economy and resulted in the closure of 95 percent of the previously operating businesses and the loss of 120,000 jobs. Moreover, the ongoing ban on the import of construction materials is preventing the reconstruction of 6,300 homes, destroyed or seriously damaged during the “Cast Lead” military offensive, as well as dozens of schools and health facilities.

Electricity supply to run Gaza’s power plants is also dramatically affected. Since the beginning of 2009, the Gaza Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO) received only a few of truckloads of electric. During June, there were daily electrical outages. During June, there were daily electrical outages ranging from 6 to 8 hours affecting 90 percent of the Gazan population, while the remaining 10% have not received electricity at all due to unrepaired damages from the latest assault on Gaza.

The 3-years blockade situation became so desperate that on January 23, 2008, the border fence between Gaza and Egypt was overrun by tens of thousands of Gazans attempting to stock up on basic supplies.

Today, further casualties are being witnessed as a result of this severe long-term blockade. Sunday, two young Gazans were killed and eight others injured in a tunnel that collapsed under the border between Egypt and the southern Strip city of Rafah, while last week, four workers were injured when one of the Gaza smuggling tunnels in the As-Salam neighbourhood of Rafah collapsed.

The tunnel industry is notoriously dangerous, and dozens of workers are killed each year in workplace accidents. Above the regular collapse of the sandy tunnels, Israeli and Egyptian border police routinely throw explosives into their access points, or flood the passages with water or fuel. More than 150 Palestinians have been killed in such incidents since the siege on Gaza began in 2007.

The tunnels are 16 to 20 metres deep and are equipped with electric lights and an intercom system. The goods are transported from one side to the other on a trolley. Half a dozen men work 12-hour shifts in the tunnel to make sure the merchandise gets across safely. The tunnels are notoriously unstable. Dozens have collapsed, injuring and killing workers. A worker reported : I have had several accidents. I have suffered concussions and bruises. But I count myself lucky. Many of my friends who have worked with me in the tunnels have died. But I continue doing this work because it’s the only source of income here. There are no other job opportunities in Gaza.