Gaza Borders (the Siege)

The only crossing between Gaza and Egypt is being closed since two years in front the movement of the Palestinian.

The series of Israel agressions

It is no more secret to anyone how difficult it is living in a geographical area in which residents are prevented from leaving or even return. This happens after the closure of the Palestinian economic life and in the light of Israel’s national, regional and global interests. However, the suffering of Palestinians and the worsening of their life standards due to the ongoing Israeli blockade are against the need to give them legal protection in accordance with the rules of the  international humanitarian law.

Many field reports and legal studies on the suffering of civilians in Gaza found similar results and highlight that the closure of crossings by Israel continues and this aggravates the humanitarian situation Gaza is facing. Israeli actions are considered by the international law a collective punishment imposed to cause unnecessary pain. We should highlight here that the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli military occupation authorities signed an agreement in November the 15^th 2005 under the auspices of the USA. This agreement was described by some as disappointing. The idea of this Convention started after the declaration of Israel’s withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, which is only a redeployment of its troops, leaving Israel as an occupying power.

The continuation of the Israeli military occupation forces Israel to implement a policy of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip. Since the outbreak of the Intifada there is a clear violation of the rules of international law and of Human Rights, which guarantee everyone the right of movement and access. The Israeli military occupation has violated the international law and especially the Article (13) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which states that

“Everyone has the right and freedom of movement, and everyone is entitled to leave any country including his own and also has the right to return”

There is also a very clear violation of the provisions of Article (12) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of 1966, which provides that

“Everyone lawfully within the territory of a State has the right to freedom of movement and freedom to choose their place of residence, and every individual has the freedom to leave any country, including his own”

Israel’s policy of illegal aggression is against the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights of 1966, which under Articles (1-2) states that

“In no case may the people be deprived of its own means of subsistence.”

and under Article (5) of the same Covenant:

“prohibit any State, group or person engaging in any activity or perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights or freedoms recognized in the Covenant or the imposition of restrictions”.

Such organized and programmed violation of the international law by Israel in the recent years, despite the absence of an active military presence of the occupying Israeli military forces in the Strip, does not mean the end of all military occupation of Gaza. Instead, the reality on the ground confirms the continuation of effective control by the Israeli occupation authorities on the freedom of movement and the movement from and into the Gaza strip, and Israel’s continuous control of the crossings as a pressure on the Palestinian people to achieve their political objectives and security.

What we want to emphasize here is the need to call upon the international community and the international institutions and organizations to exert pressure on Israel. They must order Israel, which is worth remembering it is the occupier, to open all the crossings and guarantee the free movement of persons and goods, something compulsory in order to avoid a potential humanitarian disaster in the Gaza Strip. The international community should also appeal to the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention for the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War of 1949, work to ensure Israel’s respect for the Convention in the Palestinian territories and provide immediate protection for Palestinian civilians, working hard to compel the Israeli authorities to immediately stop political collective punishment against civilians of the Gaza Strip and lifting of restrictions on Palestinian freedom of movement.