Ministry: 36,000 Palestinians stranded amid month-long Rafah closure

GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The Gaza Ministry of Internal Affairs said on Thursday that tens of thousands of Palestinians are currently unable to cross the Rafah crossing with Egypt despite an urgent need, as a closure of the border by Egyptian authorities enters its fifth week.

Ministry spokesman Iyad al-Buzm said during a press conference in Gaza City that 6,000 Palestinians are stuck on the Egyptian side of the crossing unable to return home, while 30,000 humanitarian cases -- including sick people seeking treatment abroad, students, and foreign-passport holders -- are stuck on the Gaza side, unable to leave.

Al-Buzm called the closure of the Rafah crossing for four weeks a "humanitarian disaster" for the Gaza Strip, adding that Egyptian authorities are currently closing the crossing "for no logical reason."

Al-Buzm pointed out that the Rafah crossing has been closed for 208 days this year so far, severely limiting the movement of people and goods.

He requested the Egyptian authorities to open the crossing to traffic in both ways, noting that the crossing "has never been a burden on Egyptian security and there had never been any security violations on the crossing."

Al-Buzm said that the closure of the crossing has prevented many supplies and aid shipments from entering the Gaza Strip following the 51-day Israeli offensive that left nearly 2,200 Palestinians dead and around 108,000 homeless.

According to the United Nations, nearly 30,000 Palestinians are still staying shelters across the Gaza Strip, as Israel and Egypt have jointly prevented construction supplies from entering, hindering reconstruction. more

Comments

'Coronavirus-free' Gaza prepares for the worst

Until now, the besieged Gaza Strip has stayed free of the novel coronavirus spreading across the world. As the Gaza Strip has been under a stringent Israeli-led blockade for nearly 13 years, the spread of the coronavirus - officially known as COVID-19 - has become the topic of discussion for many Palestinians, with some joking that the blockade was preventing them from being exposed.But as authorities in the coastal Palestinian enclave gear up to contain any potential outbreak, serious questions have arisen about the risks and implications of such a scenario. But given its already difficult humanitarian situation and high population density, an outbreak in the Gaza Strip could prove to be catastrophic, health officials have warned. "If the virus enters Gaza and spreads, it will get out of hand," Gaza Ministry of Health spokesperson Majdi Thuhair told Middle East Eye, as he explained that a severe shortage of resources and personnel would make it near impossible

Boycott of New York diamond dealer launched to protest settlement construction

Members of Adalah NY call for boycott of Leviev for its crimes against Palestinians and South Africans New York, NY, May 9 – On the day before Mother’s Day, 40 New York human rights advocates gathered at the Leviev jewelry store on Madison Avenue and called on throngs of weekend Madison Avenue shoppers to boycott Israeli diamond mogul Lev Leviev over his companies’ construction of Israeli settlements on Palestinian land in West Bank villages including Bil’in and Jayyous. Mother’s Day is one of the biggest jewelry shopping periods in the US annually. The New York protest came as controversy is growing in Norway over Norwegian government investments in Leviev’s company Africa-Israel . The New York protesters also commemorated Bassem Abu Rahma from Bil’in who was shot to death by Israeli soldiers last month during a peaceful protest against the construction on Bil’in’s land of Israel’s wall and of the Mattityahu East settlement by a Leviev company. Thanks to vivapalestina.us (not co

Support striking Palestinian quarry workers demanding their rights from Israeli employer

On 16 June, 35 Palestinian workers at Salit Quarries in Mishor Adumim (in area C, east of Jerusalem, in the Occupied West Bank) began a strike. The workers, organized with the independent union WAC-Ma'an, are demanding an end to exploitation and humiliation, and insist on signing a first collective agreement. Salit Quarries’ main customer is Readymix Industries (Israel). The total reliance of Salit Quarry on Readymix as their biggest and by far the most important customer puts responsibility on Readymix to make sure that their clients abides by labour laws and safeguards elementary rights for the workers of Salit. We call upon Readymix to urge the Salit management to terminate this unnecessary strike by signing the collective agreement with the workers and WAC-Ma’an. Click this protest link to send your message. The text of the message is as follows: I write to you to express my grave concern about the failure of Salit management to sign a collective agreement with the workers of

Search iGaza