Gaza
The Quartet reaffirms that the current situation in Gaza, including the humanitarian and human rights situation of the civilian population, is unsustainable, unacceptable, and not in the interests of any of those concerned.
- From a June, 2010, statement by the Middle East Quartet
International Law
"Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each State. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country."
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 13 (10 December 1948)
"No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property."
- Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Art. 17 (10 December 1948)
What's at Stake
More than a million and a half people inhabit this narrow strip of land wedged between Greater Israel and the Mediterranean Sea. Numerous factors, including a rift in Palestinian governance with Hamas in power there, prevent Gaza's residents from having adequate access to nutrition, water and sanitation, medical care, education and employment. Despite a unilateral "disengagement" in 2005, Israel continues to block the flow of persons and goods in and out of Gaza. The blockade and continued rocket fire both contributed to a three-week war in 2008-9 that devastated Gaza's infrastructure and killed 1300 Gazans and 6 Israelis. Due to the blockade, which Israel continues based on fears that Hamas will use imported materials for weapons, most of the infrastructure and homes are still in ruins.
Stories: The Human Face of the Conflict
Israeli-Palestinian Empathy in Sderot on the Gaza Border
At least one ELCA member participated in the July 2010 Interfaith Peace-Builders (IFPB) and American Friends Service Committee delegation to Israel/Palestine. This 34th IFPB delegation since 2001 spent a day in the village of Sderot, a half-mile from the border with Gaza and frequent target of Hamas-fired rockets. They learned that a third of Sderot's population is on welfare. But the delegation also met with Nomika, an Israeli woman from Other Voice. This group of Sderot residents support ending the siege on Gaza and have formed relationships with some of the Palestinians suffering under the blockade of Gaza.
A delegation member concluded her report this way: "Someone like Nomika is a challenge to all Israelis. She, of all people, might seem like the most likely candidate to hate and fear Gazans. But she is one of the few Israelis I've met on this trip who seemed to feel genuine empathy for the Palestinians, to want to end the conflict not just for Israelis, but for them. At the moment of greatest danger for her, her heart was in Gaza." Read more...
A Garden in Gaza
"Children from Al Zarqa in northern Gaza, together with their parents and relatives, planted trees in a new garden built by Oxfam as part of a project in one of the Gaza Strip’s poorest neighbourhoods. Asmaa and Amira, aged 11 and 8, are seen watering the tree they just planted together with other school children. “It’s great to have our own garden because we have nowhere to play,” Amira said. “As children we have a right to play in a safe area but this is often forgotten because of all the problems we face in Gaza.” Parents and relatives accompanying the children were equally enthusiastic about the garden, saying it will provide a space for them to play and forget about the hardships brought about by the blockade."
Story and picture from the weekly update from Oxfam on Gaza, October 24-30, 2010, which also contains a summary of news from the area.
|
| * Once you enter your zip, scroll to bottom of the page to find your Reps. |
Act Now
In Gaza innocent people are being denied basic human rights necessary for the God-given gift of life abundant. Therefore, we ask people to write their congressional representatives to advocate for:
- the opening of monitored Gaza borders to aid, trade, and transit with requisite security measures;
- the renunciation of violence against civilians by all parties;
The Church's Voice
ELCA Presiding Bishop Hanson Expresses Deep Sadness over Gaza Flotilla Deaths, Calls for Independent Investigation and Urgency for Just Peace
June 1, 2010 - The Rev. Mark Hanson, Presiding Bishop of the ELCA and President of The Lutheran World Federation, released a statement Tuesday expressing sadness and regret over the people killed and wounded in the Israeli interception of the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. He questioned the proportionality of the response, whether all non-military options had been exhausted and reiterated his call for a lifting of the blockade of Gaza in accordance with UN Resolution 1860.
Bishop Hanson noted that this incident came during the World Council of Churches' Week for Peace in Palestine and Israel. See below and our worship page for resources for your congregation to use any time to pray for a just peace in the Holy Land.
Bishop Hanson's statement | ELCA Press Release | Bishop Hanson's Letter to President Obama
Other church statements:
Background
 |
|
Gaza is three to eight miles wide and about 30 miles long and contains 1.6 million people. The graph on this UN slide shows how imports slowed down after Hamas took over control of Gaza in 2007. |
Gaza is an area of land three to eight miles wide and less than 30 miles long (slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC), with 1.6 million people, on the southwestern coast of Israel/Palestine. Many call it the largest open-air prison in the world. The flow of people and goods has been under a blockade for years; the blockade was intensified after Hamas took control of the area following the Palestinian legislative elections in 2006 and an armed struggle against Fatah in 2007. Many Israelis say the blockade is justifiable because Hamas is a "hostile entity" that calls for the destruction of Israel in its charter, and Hamas and other groups have fired rockets at nearby Israeli towns, killing 11 Israelis from September 2005 to the end of November 2009.
Under international law, Gaza is part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories, along with the West Bank, which includes East Jerusalem. Many Israelis say Gaza is no longer occupied because they pulled out military troops and 8000 illegal settlers in 2005 in the "Gaza Disengagement Plan." However, under international law, it is still considered occupied territory. Israel has kept tight control of air, land and sea borders, as well as everyday life. In addition, from the disengagement until Dec. 26, 2008, according to the Israeli Human Rights group B'Tselem, numerous Israeli incursions killed 522 Palestinians civilians who were not taking part in hostilities. This number included 195 minors, 49 women, and 25 men over age 50.
In late December of 2008, a three-week Israeli incursion (Operation Cast Lead) killed 1300 Palestinians, over 700 of whom were non-combatants, while six Israelis were killed during the same period (data also from B'Tselem). In the incursion, 6500 homes were either completely demolished or severely damaged, along with key public buildings, such as schools, hospitals and sewage and electrical facilities.
 |
|
The American International School in Gaza was one of 312 schools and university buildings destroyed or damaged in Operation Cast Lead. |
Both the blockade and the incursions have left staggering unemployment and food insecurity, as well as a devastated infrastructure, which hasn't been rebuilt due to the blockade on virtually all (until June 2010) goods into and out of Gaza, especially construction materials. The international community has tried to call attention to this humanitarian crisis and several boats have attempted to bring goods into Gaza. The most recent effort at the end of May 2010 generated an international conflict when eight Turkish and one Turkish-American nationals were killed when Israeli commandoes boarded the ship in international waters.
The most recent incident highlighted questions of both the humanitarian and the legal status of Gaza. Some Israeli officials claim there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza and that the blockade must be maintained because Hamas might use materials brought in for attacks against Israel. As Michael Oren, Israeli Ambassador to the United States, has said: “Over one hundred trucks, every day, laden with food and medicine go into Gaza. There’s no shortage of food. There is no shortage of medicine.”
On the other hand, the United Nations and many non-governmental organizations have documented the conditions inside Gaza and concluded that there is a dire humanitarian crisis. They also argue that the blockade is against international humanitarian law because it constitutes collective punishment against the entire population of Gaza. According to a number of these non-governmental organizations, the Israeli decision in June 2010 to lift restrictions on certain food items and civilian products after this incident won't materially improve the reconstruction of infrastructure because most building supplies were still prohibited.
See these links for more information about Gaza:
Relevant International Law
"Collective penalties and likewise all measures of intimidation or of terrorism are prohibited."
- Fourth Geneva Convention, Art. 33 (12 August 1949)
"The Parties to the conflict shall at all times distinguish between the civilian population and combatants and between civilian objects and military objectives and accordingly shall direct their operations only against military objectives."
- Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocol 1, Art. 48 (8 June 1977)
"Those who plan or decide upon an attack shall refrain from deciding to launch any attack which may be expected to cause incidental loss of civilian life, injury to civilians, damage to civilian objects or a combination thereof, which would be excessive in relation to the concrete and direct military advantage anticipated."
- Geneva Conventions, Additional Protocol 1, Art. 57 (8 June 1977)