“End the siege on Gaza now” say MEPs visiting the territory

“The worsening humanitarian situation calls for an immediate, comprehensive and lasting end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza”. This was the statement of a cross party group of European Parliament Members just back from Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories. They returned prior to the storming of an international aid ship bound for Gaza by Israeli commandos which has been condemned by Parliament's President Jerzy Buzek.

Members had visited the Gaza strip on Friday to assess the humanitarian situation and the impact of European Union financial assistance.

 MEPs returned from Gaza before reports emerged of Israeli forces intercepting ships attempting to break the Gaza blockade to bring aid supplies to Palestinians, taking action which led to many casualties and at least a dozen deaths. 

Jerzy Buzek has condemned the Israeli action as “disproportionate” and as “an unacceptable breach of international law”, demanding explanations from the Israeli authorities.

He went on to underline the European Parliament's opposition to the closure of the Gaza strip, which it sees as “unacceptable and counterproductive”.

Israeli siege condemns Gaza to extreme poverty

The delegation's visit in Gaza was made possible thanks to the support of the Egyptian authorities, the Israeli authorities denying access to the Gaza strip.

The delegation points out that the siege has completely isolated the people of Gaza, condemning them to a life of extreme poverty, with 80% of the population dependant on food aid. Not only is the blockade hurting the population and creating a black market, it is also playing into the hands of the most radical factions and empowering them by providing them with extra funds.

“The blockade must be lifted in order to allow full access to humanitarian assistance, to enable reconstruction and to give a new lease of life to legitimate economic activity and hope to the population,” said the MEPs.

Europe must be “genuine peace player”

In a statement the nine member delegation said that “the EU must launch a political initiative without delay to lift the blockade and begin reconstruction of basic infrastructure. 'Seeing is believing' when it comes to understanding the situation in Gaza. Only two EU Foreign Ministers have so far visited Gaza. We call on the remaining 25 to go and see the situation on the ground. The Union must actively engage to become a genuine peace player”.

The delegation visited an UNRWA (United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees) Housing Project in Gaza, which has been put on hold due to the blockade despite being fully financed.

Support for UN relief agencies

The statement went on to say that “UNRWA is doing a fantastic job, but it is starved of funds. The EU and other donors must urgently come up with more funding, especially for education. Every year there are thousands more school-age children but there is no more money to build additional schools and pay teachers”.

The MEPs say they will do everything within their means to ensure Parliament as a whole increases financial support to UNRWA.