The shame of Israel’s Gaza blockade
Report criticises Israel for pushing Gaza into poverty and the world for standing by.
The Israeli blockade is preventing reconstruction and causing massively increased poverty in the Gaza Strip, according to a new report from 16 humanitarian and human rights groups.
The report, entitled No More Excuses also fingers the reticense of global powers to get involved as a contributing factor to the growing humanitarian problem in Gaza.
While governments across the world have criticised the blockade, there has been little concrete action, the report says.
To rectify the problem the report demands that the EU suspend ties with Israel in protest and that the UN Security Council meet over the issue.
It also urges Hamas to permanently cease all indiscriminate rocket fire into Israel and calls on all Palestinian factions to work together for the civilian population.
On this episode of Inside Story, we ask: Is it fair to blame outsiders for Israel’s actions, and, if so, has the world betrayed Gaza? And are the Palestinians not their own worst enemies?
Inside Story presenter Hoda Abdelhamid is joined by: Mustafa Barghouthi, the head of the Palestinian National Initiative, Abraham Bell, a professor of law at Bar Ilan University, and Eugene Rogan, the head of Middle East Studies at Oxford University and author of a new book, The Arabs: A History.
This edition of Inside Story aired from Wednesday, December 23.