UN says Israel blocks aid
2000-12-11 21:03
Gaza City - The United Nations refugee relief agency accused Israel on Monday of impeding two and half months of humanitarian supplies from entering the Gaza Strip by imposing unreasonable security restrictions and
charging hundreds of dollars in port fees.
"Humanitarian supplies should be facilitated and not obstructed. We
are not getting the trust and support that we deserve from Israel,"
Peter Hansen, commissioner-general for the UN Relief and Works
Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said.
'Crippling Blow'
"We are facing a very, very serious situation of deprivation in
everyday supplies such as nourishment, medicine, building materials
to repair refugee shelters destroyed by the shelling, and
artificial limbs," said Hansen, adding that food stocks were all
but depleted.
Israel slapped a tight blockade on the Palestinian territories when
violence broke out in late September, dealing a crippling blow to
the economy of the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
Israel said it has continued to allow the free movement of
humanitarian supplies and food into the territories, though.
But lengthy security checks of UN vehicles at Israel's Ashdod port
and the Karni crossing into the Gaza Strip, along with steep
financial charges that the UN agency has refused to pay, have
prevented all relief supplies from being delivered, according to UN
officials and a report shown to AFP.
Hansen said the agency was "anticipating a crisis" unless the
restrictions were lifted immediately.
The agency - which serves a 3.7 million Palestinian refugee
population in the region - has raised the issue with Israeli
authorities, who say "they are looking into it," and at the UN
general assembly, Hansen said.
"We will continue to remind Israel of its humanitarian and legal
obligations," said Hansen.
Storage and Handling Fees
Israel is asking the UN agency for some 120 000 dollars in storage
and handling fees for two months worth of supplies, mainly food and
medicine, curently at the port.
Authorities are also demanding another 40 000 dollars in fees at
Karni crossing, Lionel Brisson, the agency's director of operations
in Gaza said.
Another 25 000 tonnes of emergency relief needed immediately,
coupled with unknown port charges associated with security check
delays, could cost the UN agency "hundreds of thousands of
dollars," Brisson said.
"We consider that Israeli authorities are responsible for these
charges because they are holding up the delivery of supplies," he
said. - Sapa-AFP
- SAPA