(December 18 2008) -- US Central Intelligence Agency information about Gaza -- High population density, limited land access, and strict internal and external security controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority (PA)- even more degraded than in the West Bank. The beginning of the second intifada in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were imposed to address security concerns in Israel, disrupted labor and trade access to and from the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in PA areas resulted in the destruction of capital, the disruption of administrative structures, and widespread business closures. The Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in September 2005 offered some medium-term opportunities for economic growth, but continued Israeli-imposed crossings closures, which became more restrictive after Hamas violently took over the territory in June 2007, have resulted in widespread private sector layoffs and shortages of most goods.
(December 28) -- Jewish Voice for Peace joins millions around the world, including the 1,000 Israelis who protested in the streets of Tel Aviv this weekend, in condemning ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza. We call for an immediate end to attacks on all civilians, whether Palestinian or Israeli.
(January 2 2009) -- Amnesty International calls on Israeli forces to immediately halt the unlawful attacks carried out as part of the escalation of violence which has caused over 400 Palestinian deaths and 2000 injuries since Dec. 27. Amnesty International also condemns the rocket fire by armed Palestinian groups including Hamas which resulted in 4 Israeli deaths with several dozen injured. This is the highest level of Palestinian fatalities and casualties in four decades of Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Scores of unarmed civilians, as well as police personnel who were not directly participating in the hostilities, are among the Palestinian victims of the Israeli bombardment in the Gaza Strip....
(January 5) -- Code Pink Women for Peace In similar situations around the world, civilians caught in the midst of conflict would have the option of seeking safety in neighboring countries as refugees. Gazans have no such option, as both Israel and Egypt restrict access for Palestinians to their territory. They are trapped.... Some 300 babies are born every day in Gaza, but pregnant women are being forced to deliver outside hospitals as all available beds are reserved for war injuries and other emergency cases....
(January 5) -- The Geneva-based International Committee of the Red Cross has said that wounded people are dying while waiting for ambulances in the Gaza Strip.The Swiss-run ICRC, guardian of the Geneva Conventions on humanitarian law, said late on Monday that as the number of casualties continued to rise, it was focusing on arranging safe passage for Palestine Red Crescent ambulances, which collect the wounded and transport them to hospitals.
(January 6) -- Save the Children strongly protests the continued violence in Gaza that has now claimed the lives of more than 100 children. "Recent attacks on two United Nations shelters set up for families forced from their homes in Gaza have killed additional innocent children and family members", said Annie Foster, who heads Save the Children's emergency response in the region. "This crisis continues to have an enormously devastating impact on children and families, many of whom have left their homes and have no safe place to go. We are calling on the Israeli government and Hamas to agree to an immediate ceasefire, if only for the sake of the children. The international community also needs to urgently accelerate its efforts to bring about an end to hostilities."
(January 6) -- AUSTRALIA'S largest telecommunications provider says it won't charge for phone calls to the Gaza Strip, but the offer could be in vain as the region's telecommunication services teeter on the verge of collapse in the face of the military assault by Israeli forces. Israel began its attack on Gaza on December 27 after Hamas had declared an end to a shaky six-month truce between the two sides. More than 500 Palestinians have been killed during the campaign.
Telstra says it will offer free phone calls for more than a week to the affected area. The offer applies to calls with the 0011 970 8 area code and is valid from January 7-15.
(January 6) -- Queen Rania of Jordan, Israel's immediate neighbour, says the deaths of Gaza's children are unacceptable. "The children of Gaza, the dead and the barely living, their mothers, their fathers, are not acceptable collateral damage," she said. "Their lives do matter. Their loss does count. They are not divisible from our universal humanity. No child is. No civilian is." UNICEF says the children of Gaza are being denied fundamental human rights, like protection from violence and access to education and healthcare.
(January 7) YNet News -- Following the international criticism following the Israel Defense Forces strike near a United Nations school in Jabalya, which left dozens of people killed, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert on Tuesday night announced the opening of a "humanitarian corridor" for the Gaza Strip. According to the announcement, areas in the Strip would be opened for limited periods of time to allow the Palestinian population to equip itself and receive aid.
Photo found at SwissInfo
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