The siege of Gaza is a suffocating siege imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip following the success of the Islamic resistance movement Hamas in the legislative elections in 2006, a year before Hamas entered Gaza, and then Israel reinforced the blockade in 2007 after Hamas took control of Gaza in June 2007.
The siege includes preventing Or rationing the entry of fuel, electricity and many commodities, including vinegar, biscuits, poultry and meat, banning fishing in the depths of the sea , and closing the crossings between the Strip and Israel. Some thinkers believe that Egypt participates in the siege unofficially, as it closed the Rafah crossing.
The sector’s only outlet to the outside world is from Egypt . As a result of this siege, on January 23 , 2008 , thousands of Palestinians stormed the borders on the Egyptian side and entered to supply foodstuffs from Egypt after they had run out of the Strip.
About 750,000 Palestinians crossed through this incursion, and Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak told reporters At the opening of the annual book fair in Cairo: “I ordered the security forces to allow the Palestinians to cross to buy their basic needs and return to Gaza as long as they do not carry weapons or any other restrictions.”
Israel rose after the attack on the Freedom FlotillaWhich was aimed at breaking the siege as announced by the activists on board by easing the ban imposed on the entry of some food commodities, kitchen utensils and toys, while Hamas rejected the decision and considered it propaganda and impractical.
The deteriorating condition of the residents of the Gaza Strip prompted the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator , Maxwell Gillard, to describe the siege, saying it was an “attack on human dignity.” Also, Israel completely demolished the Gaza International Airport, the only airport in the Gaza Strip , which increased the severity of the siege and suffering.
Fish Hunting
On 23 August 2008 succeeded 44 international solidarity activists who belong to 17 countries on board ships ” Free Gaza ” and ” freedom ” to break the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip for the first time, has launched these two vessels from Cyprus on August 22 truckloads of humanitarian aid and Ouselta sector after They faced threats from the Israelis to prevent them from reaching the Gaza Strip, and they also faced naval mines and disruptions that obstructed their connection to the shores of the Strip for several hours, while the people of the Strip, the Palestinian government and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council welcomed them.
On 1 December 2008 the Israel prevent the ship Marwa Libyan which contained three thousand tons of food, medicine and aid a variety of landing its cargo near Gaza , where he was intercepted by gunboats as the Israeli Foreign Ministry explained , “warships Israel intercepted the ship Libyan and stopped her and ordered her to go back where it came from On the pretext that “it is not allowed to dock in the Palestinian territories in Gaza.”
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas commented on the ships breaking the siege as a “ridiculous game”, while the ” Free Gaza Movement ” organization expressed its deep regret over President Abbas’ statements, while Hamas considered his statements “ridiculous words that do not deserve a response.”
In May 2010 , six ships moved within the so-called Freedom Flotilla, the most Turkish of which included about 750 passengers from Turkey , Britain , the United States of America , Ireland , Greece , in addition to Arabs and citizens of other countries, with more than 10 thousand tons of relief and aid supplies. Humanity, and this convoy, specifically the Mavi Marmara ship, was stopped by the Israeli navy, which used live bullets against the activists, causing a number of dead up to 19 and a greater number of wounded. These events led to increased international pressure on Israel to lift the blockade, and as a result, Israel eased the ban imposed on some goods.
Diplomatic Position
In December 2008, Israel was subjected to violent criticism at the “United Nations Human Rights Forum” held in Geneva, Switzerland, where Western countries, including France , Germany , Australia , Britain and Canada , urged Israel to lift its blockade of the Gaza Strip, saying that this blockade had exacerbated the humanitarian conditions of the citizens. A number of delegates from several countries, including Egypt , Syria and Iran , also spoke at the forum , but the US representative did not speak at the session, and Israel argued that the Gaza Strip has become a “hotbed for terrorists” who prepare and launch missile attacks on it, according to the senior legal advisor at the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
War Crime
On December 10, 2008, jurists and lawyers from several countries, including 3 Spanish lawyers, along with a delegation representing North America, Europe, the Middle East and South America, and the internationally registered International Coalition Against Impunity Organization , a member of the United Nations Economic and Social Council , filed a lawsuit before the International Criminal Court. in The Hague against the Government of Israel and its top political and military leaders; On charges of committing crimes against humanity , war crimes and genocide resulting from the continuation of the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip , this lawsuit represents the first legal prosecution of The International Criminal Court of Senior Zionist Leaders, and among the defendants are Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert , Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak and his deputy Matan Vilnai, Minister of Internal Security Avi Dichter and Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi .
The aim of the lawsuit to compel the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court ” to investigate crimes committed in Gaza; according to the texts of the Court and stated in the Rome Statute” .otcol active Lebanese human rights May Khansa president of the organization that the case came because of the heinous crimes being committed against the people of Gaza , and said: “We must resort to the judiciary to obtain rights, and put pressure on the occupying country, so that the world knows that it is a terrorist entity.”
The humanitarian situation after all years of siege
The Euro-Mediterranean Monitor issued a comprehensive report on the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip after 11 years of siege, where poverty rates have exceeded 65%, food insecurity rates have reached 72%, and 80% of the population of the Gaza Strip has become dependent on aid.
By the end of 2016, unemployment had risen to 43%. The report stated that the closure of the Kerem Shalom economic crossing was 36% during 2016. In the last quarter of the year, the occupation put obstacles in the way of patients leaving the West BankThe approval rate for exit permits in the last quarter of the year reached 44%.
With regard to commercial permits through Erez Crossing, the occupation canceled 1900 commercial permits out of 3,700 permits, while it approved less than 50% of requests for permits to receive medical treatment outside the Gaza Strip. The report indicated that only 46% of donor funds for the reconstruction of Gaza have arrived. The Human Rights Watch report confirmed that the number of fishermen in the Gaza Strip decreased from 10,000 to 4,000 in the period between 2000.