|
In the
month since the Hamas takeover of Gaza,
the humanitarian toll on the 1.5 million Gazans has been immense.
The
anti-Hamas camp of Fatah, Israel, the US
and the European Union is grappling with a problem: While opening Karni and
another crossing at Rafah could help relieve the economy and humanitarian
crisis of Gaza,
it could also help strengthen Hamas. The fear is that Hamas, considered a
terrorist group by Israel,
the US,
and European Union will be bolstered in its agenda.
“We need to
differentiate between punishing the people of Gaza and weakening Hamas,” said Nimr Hamad,
an adviser to the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas,
of Fatah. “We don’t want the people to suffer.”
Hamas
accuses Fatah of indifference, using the “people’s suffering to achieve
political goals.”
While they
grapple with that dilemma, the civilian population of Gaza pays the heavy humanitarian toll.
The
continued closing of the Karni crossing is a big impediment to development and
humanitarian relief operations in Gaza. So much so that UNRWA has halted its
construction projects due to a shortage of supplies, such as cement.
These halts
will result in widespread damage. UNRWA
reports that it will affect about $93 million in projects, which employ about
121,000 Gazans. Further, the effects
will be felt in schools, water works, sewage treatment plans, and health
centers.
Food
shortage is another great cause for concern.
UNRWA officials are anxious about running down their reserves. The World Food Programme has been noticing growing
food insecurity in Gaza. At the peak of the Hamas / Fatah hostilities,
street fighting led to steep price increases, and a shortage in basic food and
non-food items.
WFP contends that at present, through humanitarian aid
coordination, the flow of commodities through Gaza’s terminals have assured
that the minimum humanitarian import of food, agricultural inputs, and medical
supply requirements are being met at 70 percent.
Economic access is increasingly becoming the primary food
security concern. The loss of income and purchasing power is putting many
Gazans at risk. Many of them are the poorest of the poor, who are depleting
dwindling assets to stay afloat.
According to the Israeli NGO GISHA, the Gazan industrial
sector is under severe stress due to the inability to import raw materials over
the last three weeks, and the inability to export products out of Gaza. GISHA estimates
that over 2,900 factories, out of a total of 3,900 have shut down or are
operating at less than 20 percent capacity.
This has resulted in an estimated 30,000 additional families
that are forced to rely on food aid.
Further, approximately 30,000 factory workers are facing the
prospects of losing their jobs. Factory workers constitute 10 percent of Gaza’s workforce, and
support approximately 210,000 dependents.
The Palestinian Federation of Industries comprising senior
business interests in Gaza estimates a daily loss of at least half a million US
dollars within the industrial sector, resulting from the closure of the Karni
crossing.
It is widely reported that more than 1,300 containers of
different commercial materials destined for Gaza
are stuck at Israeli ports due to the cancellation of the Gaza customs code by the Israeli Customs
Authority. Although humanitarian cargo
has been exempted, the needs of many civilians continue to go under met.
The main concern seems to be security—Israel’s
security requirements that must be met before the Karni crossing can be
re-opened. So, while the Palestinian
Authority waits to reach a resolution that will be accepted by both Hamas and
Fatah, the humanitarian situation worsens.
The price of which is paid dearly, by millions of innocent Gazans.
|
