Category: Press Releases - Page 43 - International Solidarity Movement

After Gaza Power Plant Forced off, Humanitarian Conditions of Approximately 1.7 million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip Deteriorate

8th November 2013 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights| Occupied Palestine

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) expresses deep concern over the deterioration of humanitarian conditions of the civilian population due to the aggravation of the electricity crisis in the Gaza Strip.

On Friday morning, 01 November 2013, the operation of the Gaza power plant was totally stopped due to the lack of fuel required for its operation. PCHR is deeply concerned that the current crisis may impact the access of 1.7 million Palestinians to vital services, including the supply of drinking water, and that this crisis may result in the suspension of work in some vital sectors, such as health, sanitation and education.

According to PCHR’s follow-up of the chronic power crisis in the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian Energy Authority in Gaza announced that the operation of the Gaza Power plant was totally stopped on Friday morning, 01 November 2012. The Energy Authority claimed that its counterpart in Ramallah stopped the fuel supplies required to operate the power plant and its requested taxes on the price of fuel. However, the Energy Authority in Gaza announced its inability to pay taxes on the price of the industrial fuel. On the other hand, the Energy Authority in Ramallah refused to provide any new fuel supplies required for operating the power plant resulting in the total lack of fuel and the shutdown of the plant.

The shutdown of the Gaza plant power has left serious consequences on the humanitarian conditions of the Gaza Strip’s population due to the deficit in daily needs of power in Gaza. The Electricity Distribution Company (GEDCO) in Gaza was forced to increase the hours of power outages on houses and vital facilities from 8 to 12 hours daily. Thus, the schedule, which is applied, based on which power will be distributed for six hours and then cut off for 12 hours resulting in further deterioration in humanitarian conditions of the Gaza Strip’s population. It should be mentioned that the power plant was providing around 65 megawatts during the years of its reparation and rehabilitation after being targeted and destroyed by Israeli forces in June 2006. The power plant had worked since June 2012 to produce around 100 megawatts. The Gaza Energy Authority stated that the electricity is provided to the Gaza Strip as follows: 120 megawatts from Israel and 27 megawatts supplied by Egypt.

The Gaza power plant has been suffering from a significant decrease in fuel supplies required for its operation coming from Egypt through tunnels under the Egypt-Gaza border, as the supplies have almost completely stopped for around 2 months. As a result, the Energy Authority in Gaza purchased fuel from Israel through its counterpart in Ramallah. At that time, the Palestinian Authority (PA) in Ramallah exempted fuel purchases from taxes. However, the Energy Authority in Ramallah demanded its counterpart in Gaza to pay the taxes on the fuel supplies due to the PA’s current financial crisis. The Energy Authority in Gaza refused to pay those taxes claiming that it cannot afford paying them.

PCHR has been following the power crisis consequences in the Gaza strip since the power plant stopped operating after Israeli forces targeted and destroyed it in June 2006 resulting in catastrophic impacts on the power supplies in the Gaza Strip. PCHR has been also following the impacts of the ongoing Palestinian political split, whose two parties failed to find solutions that take into account the best interests of Palestinian civilians in Gaza and stop the deterioration of humanitarian conditions and provide of their electrical power needs and fuel required to operate the Gaza plant power. PCHR is deeply concerned over further deterioration of civilians’ humanitarian conditions as the power crisis has affected all civilians’ daily life needs and violated their right to access to basic and necessary services, including access to health facilities and to treatment, access to educational institutions, including schools and universities, and access to water services, including drinking water in homes and all other vital services.

Through continuous follow-up of the effects of the aggravation of the power crisis, PCHR has observed serious deterioration of the humanitarian situation from which the residents of Gaza are suffering:

· About 1, 7 million inhabitants of the Gaza Strip are facing deficiencies in all walks of their daily life, which have affected their basic needs, including health services, access to water, environmental health services and ability to meet the educational needs of school and university students.

· The deterioration of health conditions in the health facilities of the Gaza Strip due to inability to compensate the shortage of electricity for long hours on one hand, and their inability to provide fuel needed to run the alternative generators in these facilities on the other hand, in addition to breakdown of many machines and medical equipment at hospitals and health facilities of the Gaza Strip.

· Hundreds of patients in the hospitals of the Gaza Strip face serious health risks as the medical equipment are not run regularly, especially in the intensive care units and other medical units like heart and kidney units.

· Local bodies, including municipalities and village councils, are unable to provide alternative fuel to ensure the workflow of their vital facilities serving the population of the Gaza Strip, including water and sanitation facilities. Citizens’ complaints started to resound because of their inability to get water in their houses, especially in high buildings.

· Different bakeries in the Gaza Strip said that they partially stopped working due to the long hours of power outage and the shortage of the fuel needed to run the machines. One can notice overcrowding for long hours in front of bakeries in order to get the basic needs.

· Educational facilities in universities and educational institutions are suffering serious disorder, which led to the inactivity of many educational laboratories and the postponement of some educational assignments due to electricity shortage and lack of alternative power sources. The aggravation of electricity crisis has coincided with the mid-term exams that started about a week ago in the schools and universities of the Gaza Strip. The majority of governmental schools is still without electricity and cannot provide the students with alternatives.

· Hundreds of institutions and associations in the Gaza Strip had to postpone their activities and programs due to the electricity shortage all day and their inability to provide alternative power sources to run their machines and equipment.

· The suffering of the population of the Gaza Strip has seriously aggravated, especially those living in high buildings and who depend on elevators in the ascending and descending from their apartments. Dozens of residents, including elderly people and patients with chronic diseases have been greatly affected.

PCHR is following the power crisis in the Gaza Strip with grave concern and:

1. Calls on all concerned parties, including the Palestinian government in Ramallah, the Palestinian government in Gaza and the Electricity Distribution Company in Gaza to make efforts to provide the fuel needed to run the power plant and ensure its workflow with no cessation;

2. Warns of the serious consequences of the stoppage of the power plant on all vital sectors, including the basic services for about 1, 7 million Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip, like drinking water supplies, disruption of health facilities, including hospitals and medical centers, in addition to the sewage plants and educational sectors.

3. Calls on the international community to pressurize Israel, the occupying power according to international humanitarian law, to lift the illegal closure imposed on the Gaza Strip since June 2007, to fulfill their legal commitments towards the civilian population of the Gaza Strip and to ensure access to all the medicines, food, and basic services, including fuel supplies needed to run the Gaza Power Plant.

Protest against Israeli chemical factories in Tulkarem

5th November 2013 | International Solidarity Movement, Nablus Team | Tulkarem, Occupied Palestine

On the 4th of November, associations, officials and activists protested against the chemical factories that sicken the population of Tulkarem.

The construction of Israeli factories on Palestinian land near Tulkarem started in 1987. At the time locals were told these installations were a good will gesture that would provide employment.

26 years later the women’s group MIFTAH, surrounded by speakers from the Palestinian Government, Ministry of Health and local campaigners raised concerns about the high rates of cancer, respiratory diseases and skin ailments close to the factories. All of them condemned the factories.

It was reported that the factories do not operate when east winds would carry the fumes into Israel and that toxic waste had been buried on agricultural land in a nearby Palestinian village.

International activists then joined a protest march to the high wire topped wall that marks the boundary to the industrial complex.

The protest passed peacefully without the security forces attending.

Three Palestinians injured by Israeli forces during weekly protest in Bil’in.

1st November 2013 | FFJ media center | Bil’in, Palestine

This Friday, October the 1st, Bil’in’s weekly peaceful demonstration has once again been a violent demonstration from the Israeli state, while live ammunition and huge quantities of tear gas have been shot.

Ahmaed Bornat (21 years old) was injured today by .22 bullet in his right leg, Iyad Bornat (40 years old) was injured by rubber bullet in his left leg , Farhan Bornat (36 years old) was shot by three rubber bullet in his leg, back and hand, in addition to dozens of suffocation

Dozens of Palestinians, Israelis and international peace activists attended the March today, continuing the 8 years tradition and also today as a reminder of the Balfour declarations anniversary.

Demonstrators marched, after Friday prayers, from the center of the village towards the Israeli Apartheid wall , raising Palestinian flags and chanting slogans calling for national unity and release of all political prisoners. Upon their arrival to the Abu lemon area, near the Wall, the Israeli soldiers, stationed behind the apartheid wall, immediately fired massive amount of stun grenades, rubber coated steel bullets, tear gas canisters and .22 bullets towards the participants to prevent them from getting closer to the wall. Military jeeps then chased the activists in order to arrest them. Clashes broke out and lasted for more than three hours. Ahmed Bornat was taken by an ambulance to the Ramallah hospital (Palestinian Medical Complex), the other injured are accordin to later reports safe now. The massive firing of gas canisters, led to the burning of a large area planted with olive trees.

photo credits by Rani Bornat , Hamza Bornat& Mohamed Yaseen

Israeli Forces use excessive force killing Palestinian civilian in Qabatya village near Jenin

31st October 2013 | Palestinian Center for Human Rights | Qabataya, Occupied Palestine

In an excessive use of force, on Thursday morning, 31 October 2013, Israeli forces killed a Palestinian civilian in Qabatya village, southeast of the northern West Bank town of Jenin.

According to investigation conducted by the Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), at approximately 01:00 on Thursday, 31 October 2013, Israeli force moved into Qabatya village, southeast of Jenin. They stationed in the eastern part of the village. They raided a house belonging to the family of Emad Shawkat Kmail, 30, and arrested him. They then moved towards the western part of the village. There, they raided a number of houses and arrested 3 Palestinian civilians: Rassem Tawfiq Khzaimiya, 60; Mo’men Saba’na, 23; and Ayman Abdul Rahman Abu al-Rub, 28. At approximately 05:00, while Israeli forces were withdrawing from the village taking the detainees, a number of young men gathered at the western entrance of the village. They blocked it with iron barriers and set fire to tires. When Israeli forces passed by the area, the young men threw stones and empty bottles at them. Immediately, Israeli soldiers fired tear gas canisters and sound bombs at the young men. They then fired live ammunition directly at the young men. As a result, Ahmed Emad Youseg Tazaz’a, 22, was seriously wounded by a bullet to the heart. He was immediately evacuated to al-Razi Hospital in Jernn, but medical efforts to save his life failed. He was pronounced dead at approximately 06:00.

PCHR is deeply concerned over this crime, which further proves the use of excessive force by Israeli forces against the Palestinian civilians in disregard for the civilians’ lives. Therefore, PCHR calls upon the international community to take immediate and effective actions to put an end to such crimes and reiterates its call for the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 to fulfill their obligations under Article 1; i.e., to respect and to ensure respect for the Convention in all circumstances, and their obligation under Article 146 to prosecute persons alleged to commit grave breaches of the Fourth Geneva Convention. These grave breaches constitute war crimes under Article 147 of the same Convention and Protocol (I) Additional to the Geneva Conventions.

Palestinian fisherman injured and his finger amputated as Israeli naval troops fire at fishing boat in Gaza sea

21st September 2013 | Palestinian Centre for Human Rights | Gaza, Occupied Palestine

On Wednesday, 18 September 2013, a Palestinian fisherman was injured and consequently one of his fingers was amputated when Israeli naval troops opened fire at Palestinian fishing boat on board of which 5 fishermen were sailing nearly 6 nautical miles off Gaza Harbour. The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) condemns the continuation of Israeli forces’ attacks against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip and expresses deep concern over violations of fishermen’s right to work freely in Gaza sea.

According to investigation conducted by PCHR, at approximately 14:30 on Wednesday, 18 September 2013, a Palestinian fishing boat sailed from Gaza Harbour. Five fishermen were on board the boat. At approximately 16:30, the boat arrived at a point in the sea nearly 6 nautical miles of the shore. One of the fishermen, Ayman Ahmed Tulba, stated to a PCHR field worker that he and the other four fishermen threw their fishing nets into the water. Soon, they were surprised by an Israeli gunboat coming towards them. Israeli soldier opened fire at the fishing boat without any warning. Tulba added that the fishermen were extremely terrified and attempted to escape. The fishermen moved to the back of the boat. In the meantime, a bullet hit a lever that is used to pull fishing equipment, so its belt fell onto one of the fishermen, Saleem Khalil al-Fassih, 56, injuring him in the fingers of his right hand. Al-Fassih stated to PCHR that the Israeli naval troop continued to fire at the boat although it moved back up 4 nautical miles off the shore. The fishermen then called the Palestinian naval forces, and al-Fassih was evacuated to Shifa Hospital in Gaza, where doctors were forced to amputate one of his fingers. Al Fassih is still in need for a surgery.

PCHR condemns the continuous Israeli attacks against Palestinian fishermen in the Gaza Strip, and:

Calls for Palestinian fishermen to be allowed to sail and fish freely and an immediate end to the Israeli policy of chase and arrest while at sea;
Demands compensation for the fishermen for the physical and material damage caused to them and their property as a result of these violations;
Calls upon the international community, including the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949 Relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of war, to intervene immediately to stop the Israeli violations against the Palestinian fishermen, and to allow them to sail and fish freely in the Gaza sea.