URU, Alm.del - 2011-12 - Bilag 11: Åbne breve om Gaza og Palmer-rapporten

Dear Foreign Minister,As international humanitarian, development, human rights and peace-building organisations, we arewriting to you in response to the report of the Panel of Inquiry led by Sir Geoffrey Palmer andestablished by the UN Secretary-General. Given the common misconceptions about the Palmerreport’s findings,we ask you to ensure that its claim that the naval blockade of the Gaza Strip islawful is not misunderstood to mean that the entire closure regime imposed on Gaza is legal. Wealso ask you to step up efforts to ensure an immediate and unconditional lifting of the closure.According to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the guardian of internationalhumanitarian law, the closure of Gaza “constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violationof Israel's obligations under international humanitarian law”. In contrast, the Palmer report onlyfocuses on the naval blockade of Gaza and explicitly does not address the legality of the overallclosure regime which includes sweeping restrictions on the movement of goods and persons via landcrossings.Many of the undersigned organisations have humanitarian and development programmes in Gaza andcontinue to witness the unnecessary daily suffering of the civilian population, over half of whom arechildren, due to the closure policy. The steps taken by Israel to ease some restrictions have notresulted in meaningful improvements in the lives of Gaza’s 1.6 million residents.Since January 2011, exports from Gaza have amounted to around one per cent of pre-2007 levels,despite Israel’s promises to increase them. Imports of construction materials have remained below 20per cent of pre-2007 levels, impeding the reconstruction of schools, hospitals, homes and businessesthat were damaged and destroyed in Israel’s 2008-2009 military operation Cast Lead. The number ofPalestinians allowed to leave Gaza through the Israeli crossings remains below one per cent of pre-2000 levels and even patients in need of urgent treatment outside Gaza are often still denied exit.According to the World Food Programme, three quarters of Gaza’s population continue to rely onhumanitarian aid, while 54 per cent are food insecure.The Palmer report does note that the humanitarian and human rights situation in Gaza is“unsustainable, unacceptable and not in the interests of any of those concerned”, but merely calls onIsrael to “continue with its efforts to ease its restrictions on movement of goods and persons to andfrom Gaza”.Instead of only easing the restrictions, Israel should be required to comply with its internationallegal obligations and lift its closure on Gaza fully and immediately.This means allowing exportsas well as imports, subject only to legitimate and proportionate security checks, and allowingPalestinians to travel between Gaza and the West Bank, which are internationally recognised as asingle territorial unit. It also means ensuring Palestinians’ access to arable land currently locatedinside the “buffer zone” imposed by Israel within Gaza’s perimeter and allowing Palestinianfishermen access to their coastal waters.Sincerely,