The central � often, sole � reason cited by Israel for its continuing
blockade of Gaza is �security�. The NGOs are not deaf to these concerns � but they do not believe this gives Israel carte blanche to choke 1.8 million people and destroy their economy and
social fabric
A year after the Gaza war, Palestinians are still choking
Ben White
It has been one year since the ceasefire that ended Israels unprecedented seven-week assault on the Gaza Strip. On the occasion of this weeks anniversary, an international coalition of 35 NGOs issued a new call for the end of Israels blockade.
For a whole year the Israeli government has restricted basic and essential construction materials from entering Gaza, stated the aid groups, who noted that not one of the 19,000 homes that were bombed and destroyed has been fully rebuilt.
A petition launched by the NGOs on the Avaaz online community World Leaders: Lift the Gaza Blockade had, at the time of writing, already attracted 538,000 signatures. While the agencies acknowledged the roles played by Palestinian political division and Egypts frequent closure of the Rafah crossing, they maintained that Israels blockade represents the primary obstacle to reconstruction. At this rate, it could take 17 years before Gaza is rebuilt. The key elements of Israels lockdown of the territory remained in place until the summer of 2010, when following the murderous attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla, Israel sought to assuage international outrage by easing some of the measures.
Yet core, punitive policies remained in place, especially with regards to what the Israeli military calls a separation policy that prevents goods and people moving between the Gaza Strip and West Bank. This has affected family life, studies and businesses.
One of the best illustrations of the absurdity of Israels security argument is the block on goods exiting Gaza: the territorys total exports dropped by 97 per cent between 2007 and 2012. This July, even after heralded Israeli gestures, a mere 99 truckloads of goods left Gaza for the West Bank, Israeli and international markets. The monthly average in 2005 was 777 truckloads. The security rationale for the blockade is only one widely-propagated myth when it comes to Gaza. Contrary to what some maintain, Israels unilateral withdrawal of settlers and redeployment of armed forces in 2005 the so-called disengagement did not end Israels status as occupier. Under international law, a central element of the test for occupation is whether or not the state exercises effective control over the territory in question. Since 2005, Israel has retained control over five of Gazas six land crossings, its airspace and waters, and the Palestinian population registry. The United Nations (UN) has repeatedly affirmed that the Gaza Strip remains under Israeli occupation; for example, Security Council Resolution 1860, adopted 14-0 (the US abstained) on January 8, 2009, stressed that the Gaza Strip constitutes an integral part of the territory occupied in 1967 and will be a part of the Palestinian state.
In November 2014, the Office of the Prosecutor at the International Criminal Court in The Hague agreed that Israel remains an occupying power under international law, based on the scope and degree of control that it has retained over the territory of Gaza following the 2005 disengagement.
As well as misplaced confusion about Gazas occupied status post-disengagement, there is a third myth: that Israels withdrawal of settlers was a grand gesture towards peace. In fact, as I describe in my forthcoming eBook, The 2014 Gaza War: 21 Questions Answers, this is far from reality.
With settlers withdrawn and armed forces redeployed, Gaza was walled-off and contained, subject to periodic colonial disciplining: Israel has now launched seven separate operations against Gaza since 2005, killing some 4,500 Palestinians and injuring many more. Ten years on, Israels stranglehold remains, with both bombs and blockade an indictment of Israels colonial cruelty and the international communitys inaction. Thus Gaza, including the war that ended one year ago this week, is a microcosm of the ongoing story of the colonisation of Palestine.
The writer specialises on Middle East issues
