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"End the siege on Gaza now" say MEPs visiting the territory

January 31, 2014 at 12:50 pm

EU parliament – External relations

A delegation of nine Members of the European Parliament, from the Foreign Affairs, Budgets and Development committees, left the Gaza Strip on Friday after a fact-finding mission hosted by UNRWA. The delegation monitored and assessed the humanitarian situation in Gaza and the impact of EU financial assistance.

The visit was made possible thanks to the support of the Egyptian authorities whose invaluable help was highly appreciated by the delegation.  

“The alarming and worsening humanitarian situation calls for an immediate, comprehensive and lasting end to the Israeli blockade on Gaza,” said the delegation. This call comes at a time when violence in Gaza has fallen sharply.


The delegation points out that the siege has completely isolated the people of Gaza, condemning them to a life of extreme poverty, with 80% of the population dependant on food aid. Not only is the blockade hurting the population and creating a black market, it is also playing into the hands of the most radical factions and empowering them by providing them with extra funds: “The blockade must be lifted in order to allow full access to humanitarian assistance, to enable reconstruction and to give a new lease of life to legitimate economic activity and hope to the population,” said the MEPs.

“UNRWA is doing a fantastic job, but it is starved of funds. The EU and other donors must urgently come up with more funding for UNRWA’s work, especially for education, which represents 80% of its budget. Every year there are thousands more school-age children but there is no more money to build additional schools and pay teachers”. The MEPs say they will do everything within their means to ensure Parliament as a whole increases financial support to UNRWA.

“The EU must launch a political initiative without delay to lift the blockade and begin reconstruction of basic infrastructure. ‘Seeing is believing’ when it comes to understanding the situation in Gaza. Only two EU Foreign Ministers have so far visited Gaza. We call on the remaining 25 to go and see the situation on the ground. The EU must actively engage to become a genuine peace player.”