UN warns of impact of Israeli restrictions on Gaza

The United Nations Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Nickolay Mladenov, has warned of the impact of the ongoing, and in some cases worsening, Israeli-imposed restrictions on the blockaded Gaza Strip.

In a briefing to the Security Council yesterday, Mladenov said he was “deeply concerned” by “increased restrictions on the movement of people and goods in and out of the Strip”, noting that “Gaza’s chronic challenges show little sustainable progress.”

According to the senior UN official, “the amount of construction materials entering Gaza is woefully inadequate in order to meet the vast reconstruction needs.”

“Due to limitations imposed by Israel on imports of materials and approvals of construction projects,” he continued, “the volume of such building materials – primarily cement – has now fallen well behind demand.”

Mladenov estimated that, “at today’s import rates”, it will take “at least seven months to clear the current backlog of 33,000 households in Gaza who have been approved to purchase cement to repair or reconstruct their house.”

That would be three years since the start of “Operation Protective Edge”.

Mladenov added: “Thousands of households have been waiting for months to access the material they need; and economic activity is slowing down ominously.”

The official also informed the council that at least 50 per cent of permit applications to exit Gaza were denied by Israel for national staff of international aid agencies alone during October, “in sharp contrast to the average of less than five per cent of denials in 2015.”

He continued: “This has significant impact for the ability of the UN and the humanitarian community’s ability to deliver and monitor ongoing programmes.”