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PRC: Israel blockade undermines development in Gaza

October 5, 2022 at 11:31 am

A Palestinian fisherman waves a Palestinian flag during a protest against the blockade on Gaza at the port of Gaza City on July 11, 2021 [SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images]

The Palestinian Return Centre (PRC) in London has blamed the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip in 2007 by Israel for undermining development in the coastal enclave.

In an address delivered virtually to the General Debate at the UN Human Rights Council held on Monday, the PRC expressed deep concern about the suffocating blockade of Gaza and lamented the critical economic conditions of its 2.1 million residents.

“The United Nations and other humanitarian actors have spent 15 years on delivering vital humanitarian support to over 2.1 million Palestinians blockaded inside Gaza,” the PRC said.

When the International community and the Palestinian politics are abandoning Gaza, but it will rise up! - Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

When the International community and the Palestinian politics are abandoning Gaza, but it will rise up! – Cartoon [Sabaaneh/Middle East Monitor]

“During these 15 years, the international community has spent an estimated $5.7 billion in Gaza just to help keep the population afloat in impossible conditions.”

“Gaza has the potential to flourish through its own development, however, the blockade prevents it from doing so,” it added, noting that Israel imposes a ban on importing building materials and restricts the use of 3G and 4G phone data among other things.

It quoted Oxfam’s Country Director, Shane Stevenson, who recently said that “most of Israel’s blockade restrictions are motivated by politics, not security.” He added that the Palestinian families in Gaza “are being collectively and illegally punished.”

The PRC said the right to development is an inalienable human right as is people’s right to self-determination.

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