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UN humanitarian efforts in Gaza aim to be 'apolitical' in face of Israeli security concerns |
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Friday, 23 January 2009Jerusalem - The UN office for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief aims to bring emergency and primary aid to Gaza quickly and efficiently in as "non-political" a way as possible, said the organization's Under-Secretary General John Holmes on Friday.
Nonetheless, the UN's top humanitarian official said, UN agencies are finding it difficult to resume operation in the wake of the three-week war in Gaza due to Israel's tight restrictions on movement in and out of Gaza.
During a press conference in Jerusalem following a visit to Gaza Holmes explained that OCHA (the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs) hopes to speed up the aid process by distinguishing the "rapid response" of providing food and shelter from more long term reconstruction efforts which he sees as "more political."
By keeping UN-OCHA and UNRWA operations strictly within the humanitarian and emergency fields, the offices aim to de-politicize their work and thus facilitate entry of goods.
Between 100 and 120 trucks of goods are coming through the southern Kerem Shalom crossing daily, and one conveyer belt at the northern Karni crossing as well as "reasonably" regular fuel deliveries from the Nahal Oz fuel delivery point.
The Gaza Strip, noted Holmes, needs 500-600 trucks of goods per day in order to function at normal levels. He also noted that the UN warehouses need to be almost totally replenished after being hit by what he has "little or no doubt" were white phosphorus bombs.
UN officers have been asking Israel to open the Karni crossing for months, and became insistent about the issue during the Israeli strikes on Gaza. The crossing is both closer to the most badly affected areas in Gaza City and better equipped to get more supplies through faster than the southern Kerem Shalom, designated as an "alternate" crossing for goods.
Holmes reiterated Friday that Israeli officials must "re-open Karni" and could only cite "security concerns" as the Israeli rationale for keeping the crossing closed.
Though he assured the press that the requests to open the Karni crossing, and all of the other requests for goods to repair demolished homes and UN buildings, "are by definition reasonable," he explained that Israel needed assurances that the humanitarian goods being brought into the Gaza Strip were being used for humanitarian purposes, and not supplying Hamas.
Holmes noted that Israeli officials have appeared more "open and wiling" to address matters related to Gaza crossings and emergency supplies than earlier during the blockade of Gaza. He also mentioned, however, that they have "exaggerated" security concerns that are preventing the agencies from "doing our job."
The UN has also met difficulty in attempts to renew private industry and commerce in Gaza. Holmes said these efforts are important to ensure that Gaza does not end up an "aid dependent population"; and also to make sure jobs in the private sector are created quickly so the jobless are not "thrown into the arms of Hamas" as public service employees.
The UN-OCHA Under-Secretary General also noted that on his visit to Ash-Shifa Hospital Thursday he witnessed the injuries of two fishermen who had been targeted by Israeli naval boat, still anchored offshore. "Things did not look very good" for the fishermen, noted Holmes, who could offer little indication of when the fishing industry would be allowed to re-open.
In every way, it seemed, Holmes and his teams were being prevented from moving forward in their aid delivery by the very "political concerns" that they sought to avoid. While he expressed his hope to reassure Israeli officials that aid was indeed aid, the means by which the UN will justify their requests to open crossings and allow building materials into the area remains unclear. |
Friday, 23 January 2009
Ma'an News
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