PCHR hosted several European
parliamentarians and diplomats on 19 and 20 September 2007. These meetings are a
continuation of the Center’s efforts to shed light on the situation in the OPT.
On 20 September, a delegation consisting
of 9 European Parliament members, including the Deputy Speaker of the EU
parliament Louisa Morgantini, visited PCHR’s Gaza office. They met Raji Sourani,
the Center’s Director, who briefed them about the human rights situation in the
Gaza Strip, especially the social and economic strangulation of the Gaza Strip
by closure. He stressed that the root cause of the closure was international
refusal to accept the results of the Palestinian Legislative Council elections
in January 2006. He added that the EU position regarding the elections shocked
democracy activists in the Arab world and Europe. He called on the EU to respect
the will and choice of the Palestinian people.
In addition, Sourani talked about the
deteriorating humanitarian situation in the OPT. He pointed that the siege on
the OPT started years ago; but that it reached its peak after 15 June 2007 and
the Hamas takeover. Since then, the movement of goods and individuals has been
completely stopped with the exception of basic food and medicine. Israel’s
closure of the Gaza Strip, he added, transformed the territory into an animal
farm, and transformed its population into beggars.
Sourani stressed that the civilian
population is paying the price of the siege, and that the siege has not affected
Hamas. Unemployment rose to about 68%; and those living under the poverty line
hit 90% of the population. Furthermore, Israel has not stopped its violations of
killing, bombardment, and incursion.
The 40th anniversary of the
occupation, Sourani stated, has been the worst and bloodiest in the history of
the occupation. He added that it is ironic that the aspirations of people in
Gaza have become related to freedom of movement and their humanitarian needs.
Commenting on the Israeli decision to
label the Gaza Strip a “hostile entity,” Sourani asked as to when Israel
considered Gaza a friendly territory. He pointed that Israel has been treating
the Strip as a hostile entity for years.
And on 19 September, Sourani met the
Representative of Denmark to the PNA and the Danish Ambassador to Israel. The
meetings discussed the human rights situation in the OPT on the Palestinian and
Israeli fronts, the internal Palestinian development, the Israeli escalation in
the OPT, and the impact of the closure on Palestinian civilians.
