Ref: 51/2007

Date: 03 July 2007

Time: 13:00 GMT

PCHR Warns of an Imminent Humanitarian Catastrophe:

The Suffering of Palestinians Stuck at Rafah International Crossing Point Further Deteriorates

PCHR is gravely concerned over the deterioration of the humanitarian conditions of the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip due to the continued closure of Rafah International Crossing Point, the sole outlet of the Gaza Strip to the outside world. PCHR warns of the consequences of the continued suffering of at least 6,000 Palestinians, who have been stuck in Egypt, especially in al-Areesh and Rafah towns, waiting to be allowed in the Gaza Strip. This figure includes at least 1,200 patients who had traveled to Egypt to receive medical treatment at its hospitals, hundreds of families who live abroad and arrived in Egypt to travel to the Gaza Strip to visit their relatives, and hundreds of university students who wish to spend their summer vacation with their families in the Gaza Strip.

Many of these Palestinians have run out of money due to their unexpected long stay in Egypt, and they are threatened by diseases due to the lack of basic sanitation services. Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) have denied these Palestinians entry into the Gaza Strip, as they have tightened the siege imposed on the Gaza Strip following Hamas’s takeover of the strip on 15 June 2007. IOF had already closed Rafah International Crossing Point following an armed attack against an IOF military post in Kerem Shalom area, southeast of Rafah, on 25 June 2006. The crossing point had been partially reopened for short, sporadic periods to allow few numbers of Palestinian to travel through it.

According to PCHR’s documentation, 12 Palestinians of those who are stuck in Egypt died due to the deterioration in their health conditions. IOF refused to allow the entry of their bodies into the Gaza Strip through Rafah International Crossing Point, and instead allowed their entry through Kerem Shalom crossing, in violation of the European-brokered Palestinian – Israeli Border Crossing Agreement signed on 25 November 2005. On 2 July 2007, IOF allowed the entry of the body of Taghreed Mohammed Tayeh, 30, from Jabalya refugee camp, into the Gaza Strip, through Kerem Shalom crossing. Tayeh, mother of 5 children, had traveled to Egypt to receive medical treatment from cancer. After she had received medical treatment at a hospital in Cairo, she arrived at Rafah International Crossing Point to travel back to the Gaza Strip, but she had to wait for at least 20 days. During that

time, her health condition deteriorated, so she was evacuated to a hospital in al-Areesh town in Egypt, where she was pronounced dead on 29 June 2007. He body was transferred into the Gaza Strip 4 days later.

Furthermore, thousands of Palestinians in several countries, including families, university students and traders, have not been able to travel to Egypt on their way to the Gaza Strip due to the closure of Rafah International Crossing Point and out of concerns that their stay in Egypt may last for a long time. 

Thousands of Palestinian civilians living in the Gaza Strip, including many university students and at least 400 patients who need advanced medical treatment, have not been able to travel abroad. The health conditions of those patients have deteriorated due to their need for advanced medical treatment, which is not available in the Gaza Strip. They have been also denied access to medical treatment at hospitals in Israel or the West Bank with the closure of Beit Hanoun (Erez) crossing.

The closure of border crossings of the Gaza Strip, especially Rafah International Crossing Point, and the restrictions imposed by IOF on the freedom of movement of the Palestinian civilian population constitute a flagrant violation of international human rights instruments, especially the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949.

PCHR warns of an imminent humanitarian crisis as a result of continued closure of all border crossings, especially Rafah International Crossing Point, whose closure threatens the lives of many patients who have been stuck at the Egyptian side of the crossing point.

PCHR calls upon all States, particularly the High Contracting Parties of the Fourth Geneva Convention of 1949, United Nations agencies and all international humanitarian organizations to immediately take steps to pressurize IOF to reopen Rafah International Crossing Point to end the crisis of thousands of travelers, and other border crossings to allow the normal flow of basic supplies, including foodstuffs and medical supplies, into the Gaza Strip. PCHR also reiterates its call for the international community to pressurize Israel to abstain from practicing policies of collective punishment against the Palestinian civilian population in the Gaza Strip.

Deaths among Palestinians Who Have Been Stuck at the Egyptian Side of Rafah International Crossing Points:

1)      Hisham Saleem Salama, 45, from Nusairat refugee camp, whose body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 20 June 2007;

2)      Inshirah Talal al-Sane’, 50, from Rafah, whose body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 20 June 2007;

3)      Mohammed Rashad al-Ghefari, 35, from Gaza City, whose body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 21 June 2007;

4)      Zainab Mohammed al-Suradi, 55, from Nusairat refugee camp, whose body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 21 June 2007.

5)      Tariq Mohammed Abu Jame’, 21, from Khan Yunis, who died in a car accident on 22 June 2007 and his body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 26 June 2007;

6)      Majdi al-Sayed Abu Jame’, 21, from Khan Yunis, who died in a car accident on 22 June 2007 and his body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 26 June 2007;

7)      Ahmed ‘Ali Tayem, 75, from Rafah, who died on 23 June 2007 and his body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 27 June 2007;

8)      Mohammed Khamis ‘Abdullah Abu ‘Aathra, 57, from Rafah, who died on 24 June 2007 and his body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 27 June 2007;

9)      Sa’di Mohammed ‘Ayad, 67, from Gaza City, whose body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 29 June 2007;

10)  Khadra Mohammed ‘Oraif, 60, from Gaza City, whose body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 30 June 2007;

11)  Suleiman ‘Abed Mohammed Daher, 70, from Gaza City, who died on 29 June 2007 and his body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 2 July 2007; and

12)  Taghreed Mohammed Tayeh, 30, from Jabalya refugee camp, who died on 29 June 2007 and her body was brought into the Gaza Strip on 2 July 2007.