 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
 |
 |
|
 |
||
Palestinians Living in Land Occupied in 1967 May 9, 2005
In 1967, Israel occupied vast areas of new land, which can be divided into five significant blocks. This folder tells the story of the Palestinians, but it is important to note that between 1967 and the end of the 1970s, the Egyptian Bedouin of the Sinai desert were living under Israeli control, and to this day, the Syrians of the Golan Heights remain under Israeli occupation. While negotiations over the Sinai in the past, and the status of the Golan in the present, do have an impact on international relations, which has an effect on the Palestinians, this folder focuses on Israeli-occupied Palestinian land. The new land taken in 1967 was the Gaza Strip to the south, bordering with Egypt, the West Bank, and the remainder of Jerusalem, which had become known as East Jerusalem. While international law and UN resolution 242 clearly state that Israel should return to its 1967 borders—which would leave the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to become a Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital—after almost 40 years, this is still not the case. Today, the land of the 1967 occupied Palestinian territories is more divided than ever, with the 30-km- (17-mi.-) long Gaza Strip divided into three or four parts, and the West Bank into numerous town and village prisons (see case studies). With the brutal military closure, Palestinians of the 1967 areas are facing the fifth year of UN-defined crisis. Unemployment has increased to 34.3 percent and is rising. Poverty directly affects 47 percent of people. Access to adequate health care is denied by checkpoints and by poverty. Without a proper state to address the issues, infrastructure, from public health to education, is weakened.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UN OCHA) records over 700 active checkpoints, roadblocks, and other forms of restrictions preventing internal movement inside the West Bank and Gaza. This internal closure prevents people traveling to work, school, university, hospitals, clinics, and even basic coordination of the Palestinian Authority. While Israel holds the PA responsible for the care and control of the Palestinian people, it physically prevents PA employees and basic services from reaching the people. Israel’s plan for unilateral disengagement from Gaza has dominated the political debate during 2004. Disengagement has, so far, offered no hope for improvement in the humanitarian situation: the level of violence and restrictions on access to the Gaza Strip has intensified considerably since February 2004. The plan is not scheduled for implementation until the end of 2005. Even if implemented, disengagement, as agreed by the Israeli cabinet, will have very little impact on Palestinian economic prospects: the World Bank expects poverty to rise from 47% to 56% by the end of 2006 if the disengagement proceeds as envisaged. The lifting of closures is more the precondition for growth and improvement. Excerpt from the launch document of the Consolidated Appeals Process (CAP), the Humanitarian Appeal 2005 for the Occupied Palestinian Territory, run by UN agencies and other international organizations Resources:
External links last accessed January 18, 2005.
|
