PCHR: Lift Closure Imposed on Gaza Completely

Local Editor

Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) issued a statement calling upon "Israeli" authorities to lift the Gaza blockade completely, and stating that this is an illegal form of collective punishment.
 The PCHR statement reiterated, "PCHR calls upon the Israeli authorities to first of all lift this unjust closure completely, as it is a form of collective punishment prohibited under the international humanitarian law, and second to discontinue all the unjust restrictions imposed on the movement of civilians and thirdly allow the free movement of trade; including imports and exports to and from the Gaza Strip."
On 31 December 2012, PCHR stated, Major General Etan Dankot, Operations Coordinator in the Occupied Territories, told the "Israeli" Radio that "Israel" would allow the entry of raw construction materials, passenger buses, and trucks, and improve the capacity of electric power for the first time since the blockade was imposed on the Gaza Strip.
"In the light of experience of the past years, PCHR emphasizes that such facilities are mysterious and deceptive as the new allegations about this have not allowed the entry of all needed materials for the Gaza Strip," the statement mentioned, underscoring, "The allegations have neither mentioned any kind of change concerning exports from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank and other countries or their nature."

PHCR further stated, "The ongoing ban on imports of Gaza, including industrial and agricultural products, limits the possibility of reviving the Gaza Strip economy which has been continuously deteriorating due to this ban."
The Center saw that the best approach to end the dire consequences of "Israeli" policies against the Gazan civilians "is not represented by the "Israeli" declaration of alleged facilities or by lifting the blockade partially; rather, by immediately declaring an end of it completely."

Source: PCHR, edited by moqawama.org