Gaza needs action, not words or conditions

Oliver McTernan, Director of the charity Forward Thinking, provides a glimpse into the disturbing humanitarian crisis in Gaza in an exclusive interview with Press TV.

Press TV: What is happening here?

McTernan: Well, first of all, I have been coming to Rafah for the last four or five years and I was amazed at the resilience in the town. But that said there is an enormous need for food aid. The family I was staying with last night feed 150 people a day from their own money and as we left the house this morning a young boy came up and said have you any food today and of course they didn't.
So there is urgent need to get as much food in as possible. We have been here now several hours at the crossing waiting for some French colleagues to cross over. I have seen no humanitarian aid coming through, no medical aid, no ambulances crossing over and it really is such a pity that this should be happening at this time of need for the people of Palestine and in particularly in Rafah.

Press TV: What do you think about the reaction over Mr. Ban Ki-moon's statements about the situation in Gaza?

McTernan: We have had a lot of statements over the past few weeks, but very little action. And I would totally agree with your analysis that what is necessary is not talk but action. And what is needed most of all, immediately, is food and medicine without conditions. This is a humanitarian situation it's the responsibility not just of the neighboring governments, Egypt, but of the whole world to ensure that what is needed for this people of Gaza in the moment is given without disruption.
I would stress, we need action not words.

Press TV: Why do you think the Egyptian authorities are not opening the Rafah border-crossing even though they have full authority to do so?

McTernan: I think it's a great mystery and its something that should be looked at, especially after this conflict but I don't think Egypt has ever been friendly towards Hamas since they won the election and that is for obvious politician reasons.
It's sad that political concerns are now been put before humanitarian concerns, because the conscience of the world could be scarred at the lack of response to the need here at the moment.

Press TV: Where are we on terms of holding "Israelis" accountable for their deeds and bringing them to court?

McTernan: What needs to happen is for an independent body to look at what has gone on inside this territory over the past three weeks. What I saw yesterday was clear evidence of human targets or ordinary civilian targets, hospitals, mosques and you cannot say that they were being hit because they were people firing from inside them. There were the tops of minarets blown off, things that when the dust settles, when the emotion is over, we do need to take a good hard look and see who is accountable for what.
If we do not, I think the world runs the risk of slipping into an immoral situation, where we use politically correct words, disproportionate, when disproportionate in practical terms really means immoral and illegal. Therefore, I think the world leaders need to find again their moral values and someone needs to stand up for moral values.
Otherwise, the whole human order, the world order, is going to descend into chaos. Its going to be the rule of might, where you can do what you want to if you have got the means to do it.
And I don't think any country, any nation or globally the world could afford to slip into that situation.

Press TV: Do you think any action is currently being taken to ensure that this does not happen?

McTernan: Well sadly, I think the record of that action is very limited. We see atrocities committed all over the world and very few people called to account for it.
The time has come now as I said earlier, what has happened here is a scar on the conscience of the world. If we ignore the way this war was prosecuted, the number of civilians that were killed and the number of people injured, the whole of humanity suffers.
So its in everyone's interest now I think to say look you just cannot have the situation like this where we have world leaders running from one part of the globe to the other increasing global warning with all their travel but not in anyway achieving first of all a ceasefire when it was necessary three weeks ago, and secondly now ensuring that the humanitarian aid is let in, and thirdly ensuring that those who should be accountable for crimes that were committed, are held accountable and those who are neglecting the need now, there should be rightful questions asked of them if they want to be part of the civilized world if they want to be part of the community of nations and be respected as such.