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United Nations
Independent UN rights expert criticizes seizure of aid boat by Israeli
forces
2 July 2009 - An independent United Nations human rights expert today
denounced what he described as the unlawful naval seizure by an
Israeli gunboat of a ship carrying medicine and reconstruction
material for the people of Gaza.
Richard Falk, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in the Palestinian territories occupied since 1967, said the
Israeli action implements its cruel blockade of the entire Palestinian
population of Gaza.
It also violates Article 33 of the Fourth Geneva Convention, which
prohibits any form of collective punishment directed at an occupied
people, he stated.
A news release issued from his office in Geneva says the boat had been
inspected in response to Israeli demands before departure by the port
authorities in Cyprus to determine whether there were weapons on
board. None were found, and Israeli authorities were so informed.
Nonetheless, the 21 peace activists on the boat were arrested, held in
captivity, and have been charged with illegal entry to Israel even
though they had no intention of going to Israel, the release states.
Last month a group of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations
(NGOs) called for an end to the two-year blockade on Gaza, which has
left the population of 1.5 million almost totally dependent on
international aid.
In addition, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has repeatedly called on
Israel to ease its blockade, most recently during a meeting in New
York with Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian
Affairs (OCHA), the entry of essential goods and services, including
materials for reconstruction, spare parts for water and sanitation
projects, as well as industrial and agricultural materials remain
either restricted or banned outright.
Maxwell Gaylard, the top UN humanitarian official in the occupied
Palestinian territory, reported in May that the Gaza conflict which
took place from December last year to this January had destroyed some
4,000 homes and damaged another 40,000. While donors have pledged
billions of dollars for Gazas reconstruction, work cannot begin
because of the blockade.
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