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"Gaza Fuel Cuts: Civilians Pay the Price"
Photos Show Impact on Daily Life
HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH
On the Web at:
http://www.hrw.org/photos/2008/gazafuel0408/
(Jerusalem/New York, April 23, 2008) – Over the past two years, Israel has used various means to reduce the supply of electricity and fuel to the Gaza Strip, starting with bombing the only power station in June 2006. In October 2007, Israel began restricting shipments of gasoline, diesel and other fuels. Israel’s control of Gaza’s borders and its refusal to allow the movement of goods across the border with Egypt – with Egyptian complicity – means that these essential goods are only available from Israel.
Israel’s stated goal is to exert pressure on Hamas, the de facto authority in Gaza, to stop firing rockets indiscriminately into civilian-populated areas in Israel – attacks that constitute a serious violation of international humanitarian law. But the energy cuts have had no discernible impact on Hamas’s ability to carry out these attacks against Israeli soldiers and civilians. Instead, they have had a terrible impact on civilian life in Gaza, crippling sanitation facilities and curtailing access to schools, hospitals, and other services essential for the civilian population.
Deliveries of gasoline and diesel in March 2008 were 80 percent and 57 percent lower respectively compared to March 2007, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs in Gaza. There have been no gasoline deliveries since March 18, 2008, and no deliveries of ordinary diesel since April 2, 2008.
The restrictions on electricity and fuel to an effectively occupied territory amount to collective punishment of the civilian population, a serious violation of international humanitarian law. Unlawful attacks by one side to a conflict do not justify unlawful actions by the other.
Recent attacks by Hamas and other Palestinian armed factions on the Israel-Gaza crossings, for the stated purpose of breaking Israel’s blockade, have led to further interruptions and worsened the fuel crisis. An April 9, 2008 attack by Palestinian militants on the Nahal Oz fuel terminal – the only crossing where Israel permits fuel delivery – killed two Israeli civilians. Since then, Israel has continued to block all supplies of gasoline and ordinary diesel, which is used for electric power generators as well as vehicles. These fuel cuts have brought transportation in Gaza to a virtual halt. On April 23, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) announced that it would have to halt its food assistance program to 650,000 refugees owing to the fuel crisis....
 Gas stations in Gaza have been closed since April 7, 2008. The United Nations says limited fuel supplies are having “a severe impact upon daily life for the population, and UN operations.” |
 Rocket attacks on Israeli border posts by Palestinian militants and a strike by gas station owners to protest the Israeli restrictions has exacerbated the problem. The owners say they are delivering to hospitals and other essential facilities. |
 The Palestinian Red Crescent Society has limited fuel reserves. It has reduced its services to emergency cases. Doctors and health care professionals face problems getting to work due to limited public transportation. |
 Car mechanics are doing a brisk business converting car engines to run on cooking gas because gasoline is in low supply. |
 School children are walking long distances or not making it to school because transportation has been greatly reduced. Universities have cancelled classes. |
 Few trucks are on Gaza’s roads. Fuel shortages are affecting an already crippled economy. |
 A main street near Jabaliya on a morning of April 12, 2008 is virtually empty due to severe shortages of gasoline. All photos © 2008 Fred Abrahams/Human Rights Watch |
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