Sign international petition for an immediate ceasefire.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/gaza_ceasefire_now/3.php?cl=58093796

İt looks historical to me,or may i say used to be !
What is it Ros ?!

IT IS A DEMOLISHED HOUSE, AND IT MUST BE AN OLD HOUSE, I FEEL HEART BROKEN WHEN I SEE SUCH A DISASTER.

A new report has said that the humanitarian crisis in Gaza is at its worst since Israel seized the territory in 1967.

The study released on Thursday was conducted by a coalition of eight British-based human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Save the Children.

The report found more than 80 per cent of Gaza's 1.1 million population are now dependent on food aid.

Unemployment has risen to 40 per cent after around 70 per cent of the 110,000 workers employed in the private sector lost their jobs.

The report comes just days after a spate of Israeli raids left more than 120 Palestinians dead.

It also said that hospitals are suffering from power cuts of up to 12 hours a day, and the water and sewage systems were close to collapse, with 40-50 million litres of sewage pouring into the sea daily.

The organisations called on Israel to end its blockade of Gaza and for both sides to stop cease cross-border attacks.


Kate Allen, the UK director of Amnesty international said: "Israel has the right and obligation to protect its citizens, but as the occupying power in Gaza it also has a legal duty to ensure that Gazans have access to food, clean water, electricity and medical care.

"Punishing the entire Gazan population by denying them these basic human rights is utterly indefensible. The current situation is man-made and must be reversed."

Israel removed settlements and withdrew its forces from inside Gaza in 2005 but maintains control of most of Gaza's land, sea and air access.

After inter-Palestinian fighting left Hamas in de-facto control of Gaza in June, Israel closed the territory's borders, allowing only shipments of vital goods into Gaza.

Israel's defence ministry rejected the report, blaming Hamas for the hardships in Gaza.

"The main responsibility for events in Gaza - since the withdrawal of Israel from the territory and the uprooting of the settlements there - is the Hamas organisation, to which all complaints should be addressed," Major Peter Lerner, a defence ministry spokesman, said in a statement.

The Israeli defence ministry also said medicines and medical equipment are shipped into Gaza with no limitation. On Wednesday, the military said it allowed 69 truckloads of supplies into Gaza, including basic food and baby formula.

However, Zahir Janmohamed, the Middle East advocacy director for Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera: "The Israeli government needs to lift the blockade, humanitarian assistance is not reaching Palestinians and if things continue the way they are, then I'm worried that even more chaos will erupt."


Source: Al Jazeera

heh...,where has the picture Ros posted gone ?!
We look like silly talking about something not there
İt was a picture of destroyed historical house,why it has been deleted ?!

www.artadict.co.uk/images/gaza2.jpg

deleted on request

OMG

Conditions in Gaza 'the worst since 1967'
The British Government should end its boycott of Hamas and work to lift a crippling blockade of Gaza which has left humanitarian conditions at their worst level for 40 years, the top UK charities say today.


The call on Britain to spearhead a radical change of EU policy by promoting reconciliation between Hamas and Fatah comes in a stark report that describes the Gaza Strip overwhelmed by steeply rising poverty, power cuts of up to 12 hours a day, and water and sewage systems close to collapse.

The report condemns rocket attacks on Israel but warns that the "failing" international policy of isolating Hamas has not "reaped any benefits". Instead both the UK Government and the EU should begin a "political dialogue with all Palestinian parties" as a first step towards the establishment of a "credible" peace process with Israel involving both the West Bank and Gaza.

The report was published as the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, yesterday bowed to US pressure and current international policy by agreeing to resume his negotiations with Israel only hours after warning that he would not do so until there was a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas in Gaza.

The agencies, including Oxfam, Amnesty International, Save the Children UK, Care International UK and Christian Aid, say that last weekend's "upsurge in violence and human misery" in which more than 100 Palestinians were killed in Israeli military operations against rocket attacks "underlines the urgency of this report". They call for pressure on Israel to reopen the Gaza crossings.

The report says that with 80 per cent of families in Gaza are currently dependent on food aid humanitarian conditions in Gaza are now worse than "at any time since the beginning of the Israeli occupation in 1967".

With unemployment set to rise to 50 per cent, 95 per cent of Gaza's industrial operations have halted because of the closures of Gaza crossings. It says that between 40 million and 50 million litres of untreated sewage continue to pour into the Mediterranean daily because of a lack of fuel for treatment plants and warns of a current "60-70 per cent" shortage of diesel required for hospital power generators.

It quotes World Health Organisation estimates that the proportion of patients given permits to leave Gaza for medical treatment has fallen from 89 per cent in January 2007 to an "unprecedented low" of 64.3 per cent in December 2007 and that 20 per cent of patients, including five children, have died while waiting for permits. Christian Aid's director, Daleep Mukarji, said yesterday: "The UK Government should acknowledge that a new strategy is needed for Gaza. The current policy does not secure vital security for Israeli citizens, and even if it did the blockade policy would still be unacceptable and illegal."

He added: "Humanitarian aid can help stave off total collapse but it will not provide a long-term solution. Gaza cannot become a partner for peace unless Israel, Fatah and the Quartet engage with Hamas and give the people of Gaza a future."

Mr Abbas's U-turn came as the US Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, wound up her mission to the region by saying that the US brokered negotiations – which deliberately exclude Hamas – would resume and that while the Palestinian President would like to see an end to the violence in Gaza, "this is not a condition".

As 10 Qassam rockets landed in open areas in Israel yesterday, the Israeli security cabinet backed further military operations after last weekend's incursion – in which Israeli and Palestinian human rights groups estimate that more than half the deaths were of civilians.

Mr Abbas's espousal of two diametrically opposite policies in a single day appeared to reflect a deepening conflict between the goal of satisfying the demands of the international community and pursuing negotiations on the outlines of a future two-state solution, which show little sign of making progress.

The Israeli religious party Shas, which at present occupies a pivotal role in Israeli Prime minister's Ehud Olmert's coalition, has threatened to walk out if the "core issue" of Jerusalem – essential to any future negotiated deal – is discussed in the talks.
THE INDEPENDENT UK

Gunmen kill seven in Israel raid
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7282269.stm

A spokesman for Hamas, Sami Abu Zuhri, said the group "blesses the heroic operation in Jerusalem, which was a natural reaction to the Zionist massacre".

I was also listening to israeli politicians.
They have been talking about terrorism, gaza as terrorist base, terror attack on civilians etc..
Of course they dont want to say anything about 127 palestinians they killed in Gaza..