Special Focus: The Gaza Strip after disengagement
This combined Humanitarian Update for
November and December 2005 focuses on the situation in the Gaza Strip following
the Israeli withdrawal from settlements, completed on 12 September (Box
1). Developments observed in the Gaza Strip after Israeli disengagement
have been largely negative. This Special Focus analyses the factors contributing
to the persistent humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, particularly linked
with access.
Box 1: Israeli disengagement
from the Gaza Strip and implications On 12 September 2005, the IDF completed its withdrawal of personnel and equipment from the Gaza Strip. This marked the end of the unilateral Israeli disengagement that commenced on 15 August with the removal of Israeli settlers from the Gaza Strip. It also marked the end of Israeli presence inside the Gaza Strip for the first time since the Six-Day War in 1967 (see maps p.2-3). On 15 November 2005, an agreement was reached between the Government of Israel (GoI) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) "...facilitating the movement of people and goods within the Palestinian Territories and on opening an international crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border that will put the Palestinians in control of the entry and exit of people". The agreement also spoke of the movement of Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to the West Bank through Erez crossing and an increased flow of goods, especially exports. |
The particularly concerning trend is the upsurge in violence within the Gaza Strip. Between 12 September and 31 December, 47 people have died in 97 internal clashes - a figure that exceeds the 33 fatalities resulting from Palestinian / Israeli confrontations.
Despite the physical Israeli withdrawal from inside the Gaza Strip, the Palestinian / Israeli conflict has continued with Palestinian militants firing at least 283 homemade rockets into Israel and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) launching more than 124 air strikes in which fatalities or injuries were reported. For example, four Palestinians were killed and four others injured in an IAF air strike (targeted killing) on 14 December. The IDF have launched 544 artillery shells into the Gaza Strip during this period. Most recently, on 28 December, the IDF fired 30 artillery shells into open areas in Gaza North and conducted six air strikes, injuring one Palestinian. Ongoing violence within the Gaza Strip continues to have a distressing impact on the population, especially amongst children.
On 28 December, the IDF declared parts of northern Gaza Strip a "no-go" area through an enlarged buffer zone including the areas of the former evacuated Israeli settlements of Gaza North. The 250 Palestinian residents of Al Siafa (within the new buffer zone) as well as an estimated 4,750 Palestinians in surrounding villages are affected.
1. Palestinian internal movement
The immediate and positive consequence of Israeli withdrawal has been a dramatic improvement in Palestinian movement within the Gaza Strip. Prior to disengagement, IDF military installations, checkpoints, earth mounds and road blocks protecting the Israeli settlements restricted internal movement.(1) At times, the IDF closed the Gaza Strip at two strategic locations - Abu Holi checkpoint in the middle of the Gaza Strip and the Beach Road in the north - cutting the Gaza Strip into three and making interregional Palestinian movement impossible. Movement from north to south in the Gaza Strip is now possible in approximatively 30 minutes, a journey that, in the past, could have taken many hours when movement was not prohibited. This has meant that critical movement such as referrals to tertiary hospitals, travel to schools and internal markets can now occur easily.
An estimated 6,000 Palestinians that were once in six isolated enclaves can now move freely(2). Prior to disengagement, these communities had to move through IDF-controlled gates or checkpoints and access was only allowed on foot. Patients had to be transferred from one vehicle to another because ambulances, like other vehicles, were not allowed to drive through the gates or checkpoints. For example, for the first time since the establishment of the settlements in the Gush Katif bloc in the late 1970s, it is possible for the approximately 5,000 residents of Al Mawassi enclave to reach Khan Younis unhindered.
However, new humanitarian needs and challenges have been identified in these former enclaves:
- Access for Palestinian fishing has improved in Al Mawassi but the wharves are in need of repair(3) and there is growing concern in Al Mawassi about the ability to export agricultural produce through Karni crossing.
- Currently, there is an oversupply of produce to the local markets in Khan Younis and Gaza City at significantly lower prices than could be fetched in Israeli markets.
- Schools in these enclaves were isolated and are now in need of a comprehensive education package including teacher training. With former residents having returned to these areas there is also a need to increase educational capacity.
- Land levelling prior to disengagement and delays in the removal of settlement rubble have stalled plans to develop agriculture on land formerly occupied by settlements.
- Al-Mawassi and Al Siafa are not connected to water pipelines and rely on water wells. Al Mawassi area was without water and electricity supply for 40 days following the Israeli disengagement due to Palestinian looting of infrastructure. Most of this has now been restored by the Palestinian Ministry of Power.
Footnotes
(1) As of April 2005, there were 212 closure obstacles within the Gaza Strip.
(2) Palestinian enclaves in the Gaza Strip were isolated Palestinian communities in close proximity to Israeli settlements or settlement roads. These settlements were particularly affected by internal closures.
(3) Due to the prohibition of use of Khan Younis wharf and the additional restrictions at the Rafah wharf, as well as Palestinian looting in the immediate aftermath of the Israeli withdrawal, the wharves are in need of repair; the estimated cost of repair is USD 675,000 for the Khan Younis wharf and USD 460,000 for the Rafah wharf. The ICRC has assisted in maintenance of fishing boats at the wharves.
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