Mennonite
Central
Committee

Aid organizations call for access to Gaza civilians

July 12, 2006

MCC has joined other international humanitarian and development aid agencies in calling for immediate access to civilians in Gaza to provide basic human needs.

A statement issued by members of the Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA), of which MCC is a part, stresses that it is unacceptable for the Israeli military to target infrastructure on which the civilian population depends.

"In particular, the damage to essential civilian physical infrastructure has resulted in the complete destruction of Gaza's only electrical power plant and damage to other basic services, including water delivery and sewage treatment facilities," says the statement.

This was echoed by Timothy Seidel, an MCC peace development worker in the West Bank. "The targeting of Gaza's civilian infrastructure only hurts the civilian population and is a completely unacceptable response by the state of Israel."

Civilians, and in particular children, are entitled to special protection under international humanitarian law, specifically the Fourth Geneva Convention, said Seidel, pointing out that Israel is a signatory to the Convention.

"With much of the water supply and sewage system dependent on electricity, this damage to civilian infrastructure raises serious medical concerns," he said.

The following agencies called for the urgent protection of civilians in Gaza, as well as immediate and unobstructed access for the delivery of critical humanitarian aid:

Mennonite Central Committee, Action contra el Hombre Palestinian Territories, American Friends Service Committee, Campaign for the Children of Palestine, CARE International, Catholic Relief Services, Comitato Internazionale per lo Sviluppo dei Popoli- C.I.S.P, GVC (Gruppo Volontariato Civile - Italia), Japan International Volunteer Center (JVC), Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation, Medical Aid for Palestinians - UK, Mercy Corps, Norwegian Church Aid, Save the Children Sweden, Save the Children UK, Swedish Cooperative Centre, The Lutheran World Federation and World Vision International.

MCC is currently working with a partner organization in Gaza on an emergency humanitarian response to the current crisis.

Seidel said one of the reasons that a humanitarian response is necessary is because Palestinian civilians have had no open access to needed services and viable economic opportunity, despite Israel's disengagement from Gaza last year.