FIMA Year Book 2010-2011 - Federation of Islamic Medical ...

VIVA PALESTINA 5
Brief History of Palestine and the Invasion of
Gaza:
Historic Palestine is located in the Middle East, in
a region bordering Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt
and the Mediterranean Sea. It was part of the
Ottoman caliphate until 1918 when it was
occupied by Britain until 1948. The Balfour
Declaration of 1917 was the antecedent to the
unilateral establishment of the state of Israel in
1948. By 1949, the Nakba (catastrophe) had
resulted in the expulsion of two thirds of the
indigenous Palestinians and the Israeli occupation
of 78 per cent of the land 1 .
Gaza is a narrow coastal strip along the
Mediterranean Sea, in the south of Palestine. It is
about 41 km long and between 6-12 km wide, with
a total area of 360 square km. The population is
about 1,535,120 people (mid 2010 figures) making
Gaza one of the most densely populated areas in
the world.
The West Bank and Gaza Strip have been under
an illegal Israeli military rule since they were
occupied in the 1967 war. Although Israel
withdrew from Gaza in 2005 it has since tightened
its grip on the population, exercising absolute
control of who and what goes in and out of the
Strip by land, sea and air.
From 27 December 2008 to 19 January 2009,
Israel bombarded the Gaza Strip. The 22 days of
invasion and onslaught left 1,417 dead, of whom
926 were civilians including 116 women and 313
children 2 . Among the 5,380 injured were 1,872
children and 800 women. An estimated 21,000
homes were destroyed and approximately 50,000
displaced from their homes. 15 of Gaza’s 27
hospitals and 43 of its 110 primary health care
centers and large numbers of places of worship
(mosques), and educational institutions (including
schools) were targeted or destroyed.Over 30
hectares of green houses, nearly all of its 10,000
family farms and 800 water wells were damaged
resulting in ½ million without running water, 1
million without electricity and resulting in acute
food shortages 3 .
Summary of the Impact of the Blockade and
Military Operations on Gaza:
Gazans have been living under Israeli occupation
for decades enduring the restrictions implemented
by the occupying power. This was compounded by
the military invasion, further restricting access to
essential items vital for “normal existence”. The
people of Gaza have become destitutes in their
homeland, more so the women and children. The
current situation has been described as a crisis of
human dignity 4 .
Even prior to Operation Cast Lead, the code name
for the Israeli war on Gaza 2008-2009, the Gaza
economy was already in dire straits. The blockade
restricted or denied entry to a range of items, fuel
and diesel necessary for factories, businesses and
agricultural activities to function. The net result
was a stalled economy, with many businesses,
factories and farms either closed or operating at
reduced capacity.
In 2007, 79% of households lived below the
official poverty line (USD 4 per capita/day) and
some 70% below the deep poverty line (USD 3
per capita/day). These were expected to increase
by the end of 2008 – even before the Israeli
military operations. The agricultural sector had
traditionally absorbed unemployed workers from
other sectors. It could no longer fulfill this role
due to the lack of fertilizers, pesticides,
machinery, spare parts and access to foreign
markets imposed by the siege.
Fishing that provided direct employment to some
3,000 people was also affected. Many boats and
some fishermen were directly hit. Fishing
activities had already been affected when Israel
reduced the fishing limit from six to only three
nautical miles.
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