The death of a Palestinian child on the Rafah Crossing in Gaza on yesterday evening brought the death toll amongst Gazans that have been stranded at the Rafah Crossing to 32. According to Palestinian sources, seventeen-year-old Abed Al Rahman Lubad was returning from Eygpt, where he had been receiving treatments for cancer.
With approximately 6,000 Palestinians stranded on the borders between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, bad health and dire humanitarian conditions have fuelled calls by European, Palestinian and Israeli human rights organizations to their respective governments to immediately open Gaza’s borders to passenger traffic, irrespective of their political agenda concerning Hamas.
The continued closure of the border crossing for more than six weeks has caused immeasurable harm to hundreds of thousands of Gaza residents: unable to earn a living, receive medical treatment – unless they venture into Egypt – or pursue an education abroad, they have become mere pawns in the struggle for control of the area.
As one Gaza resident noted:
Our situation is a nightmare, it’s hell. We came for 15 days to get treatment for the baby, and now we have been here for 65 days. My money has run out. There are many sick people here who traveled to Egypt for medical treatment and got stuck here… I have another son in Gaza and we cannot go back to him.
Despite the recent transportation of Palestinians from the Rafah Crossing to Al Awja Crossing after an agreement to enable a number citizens to reenter Gaza, a sizeable number still remain without free movement as a result of the recent internecine fighting in the strip.
While human rights groups lay the onus of resolution on the Hamas leadership in Gaza – under whose jurisdiction the security forces in Gaza reside – it can be contended that a substantial responsibility rests on the shoulders of Mahmoud Abbas, who is currently in talks with the Israeli leader, Ehud Olmert.
Perhaps during a lull in their banter, Abbas could ensure the welfare of Gaza residents by casually demanding that Israel opens the Rafah Crossing?
Filed under: Conflict Zones, Egypt, Palestine
[...] According to the chairman of the tour, Rod Cox, Gazan players would need to visit a sub-branch of the British consulate in Gaza, before their visa applications would be processed in East Jerusalem over the course of a fortnight. Moreover, even if their applications are processed in time, the players would encounter barriers leaving their strip, as the route leads through the Rafah Crossing (see article: No Man’s Land). [...]