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..Mass unemployment, extreme poverty and food price rises caused by shortages have left four in five Gazans dependent on humanitarian aid. As a form of collective punishment, Israel’s continuing blockade of Gaza is a flagrant violation of international law.
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Collective punishment
The Israeli authorities have put forward a range of justifications for the blockade - saying variously that it is a response to attacks from Palestinian armed groups, a reaction to the continued holding of the captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, and a means to pressure the Hamas de facto administration.

But whatever its stated justification, the blockade is collectively punishing the entire population of Gaza, the majority of whom are children, rather than targeting the Hamas administration or armed groups.

Three years after intense fighting destroyed the Nahr al-Bared Palestinian refugee camp, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) said that while it is intensifying efforts to rebuild the camp, it faces a financial crisis “unprecedented in scale.”
“We are $209 million short of funds for the reconstruction of Nahr a-Bared. We are struggling to find the funds to provide the displaced residents of Nahr al-Bared with the most basic needs of food and shelter until their homes are rebuilt. Economic opportunity is the basis for stability and progress. We must address the current lack of access to such opportunity to avoid fuelling renewed instability,” UNRWA head Salvatore Lombardo said in a statement on Wednesday.
The 2007 conflict between the Lebanese army and Fatah al-Islam militants left 27,000 refugees displaced. By the end of the year, UNRWA says it hopes to have 2,000 refugees return to their newly constructed homes.
“This should begin to alleviate the very tough conditions that have existed in Nahr al-Bared for the past three years, with many families cramped into converted garages and temporary accommodation units, and all education in the camp taking place in prefabricated buildings on a double-shift basis,” Lombardo said.
Last month, displaced residents called for a popular sit-in to call on the UNRWA to carry out its commitment to pay their rent allowance, which was reduced from $200 to $150.
Meanwhile, US Ambassador to Lebanon Michele Sison last week announced a new $20 million donation from Washington to the Nahr al-Bared reconstruction project.

in comparison with other [branches of UNRWA] we have in Lebanon the highest number of what we call “special-hardship cases”, which is “the poor of the poor”. We have 50,000 people in this situation, 20 to 30 percent of the [Palestinian] population, who live in deplorable poverty conditions. This is the highest percentage compared to all other [areas].

Why is there such a situation in Lebanon and not in other Arab countries hosting Palestinian refugees?

Lombardo: There are different reasons. One is obviously their lack of access to socio-economic rights, the right to work especially. It’s true that a number of Palestinians work informally, but the lack of social security, the low payments, the lack of a recognized wage… This certainly has an impact on them. And then there is obviously the procrastination of the situation that has been going on for a long time; there is nothing being done to improve their situation.

An improvement of the situation of the Palestinians would be an improvement for Lebanon too, because if you add a group of individuals who live in better conditions and they’re happy, you’ll have an improvement in the situation in the country.

Another factor is that there hasn’t been a solution for 60 years. And the right of return, which represents the absolute priority for everyone – the Palestinians, the Lebanese and for us as well – is not there. The stagnant peace process… This is certainly not helping to see a solution nearby; on the contrary.

Yet if you walk down Gaza City's main thoroughfare -- Salah al-Din Street -- grocery stores are stocked wall-to-wall with everything from fresh Israeli yogurts and hummus to Cocoa Puffs smuggled in from Egypt. Pharmacies look as well-supplied as a typical Rite Aid in the United States.
"When Western people come, they have this certain image of Gaza," said Omar Shaban, an economist who heads Pal-Think for Strategic Studies in Gaza. "We have microwaves in our homes, not only me, everybody. If you go to a refugee camp, the house is bad, but the people and the equipment are very modern. The problem is the public infrastructure."

Gazans lament where they can't go more than what they can't buy. They also decry the lack of employment -- with no building supplies and few trade possibilities, joblessness is rampant. Once an exporter of fruits and other goods, Gaza has been turned into a mini-welfare state with a broken economy where food and daily goods are plentiful, but where 80 percent of the population depends on charity. Hospitals, schools, electricity systems and sewage treatment facilities are all in deep disrepair.

Flying Dutchman wrote:But by every possible indicator Gazans are better of than the Palestinians in Lebanese refugee camps ...

Gaza – Ma'an – Gaza's first Olympic-standard swimming pool was inaugurated at the As-Sadaka club during a ceremony on Tuesday held by the Islamic Society.

shafique wrote:BTW, did you decide to start this thread before or after you clicked on this link:
http://www.gaza-strophe.com/eng/index.htm

SO WHO are these goddamn Jew-haters and their boats, The Rachel Corrie – the “St. Pancake” they should call it. Who are these Nazi human rights organizations? And who is this John Ging, this terrorist who runs UNRWA in Gaza? “We recommend the world send ships to Gaza,” he says. “Breaking the siege on Gaza is possible.”

We should put him on a ship and sink it.

The UN. Anti-Semites, all of them. They try to make everything in Gaza look terrible. Read this garbage by the “UN Office for the Coordinator of Humanitarian Affairs, Occupied Palestinian Territory.” (“Occupied.” I love that.) They put out a report every week about how awful it is for the poor Palestinians. Look at this crap from their last one, for May 12-18:

“Imports of industrial fuel to operate the Gaza power plant further declined this week… this week’s figure represents 27 percent of the actual estimated weekly amount of fuel required for the power plant to operate at full capacity. As a result, the majority of the population continues to experience power cuts of eight to 12 hours per day, forcing them to rely on generators run by fuel… These generators, which are imported largely through tunnels under the Gaza-Egypt border, can be unsafe… [A] generator fire broke out inside a house this week, killing two members of one family and injuring five others. Since the beginning of the year, 31 Palestinians have been killed and 41 others injured in generator-related incidents.”

They’re not careful – that’s our fault? They probably started the fires on purpose to blame it on Israel. Here’s some more garbage:

“Quantities of imported cooking gas also further declined this week… representing only 64% of the average weekly needs… As shortfalls continue, the rationing scheme for cooking gas, introduced in November 2009, remains in place.”

Oh, too bad, they won’t be able to heat their ice cream. A tragedy. Now look what big, bad Israel is doing to the poor fisherman in Gaza:

“Israeli restrictions on Palestinian access to fishing areas beyond three nautical miles from shore also continued to be enforced; in at least two incidents this week, Israeli naval vessels opened ‘warning’ fire toward Palestinian fishing boats, forcing them ashore.”

Jerusalem Post wrote:Gaza is a paradise if Foreign Ministry statements are any indication.
Don’t you just wish you lived in Gaza? Don’t you just envy those people who get to raise their kids amid such abundance? Look at all the stuff they’ve got:

“Truckloads of meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, fruits, vegetables, milk powder, baby food, wheat and other staples arrive in Gaza on a daily basis,” said the Foreign Ministry in advance of the “Freedom Flotilla,” due to either reach Gaza or get intercepted by the navy today.

The different dishes served in the varied Restaurants in Gaza will make your trip to the city a memorable one. There are many Restaurants in Gaza that offer unlimited opportunities to savor the traditional dishes of the country.

There are many types of Restaurants in Gaza. Tourists as well as locals can savor both traditional and regional flavors of the country. The dishes served in the varied restaurants of the hotel make use of a wide range of local ingredients. The restaurants serve vegetarian as well as non- vegetarian dishes that are prepared with extreme care and precision. You can relish the tortillas and the fajitas.

There are also many restaurants that serve excellent range of international dishes. There are some of the best Mexican restaurants in the city of Gaza. Apart from these there are many specialty restaurants in the city. Locals as well as tourists come to the different snack parlor and the cafe clubs that are scattered throughout the city. Locals mainly visit these places because of the quick services and the reasonable prices of the food. Visitors can relish a variety of local snacks that are prepared with great care.

The prices of the dishes mainly vary from one place to the other. Prices of dishes in most cases are usually moderate excepting a handful number of places. Most of the restaurants of Palestine are beautifully decorated. One can sit and relax in the cozy corners of the restaurants and can have a wide range of dishes. The staff of the restaurants is also friendly.

You can easily get a seat for yourself in the different Restaurants in Gaza. But on festive occasions seats are not available so easily. So it would be wise to book a table for yourself on the different special occasions.

All the Gaza restaurants are well located. There are varied ways of transportation in the city. You can avail any of the different means of transport to reach your destinations. Even if you walk around the city you would come across many restaurants and eateries.

BTW, did you decide to start this thread before or after you clicked on this link:
http://www.gaza-strophe.com/eng/index.htm