[Imc-East.-Mediterr.] FREE GAZA'S SPIRIT OF HUMANITY, WITH ISRAELI NAVY IN TOW, CONTINUES TO GAZA

Mon Jun 29 22:56:05 PDT 2009

Free Gaza on Cyprus says:  We just spoke w/the ship (5:30am our time). Everyone's doing fine. There are two ships trailing them, one off to the side & the other behind. We're a little concerned that the Israelis may be following the same protocol they did when they boarded the Lebanese ship back in February & arrested everyone. If they are following the same protocol, then we could expect an attack as early as 10-11am our time, 8-9am GMT.  UPDATES: lefthand column/sidebar at:  www.freegaza.org/en/live AND TO MONITOR PROGRESS WITH SATELLITE SPOT MARKER.  

Free Gaza does not seek a confrontation, it simply wants to visit friends in Gaza, deliver the aid on board the boat, The Spirit of Humanity, and restore some dignity to the Palestinians in Gaza.  

See ICRC report below and watch for Amnesty International’s report on Operation Cast Lead, Gaza and South Israel, EMBARGOED FOR THURSDAY 2 JULY.

|Tue., June 30, 2009 Tamuz 8, 5769 <http://www.haaretz.co.il>                                                |                      Israel Time: 08:34 (EST+7)|                 

     <http://www.haaretz.com/> Haaretz israel news English

Last update - 06:09 30/06/2009                                                                                                                                                                                            

Activists say Israel Navy intercepted Gaza aid boat

By Reuters

The Israel navy intercepted activists sailing to Gaza with aid on Tuesday, surrounding their boat and telling them to turn back, activists said. 

The vessel with 21 people on board was in international waters when it was told to turn back, members of the U.S.-based Free Gaza Movement on the boat and in Cyprus told Reuters. 

The Israel Defense Forces declined to comment. 

"There is a patrol boat around us and we were told that if we did not turn back they would open fire," said Derek Graham, an Irish activist. 

"We are continuing our course to Gaza," he said.

He was speaking via satellite telephone from a small ferry boat which had departed from Cyprus on Monday. Among the activists were an Irish Nobel peace laureate and a former U.S. Congresswoman. 

In Cyprus, the group also said it had communication from the boat that unless it turned back it would be fired upon. 

Israel tightened a blockade on Gaza in 2007 after the Islamist group Hamas took control of the enclave, home to some 1.5 million people. 

The Israel navy patrols Gaza coastal waters. It had intercepted activists of the same group sailing into Gaza on two previous occasions. 

West Bank and Gaza: ICRC report shows increased levels of poverty

Geneva/Tel Aviv (ICRC) – A growing number of households in the Palestinian territories are becoming impoverished, according to a report recently completed by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The ICRC's  <http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/palestine-report-211106?opendocument> Household Economy Assessment reveals a significant deterioration of the household economies in both the West Bank and Gaza over the last four years. About 60% of the households in both areas fall into categories described by their own communities as “poor“ or “very poor”. The situation in Gaza, where extremely high levels of poverty were detected, is especially bad.

"This confirms the fears expressed repeatedly by the ICRC concerning the consequences in humanitarian terms of the economic situation in the West Bank and Gaza," said Dominik Stillhart, head of the ICRC delegation for Israel and the occupied territories. The report illustrates how recent events, such as the cutting off of funds to the Palestinian Authority and continuous restrictions on movement, are exacerbating the economic deterioration that has been under way for some time now.

The ICRC used a system of classification determined by the communities themselves, and based on income in cash, to distinguish between “very poor”, “poor”, “middle”, and “better-off” families. "Not only is the number of “poor” families increasing," said Christophe Driesse, ICRC relief coordinator in Israel and the occupied territories, "but the average incomes of “poor” and “middle” households have also dropped dramatically since 2003. This implies a reduction in what people can purchase to meet their basic needs."

Households in the areas surveyed by the ICRC’s Assessment fall well below the World Bank’s poverty line if their cash income alone is considered. “Poor” households normally supplement their cash income with “coping mechanisms” such as humanitarian assistance, support from relatives, credit or loans, sale of property and possessions, small-scale commercial activities, additional income generated by women and children, and even delaying higher education. However, these “coping mechanisms” have grown fragile: most of them have been in use for four years. "For example, small shops are increasingly reluctant to extend credit because debtors are becoming unable to repay their loans," said Mr Driesse.

According to the Assessment, the economic situation of "middle" and "better-off" households is also worsening, and these groups are a major source of informal economic and social support.  
Mr Stillhart concludes, "Humanitarian assistance alone, in whatever form, will not solve the problem in a sustainable way. It is the responsibility of the State of Israel, as the occupying power, to ensure that Palestinians can meet their basic needs."

For further information, please contact:
Dorothea Krimitsas, ICRC Geneva, tel: +41 22 730 25 90 or +41 79 251 93 18
Simon Schorno, ICRC Jerusalem, tel: +972 2 582 88 45 or +972 52 601 91 50
Bana Sayeh, ICRC Jerusalem, tel: +972 2 582 88 45 or +972 52 601 91 48
Sharon Yeheskel-Oron, ICRC Tel Aviv, tel: +972 3 524 52 86 or +972 54 636 87 22

  Read also the ICRC report on the tragic consequences that the interruption of essential health services has had on the Palestinian population :  <http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/palestine-report-151106?opendocument> Declining health services in the Palestinian territories

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