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Gaza:Committee to Break the Siege demands opening of borders

Committee to Break the Siege demands opening of borders, as EU warns of serious consequences, and Israel bombs

by Julie Webb-Pullman
March 13, 2014

The National Committee to Break the Siege and members of the Palestinian Legislative Council in Gaza held a Press Conference outside the Egyptian Embassy in Gaza on Wednesday to demand the opening of Gaza’s borders.

Under the banner of “We’ll Stay Free, End The Siege” the speakers highlighted the perilous humanitarian conditions now prevailing in Gaza. Adham Abu Selmeh, Arabic spokesman of the Committee, demanded that the international community act immediately to enforce humanitarian law and end the suffering of Gazans.

In the video, English spokeswomen Huda Skaik provides a translation of his speech at 9 minutes in.

Hours later, the European Union released a report warning of dire consequences for the region of ignoring the plight of Gaza, and highlighting the economic damage caused by both the blockade Israel imposed in 2006, and Egypt’s destruction of hundreds of cross-border tunnels after the July ouster of president Mohamed Morsi.

Emphasizing that Israel bears the prime responsibility for the situation, the EU Report said Gaza is facing a dangerous and pressing humanitarian and economic situation.

It warned that if left unaddressed, the situation could have serious consequences for stability in Gaza, and for regional security.

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Meanwhile, Israel carried out a series of overnight airstrikes on Gaza, punishing the Palestinian population for the legitimate defensive response of its resistance to an Israeli incursion into Gaza territory on Tuesday morning, yet another of the 150+ documented Israeli breaches of the November 2012 truce. Israel followed up their border breach with the killing of three of the resistance fighters defending Gaza against it. This brought to seven the total of Palestinians killed by Israel within 24 hours, ensuring a further escalation.

The overnight Israeli airstrikes caused massive destruction, but no deaths or serious injuries were reported.

It seems only Quisling Cameron the USraeli president still believe the fiction of Israel’s commitment to peace – hundreds of breaches of the truce, and thousands of dead Palestinians prove otherwise.

ENDS

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