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Statement by Barcelona City and its Municipal Council for International Cooperation Against The Gaza Strip Blockade
Tuesday 24/6/2008
The Gaza Strip has been suffering an unprecedented humanitarian crisis since the month of June 2007. During these twelve months, the economic, social and humanitarian situation of the Gaza Strip’s population has worsened dramatically. The blockade of the Gaza Strip has been denounced by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, by such organisations as UNRWA and ECHO, and by a substantial part of the international, Palestinian and Israeli civil societies. The blockading of basic supplies to an occupied population represents a collective punishment of civilians and it is illegal since it breaches the 4th Geneva Convention of 1949. This Convention, within the frame of International Humanitarian Law, establishes the rules and regulations applying to powers at war and/or the occupying powers of a territory, with respect to the civilian population. The Israeli State’s policy of isolation and blockade of the Gaza Strip and its inhabitants breaches various articles of this convention and especially those contained in its Section III (Occupied Territories), from Article 55 to Article 61. Under International Humanitarian Law, Israel continues to be an occupying force and, consequently, it is responsible for assuring and filling the basic needs of the occupied population. Not to do so constitutes a grave breach of the most elementary human rights. The distribution of fuel and electricity in Gaza has been seriously reduced in the last six months. The continuous interruptions in the supply of electricity have made it necessary to use emergency generators in such basic services as clinics and hospitals. The dependence on fuel and the Israeli refusal to supply the quantity required by the basic services has brought about the halt of basic medical equipment and services, jeopardising the lives of numerous patients and the provision of ongoing vital treatments for chronic and long-term patients, while preventing the correct provision of emergency services. The shortage of fuel and of replacement parts has also made it impossible to carry out the correct management of the solid wastes of the cities and the refugee camps, as well as the correct operation of the water-purification plants of the Gaza Strip, generating a situation which seriously threatens the public health in the territory. Many of the replacement parts and basic supplies have been retained at the border since June 2007. It should be recalled that the Gaza Strip stands among the world’s 10 territories with the greatest density of population and the highest concentration of refugee population, a fact which aggravates the blockade’s consequences even more. The city of Barcelona has maintained a friendship and cooperation agreement with the city of Gaza since 1998. Diverse projects have been carried out in Gaza, both directly between the city councils and with the cooperation and participation of diverse NGOs of Barcelona. We have worked together on projects for urban development and for the treatment of the public space, as well as on cultural animation projects, mental health projects and many others. Over twenty cooperation projects have been implemented jointly with Gaza in the last four years.
For all these reasons, the Municipal Council for Cooperation states that:
1. We express our concern for the present living conditions of the Gaza Strip’s civilian population, especially in terms of health. 2. We condemn the illegal blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel which, as an occupying power, shall comply with the obligations which are established by International Law, and we demand the immediate end of said blockade. 3. We condemn all acts of violence directed against the civilian population and we demand compliance with the provisions of International Humanitarian Law by all the actors in conflict. 4. We reiterate our support for a fair lasting solution based on dialogue and on the resolutions of the United Nations.
The undersigned persons and organisations, represented in the Barcelona Municipal Council for Cooperation, make a call to our leaders to undertake the commitment to the culture of peace, which has been amply and repeatedly expressed by the people of our city.
Barcelona City Municipal Council for International Cooperation 19 May 2008
Barcelona City Council 18 June 2008
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