Israel’s continued siege on Gaza, a disputed settlement in the state of Palestine, was the focus of international community at the weekend as the various human rights and pressure groups commemorated the seventh anniversary of a global action to end the blockade of Gaza by the Israeli military.
The Nigerian-based International Institute for Human Heritage (IIHH) condemned what it called “most appalling conditions in Gaza” at a press conference it held in Lagos.
The IIHH convener, Mr Shakiru Yekinni, said Israel’s blockade of Gaza had turned the settlement into the largest open prison in the world, noting that 1.8 million Palestinians are daily subjected to inhumane conditions because of the Israeli military blockade of the settlement.
Yekinni said the Gaza blockade is reducing humanitarian aids to the settlement, forcing the people of Gaza to go into exile.
The Israeli sieged on Gaza, Yekinni said, is in violation of multiple resolutions of the United Nations (UN), which recognised the State of Palestine as the rightful owner of the settlement.
He said: “We join the rest of humanity in every part of the world in this global effort aimed at bringing the human tragedy that is ongoing in Palestine to an end. The 70 years of Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands has become a mission sustainable only through genocide against the Palestinian people, and one which Israel carries out unabashedly and in the open.
“The most appalling of the occupation conditions is that of Gaza, where Israel has imposed a blockade of all routes including land, sea, and air for over a decade with the calculation that the people of Gaza will abandon their claim to their land and begin a march into mass exile. The blockade has turned Gaza into the largest open prison in the world, where 1.8 million people languish under conditions unfit even for animals.”
For lasting peace to reign between Israel and Palestine, the IIHH convener said Israel must be prevailed on by the UN to obey the Resolution 242 of the UN Security Council in 1967, which established border agreement between the two warring states.
Yekinni said: “Israel has violated various UN resolutions on border agreement without punitive consequences, because the big powers have monopolised arbitration over the conflict and are all decidedly pro-Israel. This is why we appeal to the conscience of the people of the world, who support truth and justice to do the little they can to break this siege and allow the people of Gaza to live a dignified life.”
IIHH urged freedom-loving people across the world to support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS), a movement aimed at ending international support for Israel’s oppression of Palestinians and pressure Israel to comply with international law.
The body also called on the UN to intensify humanitarian efforts, including Flotilla Missions, to ensure food, medical services and relief materials are delivered to the people of Gaza to restore life back to normalcy.