Committee hearings at the European Parliament generally do not attract the crowds. But today (or rather yesterday), Tony Blair was in town and invited to debate the current sad state of affairs in the Palestinian territories.
I didn’t stick around for Mr. Blair however. Other dignitaries were also present, including Max Gaylard who is the UNSCO Deputy Special Coordinator and the UN Resident/Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory. That is a proper title.
The past couple of weeks have seen a lot of attention on Palestine and Israel – between the quartet, the recent visit by Ban Ki-moon to Gaza, and the EU’s high representative Katherine Ashton among others.
Mr. Gaylard outlined his vision of Gaza, the West Bank, and state building.
He too had recently returned from the region. He described Gaza as a deteriorating socio-economic situation with serious human rights implications.
Water and infrastructure is just barely functioning, few people have access to clean water. The aquifer below is brackish and should be closed for at least 50 years to fully recover.
On top of which 80 million cubic meters of untreated sewage goes into the Mediterranean everyday. Poverty levels are slowly slipping he added and 80 percent rely humanitarian relief for food and cash.
“The business community, which is a driver for recovery and development, are for the most part wiped out. I saw people making bricks – cement comes through the tunnels, and steal bars that are reheated and used for construction. The problem in Gaza is in one word – siege.”
A wall divides Gaza and from Israel and Egypt. There is an Israeli navel blockade three miles off the coast.
The United Nations spent over USD 450 million last year alone for Gaza.
“Very little of that or any should be necessary,” he said adding that if the siege were lifted then the 3000 farming families and 3000 fishermen would be capable of producing and exporting enough to sustain a viable economy.
