"Gaza is in a state of collapse. It cannot support the
needs of its population on its own territory", said Claude
Bruderlein of Harvard University's Program on Humanitarian
Policy and Conflict Research (HPCR). Speaking at United Nations
Headquarters on 24 January 2007, he outlined the enormous challenges
faced by residents of the Gaza Strip, an Occupied Palestinian
Territory.
In 1947, the UN General Assembly approved the United Nations
Partition Plan for Palestine, whereby the territory would be
partitioned into two states--one Jewish and another Arab--with
the greater Jerusalem area coming under international control.
The Gaza Strip was created in the wake of the 1948 Arab-Israeli
war, and along with the West Bank and East Jerusalem, forms
part of the Occupied Palestinian Territories. "There are
much worse humanitarian crises in Africa or Asia", said
Mr. Bruderlein, "but the UN has a historic role in this
region and the responsibility to find solutions".
Mr. Bruderlein presented the HPCR "Gaza 2010: Findings,
Observations and Implications", which examined the challenges
of one of the fastest growing populations in the world that
live on a relatively small territory. By 2010, the Gaza Strip's
population would have grown by 24 per cent (from 1.38 to 1.5
million) and its current size is expected to double by 2028.
Other challenges include high levels of unemployment (36 per
cent) and poverty (70 per cent in the Occupied Palestinian Territories),
and an enclosed territory, with Israel restricting movement
along the Gaza Strip's border and coast, and controlling the
air space above it. In addition, natural resources like arable
land are shrinking and water supply from its coastal aquifer
would be depleted in 10 years, Mr. Bruderlein pointed out, saying
that significant new water sources will be necessary to sustain
the area's population, and possible solutions include desalinating
sea water or bringing water from Israel.
Scarce employment opportunities and an exploding population
in the Gaza Strip will likely lead to increased violence and
instability. "You have a large and growing young population
group in Gaza. People aged 18 to 25 are not patient. They want
things to happen; they want action", Mr. Bruderlein warned.
Since job creation is unlikely to keep pace with population
growth in the Gaza Strip, he suggested that migration of workers--and
the remittances to their home country--were the best way to
create stability in the territory. However, this would require
a plan to accommodate a "short-term, massive migration
of workers from Gaza".
The need for basic services, such as primary education, employment,
housing and health care in the territory will be overwhelming
and would increase risk to peace and security in the Middle
East, said Mr. Bruderlein, calling on UN agencies, Member States
and the international community to help stabilize human security
in the area. "Any Government would be unable to cope with
such a massive increase in population in an enclosed area."
Additionally, lifting the "embargo of contact", under
which the United States and the European Union halted assistance
to the Palestinian Authority in March 2006, is "vital"
to meeting the needs of the people of the Gaza Strip, Mr. Bruderlein
said. The ban has "severely limited the ability to continue
programmes with the Palestinian Authority. The employees are
no longer paid, and you can no longer meet with them. The relationship
between the international community and the Palestinian Government
has been reduced to the level of emergency assistance."
The embargo was imposed following the election victory of Islamist
group Hamas in the Occupied Palestinian Territory in January
2006, which refuses to recognize Israel and renounce violence.
Mr. Bruderlein also said that lifting the embargo "is about
recognizing that some issues need to be prioritized. Ministries
are not functioning along party lines at the technical level,
and it is essential that the support resumes, because of the
severity of the situation."
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