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Last week's cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, following an Israeli military incursion and rockets fired from Gaza, may signal growing awareness in Israel that war is not in the interest of the country. The growing humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza is at the heart of the issue and runs the risk of crossing the border.
For months, the United Nations and other humanitarian groups have warned that Gaza – with its problems of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition, contaminated water and overlapping diseases – will be "unlivable". By 2020. The UN, the World Bank, Save the Children, and other groups have even warned that Israel's continued bombing and economic blockade could result in the collapse of Gaza , which Israel would not be immune.
Such warnings are not new. The difference now is that the people at the center of power in Israel seem to listen. The resignation last Wednesday of Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who described Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ceasefire agreement as "capitulation to terrorism" is instructive. Lieberman insisted that the government "hit Hamas hard". His calls may have already been heard, but this time they have been ignored. In recent weeks, before signing the cease-fire, Netanyahu had even lifted the economic blockade imposed by Israel on Gaza. Both movements indicate that a fourth war is probably not the solution for the devastated Gaza Strip.
Contamination of water with water and the resurgence of diseases, especially among children, are at the heart of the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Doctors and health officials in hospitals and camps in Gaza report escalating rates of gastroenteritis, salmonella, typhoid fever, kidney failure, stunting in children, and even what is called blue baby syndrome – bluish lips, bluish skin, bluish faces, "said Mohammad Abu Samia, director of pediatrics at Al-Rantisi Hospital in Gaza. He added that he was also witnessing an increase in marasmus, a disease causing severe malnutrition in infants and young children. Independent studies have confirmed peaks of anemia, infant mortality and stunting. A study by Rand Corp. has also linked poor water quality with increasing child mortality in Gaza.
The main cause of the spread of these diseases is the Gaza aquifer, which has been regularly contaminated for decades by agricultural pesticides, sewage and the intrusion of seawater from excessive pumping. 97% of Gaza's drinking water wells are unfit for human consumption. Because well water tastes so salty, two-thirds of Gazans rely on an unregulated network of private tankers, which in turn supply water. E. coli. According to tests conducted by the Palestinian Water Authority, the rate of contamination of water tanks on the roof has reached 70%. E. coli can lead to severe diarrhea, which in turn can cause stunting in children. "It also means an obstacle to brain development," said Gregor von Medeazza, of UNICEF. "You would actually have a measurable impact on the IQ of these kids as they grow up."
To make matters worse, an estimated 29 million gallons of untreated and poorly treated sewage is flowing into the Mediterranean Sea every day. The contamination forced the closure of Gaza's beaches and led to the death of five-year-old Mohammad al-Sayis, who had ingested seawater and died of brain disease. This is the first time that Gaza has died by sewer. With Gaza's power station running only four hours a day, in part because of Israel's economic blockade, which resulted in fuel shortages, Gaza's sewage treatment plant has almost been shut down.
"The disease is on the rise," said Gershon Baskin, founder of Israel-Palestine: Regional Creative Initiatives, a Jerusalem-based think-tank. "And what is important to remember from the Israeli point of view, is that these viral and bacterial diseases cross borders." Some Israelis consider his alert. According to Gidon Bromberg, director of Tel Aviv-based EcoPeace Middle East, the contamination has even "led to the closure of the Ashkelon desalination plant, which supplies 15% of the water drinking water from Israel ". After all, "Israel has the Iron Dome that can shoot down rockets," he continued, "but nothing stops the sewage."
The escalation of the environmental and health disaster may well ultimately change Israel's policy towards Gaza. It is one thing for left-wing groups to criticize the effects of the Israeli blockade on the health of Gazans. But pro-Palestinian solidarity is no longer the only motivating factor. In January, a report by the Israel Institute of National Security Studies called into question the exclusion of certain "dual-use" articles from Gaza entry, which Israel justified on the grounds that some articles could be converted for military purposes. "[S]Israel and Egypt restrictions on movement and displacement have hindered post-conflict repair and reconstruction, "the report said. Israel's designation of dual-use items "includes 23 essential items" used in the water, sanitation and hygiene sector in Gaza, "such as pumps, drilling equipment and products. for the purification of water.
Even more telling: this year, an Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) unit approved a plan by the Palestinian Authority, the UN and international donors to address the crisis in the Gaza Strip. water and wastewater through a series of desalination plants and treatment. The unpublished document issued by the Coordinator of Governmental Activities of the Army in the Territories entitled "Emergency Response to Gaza" warned that "the civilian population in the Gaza Strip was in great distress" and called for "an immediate humanitarian response". (In particular, the absence of any guarantee that the Israeli army would not target the new construction would be a critical concern for Gazans, as Israel bombed critical food infrastructure in Gaza. water and electricity in the past.)
Last month, Israel also began allowing an increase in fuel deliveries to the Gaza power plant, doubling the amount of electricity to approximately eight hours per day. At the same time, Israel approved the delivery of $ 15 million of Qatar funds to Gaza to pay the salaries of Gaza officials.
After a decade of wars and thousands of casualties, the vast majority of whom are Gazans, Israeli officials seem to take seriously the dire warnings of the UN and other humanitarian groups. "We are working to prevent a humanitarian crisis, which is why we are ready to accept the mediation efforts of the United Nations and Egypt to restore calm and solve the problem of electricity." Netanyahu said. Haaretz shortly after the announcement of the ceasefire.
This change in Israeli policy, even temporary, responds to a long-standing warning of Gazans. "If you really want to change the lives of the people of Gaza," said Adnan Abu Hasna, spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, "you must first resolve the problem of water. Otherwise, you will see a huge collapse of everything. Otherwise, Gaza will not be a place to live. "
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