End Gaza blockade, UN agencies, NGOs ask Israel

UNITED NATIONS - A group of nearly 40 UN agencies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) Wednesday called for an end to Israels blockade of the Gaza Strip, which has now been in force for two years and has left the population of 1.5 million almost totally dependent on international aid.
We call for free and uninhibited access for all humanitarian assistance in accordance with the international agreements and in accordance with universally recognised international human rights and humanitarian law standards, they said in a joint statement issued in Jerusalem to mark the second anniversary of the blockade.
While the indiscriminate sanctions are affecting the entire population of Gaza, they said, women, children and the elderly are the first victims.
The group called for a return to normalised trade, stating that the suffocation of Gazas economy has led to unprecedented unemployment and poverty rates and almost total aid dependency.
While Gazans are being kept alive through humanitarian aid, ordinary civilians have lost all quality of life as they fight to survive, they said.
In addition, the consequences of Israels recent military operation remain widespread as early recovery materials have been prevented from entering Gaza. Thousands of people are living with holes in their walls, broken windows and no running water, stated the group.
Last week the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that the entry of essential goods and services, including materials for reconstruction, spare parts for water and sanitation projects, as well as industrial and agricultural materials remain either restricted or banned outright.
Maxwell Gaylard, the top UN humanitarian official in the occupied Palestinian territory, reported in May that the fighting from December 2008 to January 2009 had destroyed some 4,000 homes and damaged another 40,000. While donors have pledged billions of dollars for Gazas reconstruction, work cannot begin because of the blockade.
The group warned that the ongoing blockade is creating an atmosphere of deprivation in Gaza that can only deepen the sense of hopelessness and despair among people, and stated that allowing human development and prosperity to take hold is an essential first step towards the establishment of lasting peace. Among those adding their voice to the statement issued today is the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the NGOs Oxfam International and CARE.
AFP adds: Israel removed a checkpoint outside the oasis town of Jericho in the occupied West Bank where it keeps more than 600 roadblocks that severely hamper Palestinian freedom of movement.
The Vered Jericho checkpoint south of the town, known to the Palestinians as the DCO (district coordination office), was dismantled, the army said in a statement.
The chief of Palestinian security in the region, Khaled Abu Kamel, confirmed that the barrier, one of dozens of major checkpoints in the West Bank, had been taken down.
Israel had dismantled the checkpoint in March 2005 as part of a deal transferring security responsibility for the Jericho region to the Palestinian Authority, but put the barrier up again in February 2006 after Hamas swept parliamentary elections.
According to UN figures, Israel has more than 630 roadblocks in the West Bank. They include more than 90 checkpoints manned by personnel and more than 500 other structures such as gates or other permanent barriers, earthmounds or trenches.
Only 20 of the manned checkpoints operate around the clock, according to the UN.
All of the structures, which Israel says are necessary for its security, severely restrict movement inside the West Bank, and the Palestinians have repeatedly called for their removal. Israel closed another major manned checkpoint, the Atara barrier north of Bir Zeit, on June 3.