Newsgroup: it.politica.internazionale
Titolo: Il ritiro da Gaza non c'e mai stato

Il rapporto, completo, e' a
http://www.gisha.org/english/index_eng.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6270331.stm
Although Israel withdrew from Gaza more than a year ago, its control
over the lives of Palestinians there is in some ways even tighter than
before, a new report by an Israeli human rights organisation says.
In the days after Israeli troops and settlers pulled out of the
territory, the then Israeli leader, Ariel Sharon addressed the United
Nations.
He declared "the end of Israeli control over and responsibility for the
Gaza Strip".
But a study by Gisha challenges that claim. The organisation says it
aims to "protect the fundamental rights of Palestinians living in the
Occupied Territories by imposing human rights law as a limitation on
the behaviour of Israel's military".
"Israel continues to control Gaza through an 'invisible hand'," the
organisation says, in a detailed, 100-page report.
"In contrast to the rhetoric used to describe the disengagement plan,
Israel has not relinquished control over Gaza but rather removed some
elements of control while tightening other significant controls."
Gisha argues that this means that Israel still has extensive legal
obligations for the wellbeing of the territory's population that are
not being met.
It says: "Gaza residents know that significant aspects of their lives -
the ability to exit or enter Gaza, the supply of medicine, fuel and
other basic goods, the possibility to transport crops to export
markets, the ability to use electric lights - depend on decisions made
by Israel's military."
 The report begins by referring to the continued, overt military
pressure on Gaza.
Until the ceasefire declared in November, Israeli air raids, artillery
fire and armoured incursions led to the deaths of hundreds of
Palestinians.
This was all part of the army's confrontation with militant groups -
like the Islamic Jihad organisation - which are based in Gaza.
On an almost daily basis they launch crudely made missiles at towns and
villages in neighbouring southern Israel - often describing their
attacks as retaliation for Israeli army actions in the occupied West
Bank.
But the new study focuses more on the much less visible forms of
continuing Israeli control over Gaza.
There is an air blockade. Israel has not allowed Gaza's international
airport to re-open.
The Israeli navy continues to patrol the coastline in what it says in
an effort to prevent arms smuggling. Palestinian fishing boats are
sometimes fired on for straying outside Israeli-imposed zones.
The Israelis have also been able to maintain control over all Gaza's
land links with the outside world - including the territory's border
with Egypt.
There are no Israeli troops on the frontier any longer, but Israel's
co-operation is required for the border crossing to function under an
agreement struck between Israel, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt and
the European Union.
That Israeli co-operation has frequently been withdrawn, and the border
was closed for nearly half of the first year after Israel pulled out of
Gaza.
Israeli control over the flow of goods in and out of the territory
remains total. And frequent closures of the main cargo terminal at the
Karni crossing point have had a devastating impact on the Gazan
economy.
The Israelis say the restrictions have been necessary on account of
continual security threats. Two years ago there was an attack by
militants at Karni that left several Israelis dead.
But Palestinians believe that the border closures are part of a
deliberate effort to maintain pressure on Gaza by strangling its
economy.
The report also highlights a range of administrative controls.
It points out that Israel has retained control of the Palestinian
population registry. This enables it to decide who can be a resident of
Gaza - and who can come and go.
The reports says that tens of thousands of people have been barred from
the registry and consequently have no identity papers.
The study sites the case of Mirvat Alnahal, a lawyer of Palestinian
origin and who has lived in Gaza since the mid-1990s.
"I am trapped here. I cannot leave for fear that I won't be allowed to
return," she says.
"My husband's ID card says he is married, but the box for spouse's name
is blank. My children were born in Gaza to a mother who, officially,
does not exist."
The report stresses the importance of Israel's continuing control over
areas of the Palestinian tax system.
And in its effort to apply pressure on the Hamas government, Israel has
withheld payment of tax revenue it owes the Palestinians worth hundreds
of millions of dollars.
The report points out that this has had a crippling impact on the
services that the government has been able to provide - and the policy
has constituted another example of Israel's ability to continue to
exert significant control in Gaza.
The study ends by saying that despite the withdrawal of its soldiers,
Israel's role in the territory means that it remains bound under
international and humanitarian law to allow freedoms of movement and
economic activity.
With continuing control comes continuing legal responsibility, the
report says.
The Israeli government has completely rejected this conclusion.
Responding to the study, a foreign ministry spokesman said: "We would
argue that to say legally that Israel has control of what goes on
inside the Gaza Strip when there are no Israeli police, soldiers or
civilians there is very far fetched.
"It doesn't hold water under international law."

 "It doesn't hold water under international law."
Quoto.
-Stefano