Tragic News that coronavirus has reached Gaza.
With the illegal, Israeli blockade of Gaza and brutal military occupation of the West Bank the results will be catastrophic but we can do something to help NOW.
Several organisations have got together to write to the Prime Minister urging action. You can add your voice here www.psna.nz/petition
We can’t expect help from Israel government. Prime Minister Netanyahu says Palestinians are an existential threat to Israel and the only way to deal with Palestinians is to beat them up – not once but repeatedly beat them up – until its unbearable.
Netanyahu and the Israeli establishment will be unmoved to see devastation to Palestinian families and communities living in overcrowded refugee camps and under a brutal military occupation and blockade.
Here is the letter you can sign at www.psna.nz/petition
Palestine Solidarity – combined organisations’ letter to the Prime Minister
20 March 2020
Jacinda Ardern
Prime Minister
Parliament Buildings
Wellington
Email j.ardern@ministers.govt.nz
Kia ora Ms Ardern,
Covid 19 and Gaza
The more than two million people living in the blockaded Gaza strip in Palestine are being left to face the Coronavirus with hopelessly inadequate medical facilities and extreme overcrowding – conditions in which the virus will spread rapidly and devastatingly unless action is taken now.
The usual medical and public policy advice to Palestinians cannot hope to deal with this terrifying scenario. Health officials warn that if the virus enters Gaza, containment and treatment under the Israeli blockade will be nearly impossible.
Gaza’s hospitals are already unable to cope with “normal” medical situations. In March last year the United Nations Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory, Mr. Jamie McGoldrick, reported on Gaza’s “chronic power outages, gaps in critical services, including mental health and psychosocial support, and shortages of essential medicines and supplies.”
In similar vein the Israeli human rights organisation B’Tselem has reported that, even before coronavirus, Gaza’s barely functioning hospitals are dealing with the fallout from thousands of injuries which have resulted from murderous Israeli sniper fire on demonstrators in the ”Great March of Return” protests on the Gaza side of the security fence.
97% of all Gaza’s water is not fit to drink and Gazan hospitals don’t have enough clean water even for medical staff to wash safely. Simply calling on people to wash their hands regularly and keep social distances is a recipe for an unmitigated human catastrophe.
The situation is little better in the occupied Palestinian territories of the West Bank where, as a result of Israeli’s brutal military occupation, medical facilities are also inadequate with serious shortages of basic medical equipment, trained personnel and essential medical supplies.
The looming human catastrophe is clear. When medically well supplied countries like Italy and South Korea have struggled to contain the virus there is no way the hospitals in Gaza or the occupied Palestinian territories will be able to cope.
Each year New Zealand votes at the United Nations for the end of Israel’s military occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza.
It’s now critical for the government to back up those votes with effective political action. We urge you to put the welfare of Palestinians alongside concern for New Zealanders and speak out calling for Israel to end its blockade of Gaza and military occupation of the Palestinian territories and allow Palestinians to access the medical supplies and equipment they need to deal with this crisis.
Na,
John Minto
National Chair
Palestine Solidarity Network Aotearoa
Jeremy Rose, Marilyn Garson, Fred Albert and David Weinstein
Members of Sh’ma Koleinu – Alternative Jewish Voices
(Marilyn worked in Gaza 2011 to 2015)
Cardinal John Dew
Catholic Archbishop of Wellington
Philip Richardson
Bishop, Diocese of Waikato and Taranaki
Archbishop and Primate
Anglican Church of Aotearoa, New Zealand and Polynesia
Anjum Rahman
Islamic Women’s Council of New Zealand
Julie Webb-Pullman
(Julie has lived and worked in Gaza since 2008 – currently visiting New Zealand)
Roger Fowler
Kia ora Gaza
Mike Treen
National Director Unite Union
Convenor Global Peace and Justice Aotearoa
Syd Keepa
Maori Vice-President of the Council of Trade Unions
Annette Sykes
Maori human rights lawyer
Janfrie Wakim
Palestine Human Rights Campaign
Leslie and Marian Bravery
Authors of “In Occupied Palestine”
Kevin McBride
Pax Christie
Megan Hutching
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
Jim Consedine
NZ Catholic Workers Movement
Horrible. Really sad what is going to happen in these camps and in countries where they can’t get food and medicine in.
The Israeli Ambassador should be expelled..New Zealand should openly , publicly condemn the Israeli regime.
Think of the children. Children make up half of Gaza’s population.They have already witnessed so much death and destruction.
We, all of humanity, are in this together. We need to be able to believe that ‘each Palestinian child is our child’.
Of course, you and Minto would never mention that Egypt also enforces the blockade on Gaza, because Hamas terrorists attack and murder their soldiers in Sinai.
‘Think of the children’….I think of the 1.5 million Jewish children slaughtered by the Nazis, while the world sat on its hands. Jewish lives, of course, have no value to you.
Ahhh Gaby, you have made a fatal mistake commenting on a Minto/ Bravery/Griffiths anti Israel post:
You mentioned the Egypt blackade! It is never mentioned by the posters and never picked up on when mentioned by others (myself included) please don’t throw in the fact of another blockade by an Islamic country of palestine, it interferes with their anti-Israel rhetoric.
You people are unbelievable, the way you sever cause from effect. If the Arabs in the Gaza Strip lack medical supplies it’s because their brutal thugs of leaders, the listed terror group, Hamas, have squandered billions on illegal arms, like the 12,000 rockets they’ve fired into Israel, trying to murder civilians, and digging terror tunnels to strike at those same Israeli civilians or kidnap Israeli soldiers. The world knows the truth. You are wasting your time. Bet you won’t say no to the vaccine Israelis are close to producing to cure the Covid19, though. Hypocrites.
@ gaby.
God. You’re boring.
Wow! Dazzling repartee there, country bumpkin.
Corona virus is a global threat. What ever you thought politics was, we are all on the same team now. That’s the only way we beat a pandemic. Now what can I do to help you join the team?
Gaby we have a saying in this country that originated in the big fight in 1981 against apartheid. We were fighting for the 25 million Africans in South Africa oppressed by the minority 5 million whites.
We shouted to the white springbok team touring Aotearoa
‘paint them black and send them back’
Some how Gabby you need to get yourself inside the skin of a Palestinian livng in Gaza whilst the Israeli nation with their enormous army and firepower, propped up by the bully boys of the world, the US government shoots innocent people, drops bombs on hospitals, harasses Palestinians going about their lives. You know Israeli snipers are proud of how many Palestinians they have shot in the knees, they see this as something to show off about.
Seen the videos of schools and hospitals being used as weapon stores Michal?
The terrorist organisations of Hamas/Hezbollah use these buildings, as well as local mosques for weapon storage, why?
Because they know if their weapon stores are targeted all that will be reported will be the ‘innocent’ killed!
The leaders in palestine are not only cowards, but they must keep up the rocket attacks into Israel otherwise (god forbid) the donations will dry up and they can’t buy weapons!!
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