A R C H I V E S
Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| Palestinian Poverty |
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| Sparrow |
| 01/29/03 at 13:02:49 |
| Charity: Action needs to be taken to end Palestinian poverty Tue Jan 28, 8:41 PM ET LONDON - Britain, the United States and Europe must act to end the severe poverty of Palestinians in the occupied territories, a British-based charity said Wednesday. Christian Aid said the Israeli government was largely responsible for a humanitarian crisis in the territories, which it said was just as fundamental to the Middle East conflict as suicide bombings. But it also blamed the United States, Britain and other European Union (news - web sites) countries for failing to ensure that Israel adheres to the Geneva Conventions and the Hague (news - web sites) Regulations, which relate to the protection of civilians during war or under occupation. Christian Aid said Israel was violating international humanitarian law and impoverishing Palestinians by imposing curfews and seizing and destroying property in the West Bank and Gaza Strip (news - web sites). It called for full Israeli withdrawal from the territories and for international monitors to be put in place to oversee the process. William Bell, the report's co-author, said Palestinians are living in a state of extreme, worsening poverty and fear for their future. "Almost three-quarters of Palestinians now live on less than US$2 a day — below the United Nations (news - web sites) poverty line," said Bell. "The international community must either find the political will to tackle this situation, or witness a farther descent into abject poverty, despair and hopelessness — a potent mix that will blight the lives of millions of people for years to come." Christian Aid said doctors were reporting a sharp increase in child malnutrition, anemia in pregnant women and underweight babies, as well as stress-related conditions such as heart disease and hypertension. They also reported a 100 percent increase in new cases at mental health clinics since the start of the second intifada in September 2000, most of them children. |
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