Tuesday, June 1, 2010
Chengxi's
International development assistance CHALLENGE or FAILURE due to location or exclusion
In the past decades, the Gaza Strip has been in conflict and unrest. Here is an overview of events.
A look at dates and events in the recent history of the Gaza Strip, home today to 1.5 million Palestinians:
_1967: Israel seizes control of the Gaza Strip from Egypt during the 1967 Mideast war and begins to establish settlements there.
_1971: Israel's military conducts harsh campaign to pacify Gaza and defeat armed militants.
_1987: The first Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, known as the intifada, erupts.
_1994: Under the interim Israel-Palestinian peace accords, Israel transfers some power in Gaza to the newly formed Palestinian Authority. The Israeli military withdraws from population centers but retains control of borders and settlements.
_2000: The second Palestinian uprising erupts. Palestinian militants begin firing rockets from Gaza into Israel.
_2005: Israel evacuates all its settlements in Gaza and unilaterally withdraws its forces.
_2006: The Islamic militant group Hamas wins Palestinian parliamentary elections. Western powers declare Hamas a terrorist group. Internal Palestinian violence worsens and rocket fire into Israel increases.
_2007: Hamas wrests control of Gaza from the Western-backed Fatah movement in bloody street battles. Israel closes its border with Gaza and, along with Egypt, imposes a blockade.
_August 2008: The first boat sponsored by a pro-Palestinian group called Free Gaza reaches the territory. Five more boats follow before Israeli forces began to intervene.
_December 2008: Israel invades Gaza to try to halt years of rocket fire at Israeli towns. About 1,400 Palestinians are killed, many of them civilians.
_April 2009: An Israeli navy vessel collides with a Free Gaza boat steaming toward Gaza, then tows the boat to an Israeli port. Two more flotillas fail to reach Gaza in 2009.
_May 30, 2010: Israel intercepts six boats sponsored by Free Gaza and a Turkish NGO in an attempt to break the Israeli blockade. Clashes between naval commandos and activists result in dozens of casualties.
I'll talk about the International aid to Palestinians.
Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip receive on of the highest level of aid in the world. Aid has been offered to the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and other Palestinian Non-governmental Organizations (PNGOs) by the international community, including International Non-governmental Organizations (INGOs). The entities that provide aid to the Palestinians are categorized into seven groups: the Arab nations, the European Union, the United States, Japan, international institutions (including agencies of the UN system), European countries, and other nations.
In the history of events, it became obvious why aid was different to deliver to the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.
War between the Israeli and Palestinians caused much problems within the Gaza Strip.
Due to the violence and military level in these areas, aid that was allowed was limited.
On June 1, 2010, Israel launched a deadly attack on a convoy of ships carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza. This caused a casualty of 16 deaths.
Acts of violence made it nearly impossible to bring humanitarian aid within the Gaza Strip itself.
Through the decades of unrest, the area has become unstable for any form of sustainable development.
RECOMMENDATIONS
Although talks have been arranged with the UN, European Union, and representatives from Israel, they have not been effective in negotiating a leeway for humanitarian aid to be available in the Gaza War.
As such, I would recommend that UN utilises its peacekeeping forces to put a stop to the crossfires, and arrange for a treaty meeting amongst the nations within the Gaza Strip.
Organisations should arrange talks with the government of Israel and come to a compromise so that humanitarian aid can be brought into the war zones to help the innocent civilians.
The issue of the highest priority would be getting Israel to open up and allow humanitarian aid to the war zones.
Proper connections with their local support groups are needed to prevent any miscommunication in the land foreign to many.
We Loved11:26 PM
April 2008