Gaza siege, protracted denial of human dignity

A top United Nations (UN) official urged Zionist regime to ease its two-year-old blockade of the Gaza Strip on Thursday to allow materials to repair dilapidated water and sanitation systems.

To drive his point home, the UN Humanitarian Coordinator for the occupied Palestinian territory Maxwell Gaylard led his enterouge to the edge of a massive reservoir in Beit Lahiya, north of Gaza City.

“The deterioration and breakdown of water and sanitation facilities in Gaza is compounding an already severe and protracted denial of human dignity in the Gaza Strip,” said Gaylard in a statement sent to reporters.

“At the heart of this crisis is a steep decline in standards of living for the people of Gaza, characterized by erosion of livelihoods, destruction and degradation of basic infrastructure, and a marked downturn in the delivery and quality of vital services in health, water and sanitation,” the UN official said.

The destruction wrought by Zionist regime’s three-week offensive against Gaza last winter exacerbated an already critical situation, leaving some services and facilities on the brink of collapse.

Gaylard, urged Zionist regime to "take immediate steps to ensure the entry into Gaza of construction and repair materials necessary to respond to the water and sanitation crisis that exists in the Gaza Strip."

According to the United Nations, the closure of Gaza’s crossing points imposed by Zionist regime since June 2007, equipment and supplies needed for the construction, maintenance and operation of water and sanitation facilities have been denied entry to Gaza.

Currently, some 10,000 persons in Gaza remain without access to the water network and an additional 60% of the population does not have continuous access to water.

Because sewage treatment plants remain in disrepair, some 50-80 million liters of untreated and partially treated waste-water are being discharged daily into the Mediterranean Sea.

Whilst some construction and repair items have been permitted to enter since the war, the UN and humanitarian agencies say this is nowhere near enough to restore a fully-functioning water and sanitation system for the people of Gaza.