[[{"content_id":336591,"content_number":0,"portal_id":2,"lang_id":"en","content_title":"Palestinian NGO appeals to UN chief to pressure Israel to lift blockade of Gaza","content_rtitr":"","content_short_title":null,"content_summary":"A Palestinian anti-siege group has appealed to the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to improve the deteriorating humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip by pressuring the Israeli regime to lift its years-long crippling siege of the impoverished enclave.","content_summary_fill":1,"content_body":"As Reported by Qods News Agency (Qodsna) Palestinian lawmaker Jamal al-Khudari, who is the head of the Popular Committee against the Siege on Gaza (PCAS), made the comments in a statement on Saturday, as quoted by the Palestine Information Center.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\n&ldquo;The situation in the Gaza Strip entails urgent and decisive intervention from the UN Secretary-General to pressure the occupation to lift the siege,&rdquo; said Khudari, stressing that &ldquo;ending the Israeli blockade will contribute to saving the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.&rdquo;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since June 2007. It has caused a decline in the standard&nbsp;of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nFigures show that 85 percent of Gazans are currently living under the poverty line, according to Khudari.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe occupying regime has also launched three major wars against the enclave since 2008, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory&rsquo;s already poor infrastructure.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nElsewhere in his statement, Khudari stressed that &ldquo;the blockade is immoral and inhuman, and contradicts all principles of international law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.&rdquo;\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe economic situation across Palestinian lands worsened earlier this year after the US cut all its&nbsp;financial aid for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nThe cuts in the humanitarian aid were soon hitting hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable people, especially in Gaza, where 80 percent are dependent on aid.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nSince March 30 last year, the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have been holding the &ldquo;Great March of Return&rdquo; rallies, demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland by Israeli aggression since 1967.\r\n\r\n&nbsp;\r\n\r\nIsraeli troops have killed nearly 310 Palestinians since the beginning of the rallies and wounded more than 18,000 others, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.","content_html":"<p>As Reported by Qods News Agency (Qodsna) Palestinian lawmaker Jamal al-Khudari, who is the head of the Popular Committee against the Siege on Gaza (PCAS), made the comments in a statement on Saturday, as quoted by the Palestine Information Center.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&ldquo;The situation in the Gaza Strip entails urgent and decisive intervention from the UN Secretary-General to pressure the occupation to lift the siege,&rdquo; said Khudari, stressing that &ldquo;ending the Israeli blockade will contribute to saving the worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza.&rdquo;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli blockade since June 2007. It has caused a decline in the standard&nbsp;of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Figures show that 85 percent of Gazans are currently living under the poverty line, according to Khudari.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The occupying regime has also launched three major wars against the enclave since 2008, killing thousands of Gazans each time and shattering the impoverished territory&rsquo;s already poor infrastructure.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Elsewhere in his statement, Khudari stressed that &ldquo;the blockade is immoral and inhuman, and contradicts all principles of international law, the Fourth Geneva Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.&rdquo;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The economic situation across Palestinian lands worsened earlier this year after the US cut all its&nbsp;financial aid for Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>The cuts in the humanitarian aid were soon hitting hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable people, especially in Gaza, where 80 percent are dependent on aid.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Since March 30 last year, the inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have been holding the &ldquo;Great March of Return&rdquo; rallies, demanding the right to return for those driven out of their homeland by Israeli aggression since 1967.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\r\n\r\n<p>Israeli troops have killed nearly 310 Palestinians since the beginning of the rallies and wounded more than 18,000 others, according to the Gazan Health Ministry.<\/p>","content_source":"","content_url":"","content_date_start":"2019-12-30 08:39:44","content_date_event":"2019-12-30 08:39:44","content_date_event_start":null,"content_date_event_end":null,"content_show_title_slider":1,"content_date_last_edit":"2019-12-30 08:42:54","content_date_register":"2019-12-30 08:42:54","content_columns":0,"content_show_img":1,"content_show_details":0,"content_show_related_img":0,"content_show_slider":1,"content_comment":1,"content_score":0,"tag_id":37627,"score_average":null,"score_count":null,"score_date_last":null,"uid":30,"eid":0,"attach_title":"Palestinian NGO appeals to UN chief to pressure Israel to lift blockade of Gaza\n 2","attaches":[{"sizes":{"150":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/201912\/465497_1232121154_150_84.webp","300":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/201912\/465497_1232121154_300_168.webp","400":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/201912\/465497_1232121154_400_225.webp","600":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/201912\/465497_1232121154_600_337.webp","900":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/201912\/465497_1232121154_650_365.jpg","1200":".\/cache\/2\/attach\/201912\/465497_1232121154_650_365.jpg"},"ext":"jpg","file_media":1,"token":1232121154,"files":{"original":{"url":".\/file\/2\/attach\/201912\/465497_1232121154.jpg","width":650,"height":365,"size":0}}}]}]]