Arab, Muslim countries call on Israel to allow NGOs to act amid Gaza storm

MADRID, January 2 (EUROPA PRESS) –

Nine Arab and Muslim countries on Friday asked Israel to reverse its decision to prevent international NGOs from working in Gaza at a particularly critical time due to the rainstorm which is shaking the Palestinian enclave and which has already caused deaths due to hypothermia and the collapse of buildings weakened by months of Israeli bombing.

The declaration is signed by the foreign ministries of Pakistan, Indonesia, Jordan, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and, in particular, by the two major powers mediating the conflict, Qatar and Egypt, who call for an urgent increase in the entry of food and health aid, as well as construction materials to shore up any salvageable structures.

Additionally, they join international calls for Israel to reverse its decision to ban the work of nearly 40 international humanitarian agencies. Given the critical situation, the signatories demand, these agencies must work “in a sustained, predictable and unrestricted manner, given their essential role in the humanitarian response in the Gaza Strip” and “any attempt to hamper their operational capacity is unacceptable”.

“The ministers stressed that the bad weather has highlighted the fragility of the existing humanitarian conditions, in particular for almost 1.9 million displaced people and families living in inadequate shelters,” said a statement which spoke of “flooded camps, damaged tents and collapsed buildings”, as well as “outbreaks, particularly among children, women, the elderly and the medically vulnerable”.

The ministers finally urge the international community to “assume its legal and moral responsibilities” and “pressure Israel, as the occupying power, to immediately lift restrictions on entry and distribution of essential supplies, including tents, shelter equipment, medical assistance, drinking water, fuel and health care.”