Amnesty International: Israel Collectively Punishing Gaza

Amnesty International on Monday accused Israel of "collectively punishing" the population of the Gaza Strip with border closures tightened on the strip.

The British-based rights group said the firing of rockets by Palestinian resistance fighters -- which the Israeli military says has dropped by about 90 percent since its offensive in Gaza last year -- did not justify the sanctions.
  
"The blockade does not target armed groups but rather punishes Gaza's entire population by restricting the entry of food, medical supplies, educational equipment and building materials," said Malcolm Smart, the group's Middle East and North Africa director, in a statement. "The blockade constitutes collective punishment under international law and must be lifted immediately."
  
Amnesty said Egypt was partly to blame because it only occasionally opens its Rafah crossing with Gaza -- the only terminal bypassing the occupied Palestinian territories. It also faulted Cairo for starting work on an underground border wall in a bid to halt the smuggling tunnels that have become an economic lifeline to the territory.
  
"However, as the occupying power, it is Israel that bears the foremost responsibility for ensuring the welfare of the inhabitants of Gaza," Amnesty said.
  
Monday is the one-year anniversary of the end of 22-day Gaza war, which killed some 1,400 Palestinians and flattened entire neighborhoods.

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