By IRNA
London : The Mid-East Quartet of the UN, US, EU and Russia, meeting in London Friday, was urged to end their “collective complacency Israel by putting the highest diplomatic pressure on the Israeli government to lift the blockade on Gaza.”
“The stranglehold on Gaza’s borders has made life for ordinary people in Gaza intolerable, and the work of the UN and other humanitarian agencies has been made virtually impossible,” said six UK aid agencies, led by Oxfam.
“The collective complacency of the Quartet is putting the future of the people of Gaza on the line,” said Oxfam GB Director Barbara Stocking.
“We need the immediate unimpeded import of fuel, humanitarian supplies and essential equipment and materials that have been withheld by Israel for more than 9 months to ease this human suffering and avert a disaster,” Stocking warned.
She said that it was “within the power of the EU and the US” to break the blockade.
“Instead of wringing hands and wagging fingers they should insist on an immediate end to Gaza’s suffering,” she said.
The ministerial meeting of the Quartet comes amid growing skepticism about the latest peace framework reached at the US-hosted summit in Annapolis last November, which pledged to create an independent Palestinian state by the end of this year.
The aid agencies, which also included Christian Aid, CARE International UK, CAFOD and Medecins du Monde UK, warned that the situation in Gaza was “worse still” than when their detailed humanitarian report two months ago found it the worst since 1967.
Last week, the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) was forced to temporarily suspend the distribution of food aid to 650,000 people due to lack of fuel and has reported that 300,000 people only have drinking water for 4 hours every 4 days.
Geoffrey Dennis, Chief Executive of CARE International UK, said that “peace will not be achieved by locking 1.5 million people into a prison of spiralling poverty and misery.”
“Strong leadership is needed from within the Quartet to convince Israel of the need to chart a new direction on Gaza,” Dennis warned.
“It’s time for the people with moral responsibility and international authority to take decisive action. This is a critical first step towards a viable peace,” said Daleep Mukarji, Director of Christian Aid UK.