PHM-Exch> Updated PHM statement on Israel's attack on civilian ships

[Claudio Schuftan]

5rd June 2010
*

People’s Health Movement statement on Israel’s attack on the civilian ships
carrying

humanitarian aid to Gaza
*

The People’s Health Movement (PHM)1, strongly condemns the Israeli
government’s violent and

premeditated attack on the civilian flotilla’s carrying peaceful activists
and humanitarian aid to Gaza on

31st May 2010.

The Israeli army’s attack using live ammunition, which resulted in death of
civilians and took place in

international waters, was a direct violation of international maritime law.
The activists were protesting

the Israeli blockade on Gaza. It appears that at least 9 civilians were
killed (according to the Israeli

sources), with dozens of others injured.

We note that the flotilla, among other forms of humanitarian aid, was
carrying vital supplies required to

address the rapidly deteriorating situation in Gaza as regards health and
health care. It included

essential medicines, wheelchairs and building materials – vital supplies
needed to rebuild health

facilities, address the acute shortage of medicines and help in the
rehabilitation of people maimed as a

result of military action by Israel.

The United States backed Israeli government has for many years violated the
human rights of

Palestinian people, through the occupation of Palestinian territories; the
economic blockade against

Gaza; and ongoing military action against civilian population under
occupation. The impact on the

physical and mental wellbeing of people, especially women and children is
severe (please see

People’s Charter for Health).

Many eyewitness reports and independent studies have documented the health
effects of the brutal

Israeli blockade of Gaza. Construction supplies desperately needed to repair
or rebuild water or

sewage treatment facilities, health clinics, and schools have led to crises
of public health in Gaza. The

interruption of pharmaceutical provision has harmed people with chronic
health issues (such as

diabetes and hypertension) as well as those requiring acute care. The
refusal to allow more than a

minimal amount of food into Gaza has led to unconscionable rates of
malnutrition, especially among

children (45% of children under 5 are underweight, 63% are anemic). [data
from April 09 report of

1

PHM is a global network bringing together grassroots activists, civil
society organizations and

academics from around the world, particularly from low income countries. PHM
works towards the

revitalisation of primary health care and works to address the social
determinants of health, including

in particular, the growing inequity within and between nations, mostly due
to unfair economic

structures which lock so many people into poverty and poor health. We have a
presence in more than

70 countries around the globe.

Mailing Address: P.O.Box 13698 St. Peter's Square, Mowbray 7705, Cape Town,
South Africa. Tel: 027 21 4473037

Fax: 027 866 707216 E-mail: secretariat at phmovement.org Web:
www.phmovement.org

Physicians for Human Rights-Israel and Palestinian Medical Relief Society]
These are the conditions

that the Gaza flotilla was attempting to redress because our governments
refuse to.

In their recent Human Rights Report, Amnesty International highlights the
impact of the collective

punishment of people living in Gaza as having “deepened the ongoing
humanitarian crisis. Mass

unemployment, extreme poverty, food insecurity and food price rises caused
by shortages”. Clearly,

the people in Gaza face a health emergency, contributed to by the decimation
of health care facilities,

as well as by the impact of the blockade and military actions on social
determinants of health.

The People’s Health Movement demands:

• A credible and independent investigation into this barbaric attack on
peaceful civilians and aid

volunteers;

• Israel to allow for the free flow of humanitarian aid to Gaza. According
to the UN, only a

fraction of aid required is entering Gaza.

• That Israel immediately suspends the economic blockade on Gaza and ends
the occupation of

Palestinian territories;

• That governments around the world sever diplomatic, trade and military
ties with Israel and

support the international campaign of Boycotts, Divestment and Sanctions
(BDS) against the

Apartheid Israeli state.

We call on civil organizations and citizens around the world to pressurize
their governments to take

action against Israel, to put pressure on Israel to allow humanitarian aid
and food into Gaza; to end the

occupation of Palestinian territories; and to end the blockade on Gaza which
is negatively impacting

on large numbers of women and children, elderly and the sick. We recognize
and appreciate the

growth of social forces within Israel who are actively opposing the
continued siege of Gaza, and we

call upon the Israeli government to end the increasing harassment and
repression inflicted upon them.

Bridget Lloyd (Global Co-ordinator on behalf of the secretariat)

Prem John (Co-chairperson, India), Fran Baum (Co-Chairperson, Australia)
Hani Serag (Associate

coordinator, Egypt), Amit Sengupta (Associate Coordinator, India), Alexis
Benos (Greece), Arturo

Quizhpe (Ecuador), Bala (Sri Lanka), Claudio Schuftan (Vietnam), David Legge
(Australia), David

McCoy (United Kingdom), David Sanders (South Africa), Delen de la Paz
(Philippines), Ekbal (India),

Jihad Mashal (Palestine), Lanny Smith (USA), Maija Kagis (Canada), Margarita
Posada (El Salvador),

Maria Hamlin Zuniga (Nicaragua), Martin Khor, (Malaysia), Mira Shiva
(India), Qasem Chowdury

(Bangladesh), Ravi Narayan (India), Sarah Shannon (USA), Zafrullah Chowdhury
(Bangladesh)

On behalf of the People’s Health Movement
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