Israel tightens screws on Gaza
Gaza people queuing for fuel due to fuel shortage
While the Trump administration goes through the motions of its doomed Bahrain peace summit, Israel is tightening the screws on Gaza’s long-suffering two million Palestinians.
Israel announced on Tuesday that it had indefinitely halted the transfer of fuel into the territory “following the launching of incendiary balloons from Gaza.”
The ban on fuel transfers to Gaza’s sole and aging power station will drastically reduce the number of hours of electricity available to residents during the sweltering summer heat.
The measure comes days after Israel lifted its week-long maritime closure of Gaza’s coastal waters.
Israel’s total prohibition on Gaza fishers from working their trade was also a collective punishment measure imposed due to incendiary balloons and kites launched from the territory.
The punishment of a civilian population over acts for which they bear no responsibility is prohibited under the Fourth Geneva Convention, which was ratified by Israel.
The International Committee of the Red Cross holds that the air, land and sea blockade on Gaza, imposed since 2007, “constitutes a collective punishment imposed in clear violation of Israel’s obligations under international humanitarian law.”