(Palestinian Media Watch) Lt.-Col. (res.) Maurice Hirsch - UN officials and the Palestinian Authority continue to perpetuate the lie that Israel has applied a "blockade" on "besieged Gaza." Yet statistics released by the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reveal the truth. In 2022 there were 424,417 exits from Gaza into Israel via the Erez crossing. 14,909 exits were for Gazan patients, who were accompanied by 10,930 people, entering Israel to receive medical treatment. In addition, there were 245,145 exits from Gaza into Egypt via the Rafah crossing. OCHA also reported that 74,096 truckloads of commodities entered Gaza from Israel via the Kerem Shalom crossing. Only 5% were carrying humanitarian products. In addition, thousands of trucks entered Gaza from Israel carrying fuel. Since the UN's own statistics debunk the false claim that Gaza is under "blockade" or "seige," why does this lie persist? The writer is Head of Legal Strategies for Palestinian Media Watch.
2023-01-26 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive