Rights Groups demand siege lift

Israeli and Palestinian human rights organizations issued a joint statement Tuesday, demanding that the Zionist regime lift all the restrictions imposed on the transfer of fuel into the Gaza Strip. 
 
They noted that the Israeli restrictions severely and unprecedentedly harm the health and welfare of the Strip's residents and runs counter to international law.
 
In the statement, the groups expressed their deep concern and harsh protest in light of the systematic harm caused to vital civil systems in the Gaza Strip, which are facing a complete collapse due to the limitation of the amounts of fuel Israel has been allowing the residents and institutions in the Gaza Strip to purchase for six months now.
 
"The fuel shortage in the Gaza Strip, which is under Israeli occupation and which Israel is responsible for by proxy of occupation laws, harms the electricity production in the Strip, as well as the activity of hospitals, private and public transportation, the water pumps and sewerages."
 
"The shortage damages the social and economic basic needs of the 1.5 million residents of Gaza," the statement said.
 
In the beginning of the month, a leading health organization said that dozens of Gaza residents have died waiting for medical treatment because of delays to obtain permits to enter occupied territories, combined with a crumbling health system in Gaza.
 
The United Nation's World Health Organization listed 32 cases since October last year in which Gaza residents, ranging from a 1-year-old child to a 77-year-old man, died because they are denied ugent medical treatment.
 
Six were waiting for Israeli authorities to issue a permit to enter, according to the WHO report. It said others were denied permits because they were considered a security risk to occupied territories - including a 65-year-old woman. Others had obtained a permit but died while waiting for security coordination to cross into occupied territories, the report said.