The UK-based Independent daily has slammed the US decision to cut aids for UNRWA saying the world cannot watch indifferently while Israel and the US continue to tighten grip on the Palestinians.
In Gaza young people’s lives are not their own. At any point they could be taken by lethal force and every day is defined by restrictions of their basic needs and control over their plans and aspirations. By withdrawing its funding to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) the United States is making that future even more uncertain said the Independent.
According to the same source the fact that Gazans are being cut off not just from basic amenities but from so many opportunities means that they “annot dream or even think about our future.
A few weeks ago the third paramedic was killed by Israeli Forces during the “Great March of Return” a series of demonstrations attended by as many as 30000 people over the past few months spanning the length of the Gaza Strip in front of the “no-go zone” which cuts the population off from access and opportunity.
The lack of control over their own lives experienced by youth imprisoned in Gaza every day is something that they themselves may not have the power to change it added.
The occupation of Gaza intensified 11 years ago when a land sea and air blockade – which continues to prevent people from leaving or entering the small strip of land – was imposed by Israel and Egypt. The blockade heavily restricts imports and exports which has decimated the economy and severely reduced the jobs and goods available for the population of around 2 million people.
According to the Independent the blockade also cuts the population off from the natural resources and amenities that people require to live and work severely reducing the capacity of local services.
The US withdrawal of funding to UNRWA and the life-threatening deprivation it will cause if the situation persists makes it even more urgent for the rest of the world to campaign for the blockade to be lifted and for individuals in Gaza to be given a level of control back to their lives the same source concluded.
