Israelis have Gaza swimming in shit

From an article by Mohammed Omer, Published on Monday, January 28, 2008 by Inter Press Service

GAZA CITY - A stream of shit snakes through Gaza’s streets. It is a noxious mix of human and animal waste. The stench is overwhelming. The occasional passer-by vomits.

The sewage treatment plant in al-Zaytoun neighbourhood in Gaza City requires 20,000 litres of fuel a day. Last week Israel ceased delivery of all fuel and supplies to Gaza. The consequences have been catastrophic.

Israel has blocked off fuel and supplies to Gaza because it says it faces rocket attacks from the Palestinian area, which elected Hamas in a democratic election.  Official Israeli sources say that about 150 homemade rockets have been fired from Gaza into Israel since Israel commenced this latest raid. Two Israelis have been SLIGHTLY wounded and several others treated for shock.

Israel has “retaliated” with firing from American-made tanks and attacks by American-made F-16 aircraft firing American-made Hellfire missiles into Gaza’s neighborhoods. At least 76 Palestinians have been killed, and another 293 injured since Jan. 1, officials here say.

Without fuel to pump it away, the waste backs up, flooding the streets and clogging the plumbing. The local ministry of health has declared this an environmental catastrophe.

Doctors have warned that a medical catastrophe could follow by way of spread of cholera and other diseases. That is at a time when not even life-saving medical services are on offer any more.

“We have to choose between cutting the electricity on babies in the maternity ward, cutting it to heart patients, or shutting down our operating rooms,” says Dr. Mawia Hasaneen, director of emergency at al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza.

The World Health Organisation released a statement Jan. 22 warning of serious health difficulties arising in Gaza Strip, isolated by the Israeli siege, the Egyptian border and the Mediterranean Sea.

Through the suffering, many Palestinians still do not blame Hamas.

“Hamas has never been the problem. The occupation has always been the big problem,” says Ammar. He instead blames Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who administers the West Bank Palestinian area, and who has been in talks with Israel.

“Abbas doesn’t deserve one percent of the respect that (former Palestinian leader Ysser) Arafat earned. Israel will never find someone as good as Arafat. He gave them a historical chance at two states. Yet despite this, they (Israel) laid siege to him.”

Rajaa Shalil, 38, and mother of four in Rafah at the Egyptian border, says “my respect for Hamas has increased more than ever. I love them for their empathy for the weak.”