Brussels, 08/04/2002 (Agence Europe) - President of the European Commission, Romano Prodi, and Humanitarian Aid Commissioner Poul Nielson gave the press, on Monday, an alarming picture of the humanitarian situation in the Middle East, and made a vibrant appeal to Israel for humanitarian personnel to be allowed free access to Palestinian populations in need, in compliance with the international rules of humanitarian law.
"I am increasingly concerned about the humanitarian situation in the Palestinian territories. It is beyond any doubt that aid is now urgently needed and that the situation in the West Bank is rapidly turning into a major humanitarian crisis", declared Romano Prodi. Aware that "the violence has spiralled out of control", he deplored the fact that "Palestinian suicide bombings have killed or injured hundreds of innocent people in Israel". He also deplored the Israeli military attacks in which, "in the last 10 days around 300 Palestinians have been killed, hundreds injured and 1400 arrested". Restating that the Union is willing to pursue its humanitarian aid to the Palestinian population, Romano Prodi announced that the Commission was preparing emergency aid of EUR 1.7 million to complete the EUR 5 million already programmed since 2 April for Palestine and the Lebanon, the implementation of which is totally blocked as there is no access to the victims. "The main problem for humanitarian workers remains the difficulty and impossibility of getting access to the most needy. All cities in the West Bank are totally sealed off from the outside world and the Israelis maintain a strict non-entrance policy", said the President, adding that there are numerous reports of "harassment, physical abuse and arrests of civilians, medical personnel and humanitarian aid workers". Romano Prodi also deplored the restrictions imposed on the activities of the International Red Cross Committee, the Palestinian Red Crescent and other medical organisations, human rights protectors and journalists, specifying that he has personally intervened to call for access by these teams, some of whom have been arrested or fired upon. Stressing that "most of the hospitals are unable to function because of the damage to the electricity, water, telephone infrastructure and lack of equipment and medical supplies", and that the civilian infrastructures including houses, schools, hospitals and UN offices have been considerably damaged, Romano Prodi urged for absolute respect of the "sanctity of all Holy Places", and of the principles of humanitarian law. "The Israeli government must guarantee safe access for humanitarian workers to the Palestinian population. The Israeli government must immediately pull out its military forces from recently occupied territories. We understand and respect the right of the Israeli people to live in peace and the duty of their armed forces to defend the safety of their population. But the time has come for the Israelis and Palestinians to break away from the infernal cycle of violence, revenge and retaliation", said President Prodi.
Poul Nielson, for his part, considered as "unacceptable" the repeated Israeli obstacles to humanitarian work. "There seems to be a concerted effort to hinder assistance to the wounded. The intentional attacks on medical teams which have prevented from treating the sick and wounded have reached an unprecedented level", the Commissioner said with indignation. He specified that the EUR 5 million in humanitarian aid allocated last week by ECHO (the Community's Humanitarian Aid Office) to Palestine and the Lebanon are intended for: - supplies of equipment to medical centres for urgent health care and the provision of hospital medicinal products and equipment; - the psychological help and material support of the most vulnerable families in the refugee camps of Rafah and Khan Yunis in the Gaza Strip; - the distribution of food and drinking water supplies; - the installation of health infrastructures and the disposal of waste in refugee camps and unregistered settlements; - the supply of professional assistance kits and adequate professional training to the most vulnerable Palestinian refugees in five camps in Lebanon; and assistance to mentally and physically disabled Palestinians in Lebanon. However, added the Commissioner, "these operations will only be possible once humanitarian workers get access to the targeted areas and beneficiaries".
The decision underway to allocate an additional EUR 1.7 million aims to cover the growing needs in emergency aid, namely: - the setting in place of an airlift for the supply of ambulances and Land Cruisers; - the distribution of food and medical kits to some 10,000 persons in the blocked off villages of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip; - the distribution of food, medicine, gas and water pumps; - and the deployment of a team of doctors in the re-occupied towns of the West Bank.
"We hope there will be a change in the attitude of the IDF (Israeli) authorities", concluded Poul Nielson, who insisted on the fact that humanitarian aid is characterised by its neutrality.