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International Responsibility
Expressing alarm and frustration, the NGOs say:
"Israel has the primary responsibility to end the blockage." So does the world community to stop the illegal collective punishment of 1.5 million people. "The people of Gaza have been betrayed (by powerful nations) which can and must do far more to end the illegal and inhumane blockade:" an unconscionable grievous crime against humanity.
The NGOs' report focuses on what the international community can do, especially the EU as "a major funder of humanitarian and development programmes in (Occupied Palestine) and Israel's largest export market."
Thus far, its nations have abstained, as have others able to help. In a March 2008 report, many of the NGOs warned that the siege caused the most deplorable conditions in Gaza since the 1967 war and occupation. Then in September, they examined the Quartet's record (the US, Russia, EU and UN), warning that:
"if the cessation of violence ends, the consequences for civilians - both in terms of violent attacks against civilians and the humanitarian situation - will be dire. To this end, all Quartet members should demonstrate robust, public support for the cessation of violence and take further steps to deepen it."
The two and a half year siege, compounded by Operation Cast Lead's mass killings and devastation "left a legacy of destruction and loss. It is time to allow the people of Gaza to begin to pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and rebuild, by ending the blockade that prevents them. There must be no more excuses."
Israel's Agenda: Siege and Blocked Rebuilding
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