UN Chief visits Gaza amid Israeli siege

Source: PressTV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=121327§ionid=351020202


The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has arrived in the besieged Gaza Strip as part of his two-day tour of the Middle East.

Before heading to Gaza, Ban said by visiting the region he aims to express solidarity with the Palestinians living in the coastal enclave and their strife.

The UN chief also highlighted the need to end the blockade that Israel has imposed on the strip.

While in Jerusalem (al-Quds) on Saturday, Ban criticized Israeli officials for subjecting Palestinian civilians to what he called unacceptable hardships.

Israel has continued to close all border crossings to the Gaza Strip ever since the Hamas movement won a large majority in the 2006 legislative elections.

The illegal Israeli-imposed blockade on the Gaza Strip, which has steadily tightened since 2007, has had a disastrous impact on the humanitarian and economic situation in the coastal enclave.

Some 1.5 million people are being denied their basic rights, including the freedom of movement and the rights to appropriate living conditions, work, health and education.

Poverty and unemployment rates stand at approximately 80% and 60% respectively in the Gaza Strip.

This is Ban's second visit to Gaza after the deadly 22-day offensive that the Israeli military carried in the coastal region back in 2008-2009.

Three weeks of Israeli air strikes and a ground incursion into Gaza between Late December 2008 and early January 2009 resulted in the death of over 1,400 Palestinians and the injury of about 5,450 people in the Gaza Strip. Most of the victims were civilians.

The carnage also inflicted more than $1.6 billion of damage on Gaza's economy.