Pierre Wettach (Red Cross) urges Israel to let relatives visit prisoners

The International Committee of the Red Cross Tuesday urged Israel to lift a two-year ban on visits to Palestinian prisoners from their families in the Gaza Strip.

"Families of Palestinians detained in Israel, who have been prevented from leaving the Gaza Strip for the past two years, must be allowed to resume visits to their relatives," the ICRC's chief representative in Israel, Pierre Wettach, said in a statement.

"This is a humanitarian issue of utmost importance", he added.

The Geneva-based worldwide humanitarian agency said some 900 Palestinians held by Israel have been deprived of seeing their relatives since Israeli authorities ended ICRC-supervised visits in June 2007.

"The situation has been especially painful for the children, who have gone without precious contact with a parent," Wettach said.

"On several occasions detainees or relatives of detainees have died without their family members having the opportunity to say their final farewells."

Contacts between prisoners and their families have been limited to written or oral messages by Red Cross representatives visiting the Israeli jails, the ICRC said.

The ICRC made a similar appeal to Israel in May last year.

Israel's war on Gaza killed nearly 1,400 Palestinians, mainly civilians, and wounded 5,450 others.

Among the dead were about 437 children, 110 women, 123 elderly men, 14 medics and four journalists.

The wounded include 1,890 children. The war also left tens of thousands of houses destroyed, while their residents remained homeless.

Israel, which wants to crush any Palestinian liberation movement, responded to Hamas's win in the elections with sanctions, and almost completely blockaded the impoverished coastal strip after Hamas seized power in 2007, although a ‘lighter’ siege had already existed before.

Human rights groups, both international and Israeli, slammed Israel’s siege of Gaza, branding it “collective punishment.”

A group of international lawyers and human rights activists had also accused Israel of committing “genocide” through its crippling blockade of the Strip.

Gaza is still considered under Israeli occupation as Israel controls air, sea and land access to the Strip.

The Rafah crossing with Egypt, Gaza's sole border crossing that bypasses Israel, rarely opens as Egypt is under immense US and Israeli pressure to keep the crossing shut.

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Pierre Wettach: It shouldn't be that difficult in Gaza

"It's a great challenge to carry out construction projects in the Strip, as building materials cannot be imported," said Marek Komarzynski, an ICRC engineer working in Gaza. "Humanitarian organizations such as the ICRC are forced either to come up with alternative and creative ways of proceeding or to put essential projects on hold."

In the Gaza Strip, efforts to provide the population with even the most basic services, such as water and sanitation, are severely hampered by restrictions on imports of construction materials, fuel and electricity.

The only way to fix up the Rafah plant is to recycle existing materials, such as water pipes, and to use components manufactured within the Strip. The shortage of cement has been overcome by salvaging concrete segments of the old Rafah border wall that lay abandoned after its partial demolition in January 2008.

Rafah, southern Gaza. Wastewater treatment plant. ©ICRC/M. Greub/il-e-01749

"It should not be this difficult to work on vital projects in Gaza," said Pierre Wettach, the ICRC's head of delegation in Israel and the occupied territories. "The water and sanitation infrastructure in the Gaza Strip is in dire need of a comprehensive upgrade. Even if the existing infrastructure were operating at full capacity, it would not meet the needs of the population. To provide Gaza's 1.5 million inhabitants with adequate facilities it is absolutely essential that materials such as cement, steel and water pipes be allowed in."

The upgrades to the treatment plant, which are being made in cooperation with Rafah municipality and the Coastal Municipal Water Utility, will help prevent serious risk to public heath and further harm to the environment. In addition, the treated sewage water will help fill the underground aquifer, which is the sole source of water in a territory suffering from a severe shortage.

"We aim at recycling 100 per cent of the wastewater," said Mr Komarzynski. "This project will also support agriculture in the area as farmers will be able to use treated sewage sludge as a fertilizer."

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Rotes Kreuz: Wettach kritisiert Israels Verletzung des Völkerrechts angesichts des schieren Elends

Das Internationale Komitee vom Roten Kreuz hat von Israel dringend Zugang zu Verwundeten in Gaza-Stadt verlangt. Die humanitäre Organisation warf der israelischen Armee eine Verletzung des humanitären Völkerrechts vor.

Ein medizinisches Rettungsteam des Internationalen Komitees vom Roten Kreuz (IKRK) und des Palästinensischen Roten Halbmondes (PRCS) konnte am Mittwochnachmittag erstmals in das Viertel Zaytun der Stadt Gaza gelangen, teilte das IKRK in der Nacht auf Donnerstag mit. Das IKRK hatte bereits am Samstag Zugang zu diesem Viertel verlangt, das von der israelischen Armee beschossen worden war. Die israelische Armee habe dem Rettungsteam mit den vier Ambulanzen jedoch erst am Mittwoch Zugang gewährt. Die Verzögerung der Zugangserlaubnis für die Rettungsdienste sei inakzeptabel, erklärte das IKRK.

«Schockierender Vorfall»

Das Rettungsteam fand in einer Wohnung des Viertels vier kleine Kinder neben ihrer toten Mutter. Die Kinder seien zu schwach gewesen, um aufzustehen. Auch ein Mann hielt sich dort auf, der ebenfalls zu schwach war, um sich zu erheben. Insgesamt seien in der Wohnung zudem 12 Leichen auf Matratzen gelegen. In einem andern Haus fand das Rettungsteam 15 Überlebende dieses Angriffs, darunter auch Verwundete, sowie drei Tote. Israelische Soldaten, die an einem Militärposten rund 80 Meter entfernt waren, befahlen dem Rettungsteam, das Gebiet zu verlassen, was dieses jedoch verweigerte.

«Das ist ein schockierender Vorfall», erklärte Pierre Wettach, Chef der IKRK-Delegation in Israel und den besetzten Palästinensergebieten. «Die israelische Armee musste von dieser Situation gewusst haben, aber half weder den Verwundeten noch ermöglichte sie dem PRCS oder uns, den Verwundeten Hilfe zu leisten.» Die israelische Armee habe in diesem Fall seine Verpflichtung gegenüber dem humanitären Völkerrecht nicht eingehalten, das verlangt, Verwundete zu evakuieren und zu versorgen, kritisierte das IKRK.

Die Artikel zum Thema

• [ Focus: Rotes Kreuz. Vorwurf der Völkerrechtsverletzung gegen Israel ]
  
• [ net-tribune: Vier Kinder in Gaza tagelang neben Leiche der Mutter ]
  
• [ Süddeutsche: Analyse: Schieres Elend in Gaza ]
  
• [ Tagesanzeiger: IKRK: Israel verletzt Völkerrecht ]
  

Nahost-Konflikt: Wettach mahnt Einhaltung der Menschenrechte durch Israel an

Kritik des IKRK

Kritik an der Einhaltung der Menschenrechte hatte zuvor das Internationale Komitee vom Roten Kreuz (IKRK) geäussert. «Wir sind sehr beunruhigt durch die steigende Zahl der getöteten und verletzten Zivilisten», erklärte der für die Region zuständige IKRK- Mitarbeiter Pierre Wettach.

Direkte Angriffe auf Zivilisten seien völkerrechtswidrig. «Wir haben dies bei den israelischen Behörden angemahnt und werden dies auch weiter tun», sagte Wettach.

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Pierre Wettach in Gaza: Still no ICRC access to Gilad Shalit

It has been almost 900 days since the Israeli soldier, Gilad Shalit, was captured by Palestinian armed factions from Gaza. To date, the ICRC's attempts to visit him and to establish contact between him and his family have been unsuccessful. Pierre Wettach, the ICRC's head of delegation in Israel and the occupied territories, explains.

Q: What has the ICRC been doing to gain access to Gilad Shalit and find out what happened to him?

A: First, let me express once again our deep sympathy with Gilad Shalit's family. Because ICRC delegates around the world are in regular contact with families in similar situations waiting for news of their loved ones, we are acutely aware of the distress and anger they feel.

Since Gilad Shalit was captured by Palestinian armed factions on 25 June 2006, we have been working hard to obtain access to him. We have repeatedly reminded those holding him of their legal obligations, calling on them both publicly and through our direct contacts to treat him humanely.

The ICRC has repeatedly asked to be allowed to visit Gilad Shalit and to convey family messages to him. In early November, the ICRC requested that Hamas forward to him thousands of letters and greeting cards from various organizations, individuals and schoolchildren. Unfortunately, all these requests have been refused.

Although our attempts have so far been unsuccessful, we will continue to do everything we can to obtain information on Gilad Shalit's condition, to gain direct access to him, and to establish contact between him and his family. We would like to meet him in private to make an independent assessment of the conditions he is held in and of his state of health. (...)

Q: What problems does the ICRC face in its work on behalf of Gilad Shalit and other detainees and missing people?

A: There are limits to what we can do and to what international humanitarian law entitles us to do when it comes to visiting people in detention or to finding out what happened to people who go missing in an armed conflict.

In the case of Gilad Shalit, we deplore the fact that political considerations have outweighed humanitarian concerns, and respect for basic humanitarian principles, making it virtually impossible to help him or his family. (...)

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