44 No. 57 JUSTICE NGO: IAJLJ - The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists Representative delivering the statement: Adv. Calev Myers Thank you Mr. President, The report of the Special Rapporteur emphasizes the need to lift the Israeli blockade on Gaza, and fails to recognize that it is actually the Hamas occupation of Gaza which creates the greatest abuses of human rights of both Palestinians and Israelis. The International Association of Jewish Lawyers and Jurists would like to point out that after Israel's complete withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005, and regardless of three wars instigated by Hamas since then, Israel has allowed massive financial aid, and tens of millions of tons of food, medical supplies and building materials into the Gaza Strip, including 1.2 million tons since the Egyptian brokered ceasefire of 2014. What is the nature of Hamas' occupation of Gaza? Instead of using massive financial resources and building materials, to rebuild the civilian infrastructure in Gaza, Hamas has invested them, almost entirely, in building a sophisticated network of terror tunnels underneath Gaza. This militant infrastructure runs beneath Palestinian schools, hospitals and residential buildings creating a death trap for Palestinian men, women and children. Ironically, it is Hamas that creates a virtual blockade on Palestinian and Israeli civilians, preventing them from living normal lives each day. The Special Rapporteur condemns the Israeli blockade in Gaza while neglecting to even mention the 25 deadly rockets fired from Gaza at Israeli civilian targets, in 2015 alone. How many Palestinian and Israeli mothers and children must be traumatized by constant bombings and missile sirens? In the words of Maayan Zweig, an Israeli mother who lives close to the Gaza Strip, "while others wake up to sunshine, laughing and even the cries of a baby, we wake up to the sounds of missile sirens, and the need to protect our children with our own bodies". Both peoples have been living in the midst of a Hamas death trap, since 2005. Both Palestinian and Israeli mothers, and their children, live trapped in a blockade of terror which threatens their most basic human right: the right to life. We are concerned that this Council's neglect to condemn Hamas human rights violations in the disputed territories actually encourages more violence, more radicalization of both parties and, sadly, creates less chance for peace. Human Rights Council 31st Session, 21 March 2016 Item 7 – General Debate
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