- GENEVA (AP) -- Palestinians
in Gaza and the West Bank have been "reduced to begging" by Israeli
military action, and Israel is breaching international law by failing to
provide much-needed aid, a UN expert said yesterday.
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- "There is a permanent, grave violation of the right
to food by the occupying forces. There is a catastrophic humanitarian situation,"
said Jean Ziegler, UN special expert on the right to food.
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- Palestinian villages are encircled by troops, preventing
food being delivered and farmers freaching their fields, he said. Many
villages had to buy their water because sources had been cut off.
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- Mr Ziegler also cited the destruction or confiscation
of fertile Palestinian land for military zones or Jewish colonies. "We
saw thousands of olive trees destroyed by bulldozers," he said.
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- Trucks of food sent to Palestinian villages either as
aid or for sale are stopped at roadblocks and unloaded. Villagers must
find another truck to load the food again after inspection and complete
the journey, he said.
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- According to the World Bank, almost one child in 10 in
Gaza and the West Bank is suffering from severe malnutrition.
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- Guardian Unlimited © Guardian Newspapers Limited
2003
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- http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,2763,1001422,00.html
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