Gaza: Israeli daily violence and failing public services

10-04-2007 Interview

Gaza: daily violence and failing public services

On his return to Geneva after heading the ICRC's sub-delegation in Gaza for the past 15 months, Georgios Georgantas answers our questions.

What are the main problems that people living in Gaza face today?

The people of Gaza have to contend with extreme violence and failing public services on a daily basis. Health care, education and other public services have gradually broken down since aid to the Palestinian Authority was suspended in early 2006. Meanwhile, violence has surged as a result of the Israeli military operations, the fighting among Palestinian factions and the rise in ordinary crime.

©ICRC/T. Voeten/il-e-00604

Gaza, Beit Hanoun.

Gaza, Beit Hanoun.

©ICRC/T. Voeten/il-e-00604

How has the armed violence affected people's daily lives?

There are two sources of violence: the military operations conducted by the Israeli army and the internecine fighting among Palestinians.

The Israeli operations consist mainly of incursions into the territory that can result in the isolation of entire neighbourhoods or villages. During these incursions, people can no longer move about freely: they cannot shop, visit a doctor or go to a hospital. Homes are occupied and the owners sometimes no longer have access to food or water.

The main problem caused by the fighting among Palestinian factions is the lack of access to medical care. Ambulances are often delayed at check points or road blocks and cannot collect the wounded and take them to hospitals.

What activities is the ICRC currently carrying out in Gaza?

Above all we strive to reach the people caught up in the violence and bring them vital assistance.

One of our main priorities is to make sure that ambulances can collect the wounded. Another is to provide food and water for all those in need, especially families whose houses have been occupied. We also help repair basic infrastructure so as to restore access to water and electricity.

During the infighting among Palestinians, our main role is to remind the parties of their obligation to spare all medical personnel, ambulances and hospitals.

As an ICRC representation who has just spent 15 months in Gaza, what do you see as the organization's main achievements during that period?

Before I arrived in Gaza, I was afraid that it would be very difficult for the ICRC to carry out its activities in such a highly politicized environment – and one that was the focus of so much media attention. I was afraid that we would have very little room for manoeuvre.

Once I got there, however, I realized that our work ia especially useful in such an environment. Thanks to its professional expertise, the ICRC is able to reach people in need and provide them with essential assistance and protection.

Red Cross details 'unbearable suffering' of Iraqi civilians

Ian Black, Middle East editor
Thursday April 12, 2007
The Guardian

Iraqi civilians are experiencing "immense suffering" because of a "disastrous" security situation, deepening poverty and a worsening humanitarian crisis, according to a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

The ICRC also sees no sign that the American-led security "surge" in Baghdad is bringing relief to the capital, while hospitals struggle to cope with mass casualties as malnutrition as well as power and water shortages become more frequent across the country.

"The suffering Iraqi men, women and children are enduring today is unbearable and unacceptable," Pierre Kraehenbuehl, director of operations for the organisation, said at the group's Geneva headquarters.

The report, Civilians without Protection, provides a grim snapshot of the situation in Iraq but will carry special weight thanks to the ICRC's reputation as the scrupulously neutral "silent service" of international humanitarian work. It maintains a presence in Baghdad despite the bombing of its offices in 2003, and works closely with the Iraqi Red Crescent.

The report says that more than 100,000 families have been forced to leave their homes in the past year because of the shootings, bombings, abductions, murders and military operations.

"Every day dozens of people are killed and many more wounded," it says. "The plight of Iraqi civilians is a daily reminder of the fact that there has long been a failure to respect their lives and dignity."

Saad, a humanitarian worker, is quoted as recalling the scene after a bomb blast: "I saw a four-year-old boy sitting beside his mother's body, which had been decapitated by the explosion. He was talking to her, asking her what had happened."

The report quotes a woman as saying: "If there's anything anybody could do that would really help us, it would be to help collect the bodies that line the streets in front of our homes every morning and that we find nobody dares touch or remove." It was "simply unbearable" to face them every morning on the way to school.

Medical services are in dire straits, with many health workers fleeing the country after the deaths or abductions of colleagues. At Baghdad's al-Kindi hospital only 40 of the 208 surgeons who used to work there are now still on duty.

Torture of Iranian diplomat in Baghdad by US forces confirmed

Tehran, April 11, IRNA
Iran-Diplomat-Torture

Torture of the Iranian diplomat, Jalal Sharafi, by US forces was confirmed based on evidence on Tuesday when he was visited at the hospital by an ICRC representative and the Iraqi ambassador to Tehran.

Sharafi, the second secretary of Iran's embassy in Iraq, was kidnapped in Baghdad on February 4 by agents acting under supervision of the US forces and then released on April 3 following the relentless efforts of Iranian and Iraqi officials.

While in detention of US troops in Baghdad, the diplomat who is currently undergoing medical treatment at a Tehran hospital, was tortured by American troops, according to a report released by the Foreign Ministry's Information and Press Department.

Signs of torture are evident all over his body.

He was visited at the hospital by Head of the International Committee of Red Cross (ICRC) Peter Schtoker and Iraq's Ambassador to Tehran Mohammad Majid al-Sheikh.

The two saw serious wounds on Sharafi's body as a result of his tortures by his captors.

A report by his physician confirmed that during medical examinations cases of serious injuries were clearly visible on the diplomat's body including holes caused by a drill, fractures in his nose and neck, deep wounds on his back, bleeding of his digestive system and his perforated eardrum.
Sharafi told Schtoker and the Iraqi ambassador that during the first 15 days of his captivity, he was underwent "heinous tortures" such as drilling holes into his foot.

Iraqi Red Crescent: U.S. Is Biggest Threat

Dec. 15, 2006

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(CBS/AP) Harassment from U.S. forces is a greater threat to the work of the Iraqi Red Crescent than insurgent attacks, a senior official of the Red Cross-linked humanitarian organization said Friday.

Dr. Jamal Al-Karbouli, vice president of the Iraqi Red Crescent, said some U.S. forces appeared not to realize that the society, which uses as its symbol the Muslim red crescent instead of the red cross, was part of the international humanitarian movement.

"The main problem we are facing is the American forces more than the other forces," Al-Karbouli told reporters in Geneva. "We are spending a lot of time to explain about the Red Crescent."

Al-Karbouli said insurgent groups in Iraq did not pose as great a problem for the organization.

"The insurgents, they are Iraqis, a lot of them are Iraqis, and they respect the Iraqis. And they respect (the Red Crescent's) identity, which is neutrality."

In other developments:

Gunmen killed a Shiite tribal sheik linked to British forces in a drive-by shooting Friday in the southern city of Basra.

Two Marines were reported killed in fighting in a volatile province west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said. The deaths raise to 53 the number of American troops who have died in December, which is on track to being one of the deadliest months of the war. At least 2,942 members of the U.S. military have died since the U.S.-led invasion in March 2003, according to an Associated Press count.

Hoping for some good news, Iraqis tuned in to watch their national soccer team face off against Qatar in the Asian Games finals. But Iraq's bold bid for a gold medal ended in a 1-0 loss.

Three days before he steps down, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the architect of the war in Iraq, was to be saluted at the Defense Department with a full honor review by the armed forces. President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney were to be the lead speakers.

Al-Karbouli also complained that Red Crescent offices in Baghdad, Anbar and Najaf provinces had been repeatedly "attacked" by U.S.-led multi-national forces searching for insurgents.

"We have flags, we have everything, we have (the) logo, so they (U.S. forces) know everything, but unfortunately they come again and attack us many times," Al-Karbouli said. He complained that U.S. forces broke doors and windows at the Red Crescent headquarters "and they didn't find anything, and they left."

Lt. Col. Christopher Garver, a U.S. military spokesman in Baghdad, said the U.S.-led coalition forces "strive to ensure they are respectful when they conduct interaction with the local population."

"When we conduct searches, we do not 'attack' the place we are searching," he said.

Al-Karbouli said insurgent groups had tried to enlist support from the Red Crescent, but the organization had refused.

"We always say no. We want to keep our neutrality," he said.

Doctors and other medical workers have been targeted by militants in bombings and shootings in Iraq's relentless violence. Hospitals also have become safe havens for insurgents or Shiite militiamen, who have sometimes holed up in them in battles with U.S. forces.

The Red Crescent, which is part of the international Red Cross movement, has around 1,000 staff and some 200,000 volunteers in the country. It works closely with the International Committee of the Red Cross which visits detainees and tries to provide food, water and medicine to Iraqis.

Iraqi Red Crescent accuses U.S. forces of attacks

By Stephanie Nebehay Fri Dec 15, 9:45 AM ET

The Iraqi Red Crescent accused U.S. forces on Friday of carrying out a spate of attacks on its offices over the last three years during operations to flush out suspected militants.

Jamal Al Karbouli, vice-president of the Iraqi Red Crescent, said that in the latest incident, U.S forces had occupied and nearly destroyed its Falluja office, held staff for hours, and burned two cars clearly marked with its neutral symbol.

The only Iraqi aid agency working in all 18 provinces, its 1,000 staff and 200,000 volunteers already face extremely difficult conditions because of the growing sectarian violence, he said.

"The main difficulties we are facing, first of all, is the presence of MNF, the multinational forces, which sometimes gives us a hard time. They are attacking some offices and detaining some volunteers," Karbouli told a news conference in Geneva.

"The last example was about seven days ago in Falluja. We had our offices attacked by American forces, they detained the volunteers and staff more than two hours and they burned the cars and even the building which belonged to us," he added.

Karbouli said U.S. forces had "attacked" its Baghdad headquarters a number of times since the overthrow of former President Saddam Hussein in 2003. In most of the incidents, the Americans claimed to have received "information."

"Four to five times they have attacked the headquarters, they break doors and windows, just to see. And they didn't find anything and they left," he said.

"We don't know the reason behind it, is it to scare us or decrease our work or another reason, as they mention, fear of terrorists? We don't know."

"The Iraqi Red Crescent is the only Iraqi body working all over Iraq. Because of this, they are suspicious," Karbouli said.

U.S. CHECKING ALLEGATIONS

The U.S. military in Iraq said it was checking the allegations but said its forces do not attack sites while conducting searches.

"When we conduct searches, we do not attack the place we are searching. Coalition Forces strive to ensure they are respectful when they conduct interaction with the local population," U.S. military spokesman Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Garver told Reuters in an e-mail reply.

Karbouli said the agency faced pressure from militant groups in Iraq, where insurgents from the minority Sunni community and militias from the majority Shi'ites are accused of atrocities against civilians.

"They try to work with us many times. We say 'No, we want to keep neutral'," he told reporters.

"Fortunately we have a good reputation with Iraqis on both sides. Both of them respect us and trust us as a neutral organization," Karbouli said.

The Iraqi Red Crescent is providing vital medicines and other supplies to hospitals and vulnerable civilians, including some of the 100,000 uprooted families who have fled bloodshed. It also distributes messages from detainees to their families.

Multinational forces sometimes fail to recognize Iraqi Red Crescent identity cards, making it difficult for its workers to pass through checkpoints and fearful to leave home. "We are facing problems which stop us from work. At some checkpoints I.D.s are not respected," he said.

In the past three years, seven of the agency's staff or volunteers have been killed and about eight detained, either during incidents in their homes or while working, he said.