GAZA CITY: People with disabilities can face an “extraordinarily difficult” life in the Gaza Strip due to the Israeli blockade and lack of assistance from Hamas, Human Rights Watch warned Thursday.
Two million Palestinians live in the poverty and conflict-plagued enclave wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea.
In a report released on the International Day of Persons with Disabilities, HRW said the 2007 blockade Israel imposed on the territory following Hamas’s rise to power had “robbed people with disabilities in Gaza of their freedom of movement.”
Emina Cerimovic, senior researcher in HRW’s disability rights division, said Israeli control of Gaza’s eastern border had also impaired “access to the devices, electricity, and technology they need to communicate or leave their homes.”
Israel limits the entry into Gaza of goods that could be used for military purposes and controls the flow of fuel needed to power the enclave’s sole electricity plant.
The report noted the impact of recurring power cuts on people with disabilities who need light to communicate through sign language, or electric lifts or scooters to get around.
Hamas, which has fought three wars with Israel since 2008, has failed to provide sufficient ramps or lifts in many buildings in the enclave, according to the report.
“Israel’s policies, alongside the failure of Hamas authorities to address the lack of accessibility across Gaza and widespread stigma, contribute to making life in Gaza extraordinarily difficult for many people with disabilities,” the report said.
The United Nations has marked International Day of Persons with Disabilities on December 3 every year since 1992.
Life in Gaza ‘extraordinarily difficult’ for disabled: HRW
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Life in Gaza ‘extraordinarily difficult’ for disabled: HRW
- Two million Palestinians live in the poverty and conflict-plagued enclave wedged between Israel, Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea
The art of war: fears for masterpieces on loan to Louvre Abu Dhabi
- UAE paid more than €1 billion to borrow priceless works, but experts in France want them back
PARIS: The Middle East war has raised fears for the safety of priceless masterpieces on loan from France to the Louvre Abu Dhabi, the museum’s only foreign branch.
The Abu Dhabi museum, which opened in 2017, has so far escaped damage from nearly 1,800 Iranian drone and missile strikes launched since the conflict erupted on Feb. 28.
However, concerns are mounting in France. “The works must be removed,” said Didier Selles, who helped broker the original agreement between France and the UAE.
French journal La Tribune de l’Art echoed that alarm. “The Louvre’s works in Abu Dhabi must be secured!” it said.
France’s culture ministry said French authorities were “in close and regular contact with the authorities of the UAE to ensure the protection of the works loaned by France.”
Under the agreement with the UAE, France agreed to provide expertise, lend works of art and organize exhibitions, in return for €1 billion, including €400 million for licensing the use of the Louvre name. The deal was extended in 2021 to 2047 for an additional €165 million.
Works on loan include paintings by Rembrandt and Chardin, Classical statues of Isis, Roman sarcophagi and Islamic masterpieces: such as the Pyxis of Al-Mughira.
A Louvre Abu Dhabi source said the museum was designed to protect collections from both security threats and natural disasters.
