TEL AVIV, 30 June 2009 (IRIN): A new report by the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) paints a grim picture of life in the Gaza Strip: insufficient housing, damaged infrastructure, limited access to clean water and the discharge of raw sewage into the sea.
The report identifies restrictions on the movement of people and goods over the past two years as one of the main causes of the crisis in Gaza.
“Israel has the right to protect its population against attacks,” Antoine Grand, head of the ICRCs sub-delegation in the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT), said in a statement. “But does that mean that 1.5 million people in Gaza do not have the right to live a normal life?”
IRIN has collected some statistics comparing Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (The West Bank and Gaza Strip combined) that can put the ICRC report in context:
Israel and Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) in statistics
Israel OPT
Population in 2007 7,18 million 3,71 million
Gross National Income per capita in 2005 US$22,930 US$1,290
Gross Domestic Product in 2005 $133,19 billion $4,02 billion
Adolescent fertility rate (births per 1.000 women aged 15-19) in 2007 14 79
Total fertility rate (number of births per woman) 2000-2005 2,9 5,8
Child mortality (under-five) rate in 2007 5 27
TB prevalence in 2005 (per every 100.000) 6 36
Number of mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 people 124 28
Number of telephone mainlines per 1.000 people in 2005 424 96
Number of Internet users per 1.000 people in 2005 470 67
% of people undernourished in 2002-4 <2.5% 16%
(Sources: UN Human Development Report 2007/2008 and World Bank)
Kilde: FN-bureauet IRIN
