Dead in the Water: Israel’s Fuel Blockade Of Gaza

By Mohammed Omer


	Gazans hope to fill their empty containers and gas tanks at a gas station in Gaza City (Photo M. Omer.)

THE SILENCE seeps in, deafening in its void. Along the seashore, one hears no shouts of men preparing for a day’s work. No clanging of hooks, creaking cranes or thumping of nets piling upon decks. Engines, normally puttering and spewing forth exhaust, emit nary a whisper in the balmy breeze. Gaza’s once busy seaport stands still as stone. The 40,0000 souls who depend on the catch have been sentenced to an unscheduled sabbatical due to lack of fuel. The majority of Gaza’s 700-boat fleet is beached for lack of fuel; fisherman who tried to use cooking oil as an alternative now have motors damaged beyond repair.

“I have been laid off work for nearly two months due to shortages of fuel” laments Nasser Al Amodi, age 49, one of Gaza’s oldest fishermen. He began his career at the age of 9, working alongside his father, and later inherited the business. The father of five, he hopes one day to pass it on to his children as well. But not today. Today he sits quietly untangling his nets, while making minor repairs to his gear. His inability to launch his boat due to Israel’s cutting off of Gaza’s fuel means 70 people, including his brother and the families of other crewmen, will have no income and food. To run his ship and fleet of powered dinghies and Jon boats, Al Amodi requires 150 to 200 liters of diesel each day.

The scarcity of fuel caused by Israel’s actions affects all aspects of Gaza society. Without fuel, products cannot reach their destination; vehicles—including ambulances and other emergency equipment—cannot run; and supplies are priced out of reach or are so scarce as to be virtually non-existent. For Al Amodi this is supposed to the best time of the year for fishing, when he normally hauls in large catches of sardines, which can only be caught in the deeper waters offshore.

“If any of my equipment breaks down or is lost, I can’t afford to replace it,” he says, “Not only because it isn’t available, but also because the price is double what it would normally be.”

Al Amodi and his family live in Al Shati refugee camp, one of Gaza’s oldest and most crowded. As an experienced fisherman he accepts the challenges of his profession. Already considered the most dangerous in the world by the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA), it is made more so by Israeli apartheid, military incursions and siege. Unlike his brothers around the world, a Gaza fisherman must contend with harassment by the Israeli navy, which targets Palestinian fishermen like ducks in a shooting gallery.

Israel limits Palestinian fishing to six miles off shore. “But sometimes,” interjects Nizar Ayash, director of Gaza’s Fishing Syndicate, the main membership organization for fishermen, “we’re not even three miles out when the Israelis chase us away.”

Despite Israel’s unilateral and highly publicized “withdrawal” in 2005 from its illegal colonies in Gaza, the crowded Strip remains under a pseudo-occupation, thanks to Israel’s siege and continuing control of its airport, borders and seashore, as well as its economy and airspace. Through the Nahal Ozz crossing, Israel also controls all imports and exports to and from the Gaza Strip, including food, medicine, equipment and fuel.

“Gaza’s 3,000 fishermen require 40,000 liters of fuel and 40,000 liters of natural gas per day to operate for this season starting from mid-March until the end of May,” explains Ayash.

“We fishermen are part of the people,” he adds, “meaning whatever happens to Gaza’s people happens to us. But we will make our voices heard around the world until our suffering ends!”

In the harbor, 37-year-old Jamal Al Assi tries to stay busy, fending off the boredom of joblessness forced upon him by the gasoline shortage.

“My boat feeds 11 families,” he states. “What are we going to do? There is no hope when there is no fuel. We can’t work.”

Despite his frustration, a hint of humor bubbles to the surface; he hopes God will end this misery, he quips. Then he can start the engine and move right in.

International as well as Israeli-based human rights organizations continue to urge Israel to resume fuel deliveries to the Gaza Strip. “The current situation is a threat to the health and well-being of the population of the Gaza Strip, 56 percent of whom are children,” explains a joint statement signed by eight U.N. bodies. “The work of the United Nations organizations in Gaza has been severely hampered [by the fuel shortage] affecting schools, health facilities, and food distribution.”

Mohammed Omer, winner of New America Media’s 2006 Best Youth Voice award, reports from the Gaza Strip, where he maintains the Web site <www.rafahtoday.org>. He can be reached at <gazanews@yahoo.com>.