Alwaght- A senior UN official says the besieged Gaza Strip is on a "disastrous trajectory," due to Israeli regime's imposed blockade and Palestinian divisions.
Robert Piper, UN deputy special coordinator for the Middle East peace process as well as humanitarian coordinator for the Palestinian territories says that the Israeli imposed blockade remains firmly in place and that the UN is trying to work within the constraints of the siege.
Speaking on Thursday, he added that thousands of Palestinians remain homeless since Israel does not let construction materials enter the territory.
“It's a blockade that prevents students from getting to universities to further their studies in other places. It's a blockade that prevents sick people from getting the health care that they need,” he said.
“The biggest gap in repairs is in the reconstruction of houses, the ones that are totally destroyed as opposed to the ones needing repair work,” Pipe added.
The Gaza Strip has been under an Israeli siege since June 2007. The blockade has caused a decline in the standards of living as well as unprecedented levels of unemployment and unrelenting poverty.
The blockade by the Israeli regime and backed by Egypt means residents cannot import many basic construction materials to rebuild their homes. Israel no longer gives work permits to Gazans, and only a tiny few ever receive permission to set foot out of the increasingly impoverished enclave.
According to the World Bank, Gaza now has the world’s worst-performing economy, with the world’s highest unemployment of 43 percent, 68 percent among the unemployed aged 20-24.
The 1.8 million Palestinian in Gaza have endured four wars with Israeli regime that killed thousands of residents and destroyed tens of thousands of homes.