Israeli Foreign Ministry on Thursday demanded the human rights organizations to blame Hamas for the situation in the Gaza Strip.
The official statement came hours after a report was released by a coalition of eight British-based human rights organizations, claiming the humanitarian situation in Gaza is at its worst point since Israel captured the territory in 1967.
Israeli Foreign Ministry refuted that the human rights organizations should point their criticism towards the Hamas that controls the coastal area since last June and launches "pointless and indiscriminate firing of rockets and missiles against hundreds of thousands of Israeli civilians."
"These organizations fail to face the reality and sequence of events leading to the deteriorating situation in the southern regions of Israel, as well as in the Gaza Strip."
According to the report, the economic isolation of the 1.5 million Palestinians living in Gaza has worsened unemployment and poverty and caused education and health services to deteriorate. Over a million people, or 80 percent of the families, in the Stripare currently dependent on food supply from international aid agencies, compared to 63 percent of the families in 2006.
Additionally, the number of trucks allowed to enter Gaza daily currently stands at only 45, compared to an average of 250 in the past. The Israeli ban on the transfer of raw materials has led to the freezing of 95 percent of industrial projects.
As a result, almost all the factories in the Strip have gone bankrupt and forced to close.
The authors of the report call on the UK government and the European Union to exert pressure on the Israeli government to lift the blockade on Gaza and refrain from limiting fuel and electricity supply to the Strip.
The groups also urge the UK and EU to help mediate a truce between the Palestinian factions, in order to facilitate talks between Israel and the Palestinian National Authority (PNA).
The report further calls on the Palestinian terror groups to cease rocket attacks and refrain from targeting civilians, and urges Israel to stop strikes in Gaza.
Since last weekend, Israeli troops had escalated military operations in Gaza against Palestinian gunmen, killing more than 120 people, including civilians.
Source:Xinhua
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