Human Rights Watch described Gaza as an "open-air prison" 15 years after Israel imposed a siege on in wake of the Hamas takeover of the coastal enclave.
"Israel’s sweeping restrictions on leaving Gaza deprive its more than two million residents of opportunities to better their lives," HRW said.
"Israel should end its generalized ban on travel for Gaza residents and permit free movement of people to and from Gaza, subject to, at most, individual screening, and physical searches for security purposes,” said Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine director at Human Rights Watch.
"Since 2007, Israeli authorities have, with narrow exceptions, banned Palestinians from leaving through Erez, the passenger crossing from Gaza into Israel, through which they can reach the West Bank and travel abroad via Jordan. Israel also prevents Palestinian authorities from operating an airport or seaport in Gaza. Israeli authorities also sharply restrict the entry and exit of goods," the report added.
"Israeli authorities have said they want to minimize travel between Gaza and the West Bank to prevent the export of “a human terrorist network” from Gaza to the West Bank, which has a porous border with Israel and where hundreds of thousands of Israeli settlers live."
"Israel’s closure policy blocks most Gaza residents from going to the West Bank, preventing professionals, artists, athletes, students, and others from pursuing opportunities within Palestine and from traveling abroad via Israel, restricting their rights to work and an education."
This policy has reduced travel to a fraction of what it was two decades ago, the HRW stated.
"After 55 years of occupation and 15 years of closure in Gaza with no end in sight, Israel should fully respect the human rights of Palestinians, using as a benchmark the rights it grants Israeli citizens."
"Most Palestinians who grew up in Gaza under this closure have never left the 40-by-11 kilometer Gaza Strip. For the last 25 years, Israel has increasingly restricted the movement of Gaza residents. Since June 2007, when Hamas seized control over Gaza from the Fatah-led Palestinian Authority (PA), Gaza has been mostly closed," HRW added.
Hamas welcomed the report and appealed to the international community and the UN to assume their legal and humanitarian responsibilities towards the Palestinian people and work on ending the unjust siege on Gaza and facilitating the free movement and travel of Palestinian citizens.
