Development

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Rising poverty, unemployment and food insecurity in Gaza, compounded by the recent 23-day Israeli offensive, have increased the threat of child malnutrition, say UN agencies, health ministry officials and healthcare non-governmental organizations in Gaza.

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Rafah crossing, Gaza’s only official border crossing into Egypt, opened to a limited number of Gazans on 18-21 April. Some 1,600 medical patients, students and business people crossed into Egypt. Some 400 were turned back by the Egyptian authorities, according to the Gaza interior ministry, and thousands remain stranded on both sides of the border.

RAMALLAH, occupied West Bank (IPS) - John Ging, head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees (UNRWA) in Gaza, has urged Israel to ease aid flow restrictions that are having a devastating effect on the 1.5 million inhabitants. Ging says the amount of aid being allowed into Gaza at present is “wholly and totally inadequate. It’s having a very devastating impact on the physical circumstances and also the mindset of people on the ground,” Ging told IPS.

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - Over 150,000 Palestinians in Gaza (around 10 percent of the population) are struggling without tap water as a result of the damage caused to wells, pipes and waste water facilities during the recent 22-day Israeli offensive that ended on 18 January.

GAZA CITY, occupied Gaza Strip (IRIN) - An estimated 1,346 children were left without one or more of their parents as a result of the recent 22-day Israeli assault on Gaza, according to Islamic Relief in Gaza. An orphan is defined by Islamic Relief as a child under 18 who has lost the parent considered the head of the household, most often the father, according to Mahmoud Abudraz, a child welfare program manager, for Islamic Relief in Gaza.

Ehud Olmert, who has handed over the Israeli premiership to Benjamin Netanyahu after three years heading the government, suffered a slow and public political demise. The eight lame-duck months since his resignation have been spent energetically refashioning his image as a successful leader — the “Olmert myth,” as one commentator recently called it. Jonathan Cook analyzes.

WASHINGTON (IPS) - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak weathered the recent war in neighboring Gaza much more successfully than many observers had expected, and after the war ended on 18 January he emerged as the sole mediator in negotiations over stabilizing the ceasefire and other key related issues.

GAZA CITY (IRIN) - The main kitchenware supplier in Gaza, al-Dahshan Company, last received a shipment from Israel over two years ago through the Karni crossing. Karni, the only commercial crossing with the facilities to allow large numbers of trucks to enter Gaza, has been closed since June 2007 except for the conveyor belt that operates for grain deliveries.

CAIRO (IPS) - Reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Cairo this week yielded an agreement to hold national elections early next year. The two sides, however, remain deadlocked over the proposed terms of a national unity government. “Talks are at a standstill on the issue of the government,” a member of the Palestinian delegation was quoted as saying Sunday on 15 March.

WASHINGTON (IPS) - The British government has announced it will hold talks with the political wing of Lebanon’s Hizballah. The US President Barack Obama administration sent two envoys to Syria to discuss steps to improve relations. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has invited Iran to take part in a conference on the future of Afghanistan.