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Last update - 20:06 04/02/2009
UN: Hamas seized food and blankets from needy Gazans
By The Associated Press and Haaretz Service
Tags: israel news, humanitarian aid 

Hamas police in Gaza broke into a warehouse full of United Nations humanitarian supplies and seized thousands of blankets and food packages, a United Nations spokesman said Wednesday, a rare public clash between the international agency that feeds much of the territory and the militant group that rules it.

The incident highlighted difficulties facing donors seeking to bypass Hamas while helping Gazans survive and rebuild after Israel's three-week military offensive.

"Hamas policemen stormed into an aid warehouse in Gaza City Tuesday evening and confiscated 3,500 blankets and over 400 food parcels ready for distribution to 500 families," said United Nations Relief and Works Agency spokesman Christopher Gunness.
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"They were armed, they seized this, they took it by force," Gunness said, terming the incident absolutely unacceptable.

Police seized the aid after UNRWA officials refused to voluntarily hand it over to the Hamas-run Ministry of Social Affairs, he said. Similar aid packages were distributed to 70,000 residents over the past two weeks, Gunness said.

Ahmad Kurd, the Hamas official in charge of the ministry, did not deny the aid was seized. Other Hamas officials defended their actions.

Hamas spokesman Taher Nunu demanded an apology and said UNRWA was spreading false news. Ihab Ghussein, a spokesman for the Interior Ministry, said the incident occurred because the UN was storing the blankets in an area not authorized to be distributed.

UN officials said the aid was kept in a local storage facility because the organization's regular warehouses were full. The UN, human rights groups and Palestinians have often complained that a blockade by Israel and Egypt has left Gaza critically short of vital supplies.

Senior UN official John Ging said aid distribution would continue. "We are not going to punish the refugees for the irresponsible actions of a few," Ging said.

"The stakes are very high," Ging said. "Whatever donors give us by way of assistance has to be fully accounted for".

The ability of Hamas to provide aid is crucial to maintaining support for its rule in the territory.

Gaza residents are facing more hardship since Israel's devastating three-week military offensive, which ended Jan. 18. The operation, aimed at halting rocket fire by Palestinian militants, killed 1,300 including hundreds of civilians and left thousands destitute after their homes were damaged or destroyed.

Kurd said the Hamas government had already distributed $50 million in emergency relief to residents and promised additional payments for hardship cases.

On Wednesday, Benjamin Netanyahu, the hard-line candidate for prime minister who is leading in polls a week before Israel's election, charged that Israel's offensive was stopped too early. He said Wednesday that the military should have been allowed to put an end to Hamas arms smuggling from Egypt. He also said, "There is no choice but to uproot the Iranian-backed regime in Gaza."

The United Nations is expected to take a leading role in rebuilding Gaza, because Israel and the international community will not deal with Hamas, labeling it a terror organization.

Some international donors have expressed concern that funds meant to rebuild Gaza could fall into the militant Islamic group's hands, and the UN had been trying to calm those fears.

"We are very concerned, but this is an isolated incident, we hope," said Alix de Mauny, a spokeswoman for the European Commission, one of the largest donors to the Palestinians. "We will react accordingly if this develops beyond an isolated incident," de Mauny said. The EC contributed $626 million to the Palestinians in 2008.

Israeli officials say the incident vindicated their long-standing claims that Hamas routinely confiscates aid meant for needy Gazans.

"We have said in the past that we know Hamas is stealing humanitarian aid and donations from international organizations," said military spokesman Peter Lerner.

However, Gunness said this was the first time Hamas seized UNRWA supplies. "Does anyone really think that the Americans, who are our single largest donor, or the Europeans, who are our largest multination donor, would give us aid in the generous way they do if they thought that aid would go to terrorists?" Gunness asked.

The West Bank-based government of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, a fierce rival of Hamas, is also sending $600 million in aid, hoping to earn the loyalty of Gaza residents. Hamas expelled forces loyal to Abbas when it overran Gaza in 2007.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who heads Abbas' Western-backed government, said the project would cover all houses destroyed or damaged during the Israeli military offensive.

"The amount of the project is $600 million. Most of it will come from donors," Fayyad said in a speech, adding that the details would be announced in the coming days.

Egypt is to host an international conference in coordination with Abbas's Palestinian Authority on March 2 on Gaza reconstruction, whose cost has been estimated at $2 billion. Saudi Arabia has said it would donate e1 billion.

Last week, Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit urged Europe to help with fast aid for the Gaza Strip, saying the reconstruction meeting would require damage assessments and the support of the European Union, the United Nations and others.

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      1.   Murderers & Thiefs 13:16  |  Khaled 04/02/09
      2.   Power Corrupts or 13:21  |  Murray of Montreal 04/02/09
      3.   WILL THIS BE ON BBC?.......NO! 13:22  |  Alan SA 04/02/09
      4.   No mention on the BBC 13:26  |  SystemF 04/02/09
      5.   Perfect, Gazans voted for this? 13:27  |  petra 04/02/09
      6.   If this story were about Israelis.... 13:32  |  mark hammond 04/02/09
      7.   I`m impressed 13:33  |  Liat 04/02/09
      8.   As expected from regular banditry 13:36  |  17 04/02/09
      9.   LETS Hear the outraged cries from the Israel hate industry 13:36  |  PETER SM 04/02/09
      10.   Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely. 13:41  |  S 04/02/09
      11.   Nice to see a UN report that 13:49  |  Mark Lincoln 04/02/09
      12.   Hamas is not corrupt right?Where is President Carter? Bishop Tutu 14:01  |  PETER SM 04/02/09
      13.   NOTHING ABNORMAL... 14:01  |  MOSHEH 04/02/09
      14.   How odd........ 14:03  |  Johnboy 04/02/09
      15.   Open the crossings Israel, and let enough food and other.... 14:06  |  Swiss (Dino) 04/02/09
      16.   new year`s resolution? 14:12  |  nina 04/02/09
      17.   Hamas belongs in a class with Iran, Venezuela, North Korea, etc 14:13  |  S 04/02/09
      18.   hamas stealing from the needy 14:14  |  mona 04/02/09
      19.   600 more millions 14:15  |  real vision 04/02/09
      20.   Ask John Ging 14:15  |  Justagerman 04/02/09
      21.   Message is this 14:18  |  sabra 04/02/09
      22.   Fire incompetent Gunness 14:29  |  arthur 04/02/09
      23.   Is this true? 14:30  |  K 04/02/09
      24.   *4 Nice to see...... 14:31  |  mark hammond 04/02/09
      25.   UN now sees them steal 14:34  |  Lynn 04/02/09
      26.   Nice to see a UN report that 14:48  |  Proud Israeli 04/02/09
      27.   They are cold and hungry in the Tunnels 14:48  |  Levi 04/02/09
      28.   Mark Lincoln #4: I challenge your calculation!!! 14:50  |  S 04/02/09
      29.   To Marc Lincoln: Nice try 14:50  |  Bob 04/02/09
      30.   UN: Hamas seized food and blankets 14:59  |  DT 04/02/09
      31.   #petra 15:12  |  Medo 04/02/09
      32.   Hamas seized food and blankets. 15:16  |  David Nigel Braham 04/02/09
      33.   Better than nothing. 15:23  |  Akiva P 04/02/09
      34.   Hamas are terrorist,thugs,murderers,& petty thieves 15:23  |  The Warrior 04/02/09
      35.   Sure? Wasn`t in Israel who seized the food? 15:25  |  Israeli citizen 04/02/09
      36.   The UN, main Hamas supplier 15:38  |  Jan 04/02/09
      37.   Well Done 15:39  |  Liat 04/02/09
      38.   Arabs hate Israel more than they love their people... 15:46  |  Romy 04/02/09
      39.   Supplies need distribution, not storage 15:51  |  Natallie Durson 04/02/09
      40.   To Hamas...thanks for the 3500 blankets 15:52  |  The 71 and Tarzan 04/02/09
      41.   Where are the protesters now? 15:52  |  Chip 04/02/09
      42.   Living Up To Expectations 15:54  |  Bill Foonman 04/02/09
      43.   so their still firing their fireworks 15:55  |  larzbeach 04/02/09
      44.   Hamas works for Syria and Iran 16:01  |  Ron 04/02/09
      45.   Hey, people, let`s protest! Or not? 16:13  |  Robin 04/02/09
      46.   dutch & durson: It is a moral to ceize blankets from needy, but.. 16:14  |  Vittorio 04/02/09
      47.   lincoln,the more i read your post the more i realize how blind 16:16  |  terrornator 04/02/09
      48.   Hamas neglects the welfare of their own people. 16:16  |  common sense 04/02/09
      49.   The real reason they took it 16:17  |  Ron Jeremy 04/02/09
      50.   Cast Lead not an `offensive` 16:23  |  Sharon Saunders 04/02/09
      51.   Mark Lincoln, the mathematician 16:27  |  Jasper 04/02/09
      52.   #39 Natallie Durson - what an outrageously funny post! 16:28  |  S 04/02/09
      53.   Poor translation? 17:14  |  Yitzi 04/02/09
      54.   Boycott 17:22  |  Borat 04/02/09
      55.   query 17:40  |  curious 04/02/09
      56.   Not what the UN said 17:44  |  Colin Wright 04/02/09
      57.   "Mubarak: Hamas to blame for spilled Arab blood" 17:45  |  bat yam 04/02/09
      58.   51 Jasper - but you are wrong too! 17:54  |  S 04/02/09
      59.   Hamas has only Gazan`s welfare in mind 18:08  |  *BEN JABO 04/02/09
      60.   #15 Swiss (Dino) 18:10  |  *BEN JABO 04/02/09
      61.   #56 Colin Wright - put on your spectacles 18:15  |  *BEN JABO 04/02/09
      62.   UN had the supplies somewhere else...because stores were FULL 20:38  |  Alain 04/02/09
      63.   Hamas seized food.. yeah right! 20:52  |  Nate 04/02/09
      64.   Even The Arabs Have Given Up On Hamas 20:58  |  Bill Foonman 04/02/09
      65.   And these were the `poor innocent Hamas civilian police` 22:21  |  Gee 04/02/09
      66.   crossings will not open until Hamas is closed 02:59  |  M. Budia 05/02/09
      67.   uh oh! 04:22  |  rigma 05/02/09
      68.   No Mention on the BBC 05:45  |  Angela 05/02/09
      69.   #62 Alain...according to the UN 05:49  |  Lynn 05/02/09
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