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Gazans brace for new clampdown

"I will try to stock up 500 liters, which will last me for a couple of days. You have to live somehow."

Nidal Eslim, Palestinian taxi driver

Gazans stocked up on food and fuel yesterday as Israel faced a barrage of criticism over its decision to brand Hamas-run Gaza a "hostile entity" and possibly cut its basic supplies.

"I've started stocking fuel to be able to work if Israel interrupts supplies," said Nidal Eslim, a 33-year-old taxi driver and father of seven, for whom his taxi is the sole source of income. "I will try to stock up 500 liters, which will last me for a couple of days. You have to live somehow."

Throughout the impoverished coastal strip, residents were buying up food, water and fuel.

"It's the best thing to do to prepare ourselves for the coming days," said Rima, one of the women rushing to buy drinking water.

Israel's security Cabinet on Wednesday declared Gaza "hostile" in response to continuing rocket fire from the territory where Hamas seized control three months ago in a bloody showdown with its Fatah rivals.

Promising not to aggravate the humanitarian situation in the territory, it said the decision paved the way for the government to cut back supplies of electricity and fuel and to further restrict the movement of people and goods.

The EU yesterday joined a rising chorus of opposition to the move, which has been branded as illegal collective punishment against the residents of a territory already reeling from economic sanctions, border closures and Israeli military operations.

"We are making the same appeal as the UN secretary-general for Israel to reverse this decision," said a spokeswoman for EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Wednesday urged Israel to reconsider its decision.

"Such a step would be contrary to Israel's obligations towards the civilian population [of Gaza] under international humanitarian and human rights law," he said in a statement.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas condemned it as an "arbitrary decision" that will "aggravate" Gazans' suffering, while Hamas blasted the move as "collective punishment."

US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) echoed the sentiment, saying: "Israel has the responsibility to protect its citizens, but not by collectively punishing the people of Gaza, which seriously violates the laws of war."

But Israel yesterday defended its decision, saying it was necessary to stop the rockets that Gaza militants launch on a near-daily basis into the Jewish state.

"You can either carry out an extensive military operation, or take other steps," Amos Gilad, the defense ministry's political chief, told army radio.

"There is an illogical situation where we supply the petrol with which they manufacture the rocket launchers, the electricity to manufacture them," Gilad said.
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