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Students protest Israel-Egypt siege on Gaza Strip

Students from the besieged Gaza Strip throw their diplomas into the Mediterranean Sea to protest the ongoing siege on the territory, February 8, 2015.

Many university students in the besieged Gaza Strip have thrown their diplomas into the Mediterranean Sea to protest the ongoing Israeli siege on the Palestinian territory.

The siege on the area has ruined the hopes of the students who wish to study abroad to continue their education as they have been stuck in the territory due to the closure of the Rafah crossing by Egypt as well as the Israeli siege.

One student, who symbolically hurled his diploma into the sea, said on Sunday that he has “lost confidence in the humanity of the world and its human rights councils,” Maan news reported.

Another student said she had been admitted to a university abroad but is unable to leave and continue her studies due to the closure of the Rafah crossing  - the enclave’s only land terminal that bypasses Israel.

The students further called on the international community, especially the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, to fulfill their responsibilities toward the blockaded area.

In January, hundreds of people in the besieged Gaza Strip joined a protest against the protracted closure of the Rafah border crossing by Egyptian authorities. The Palestinians protesters demanded that Egypt reopen the border point.

Over 25,000 patients and students are on a waiting list to use the Rafah crossing to leave for medical treatment and to continue their studies abroad, Palestinian officials say.

Analysts accuse Egypt of acting as Israel’s proxy in maintaining Tel Aviv’s years-long blockade.

“The Egyptian blockade of Gaza is illegal. It is against all kinds of ethics and against the international humanitarian law and it’s a collective punishment,” said political analyst Hani al-Basous.

Gaza has been blockaded since June 2007, which is a situation that has caused a decline in the standard of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty.

IA/HJL/HRB


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