- ActivitesHuman RightsPalestine
- February 1, 2009
- 2 minutes read
Agha: Israeli bombs pose big threats to agriculture, damage environment in Gaza
Palestinian agriculture minister Dr. Mohammed Al-Agha has requested Arab and European parties to help his ministry in examining samples of the soil, water, and sea water in Gaza, explaining that the chemical weapons used by the Israeli occupation forces in Gaza posed a big threat to the agriculture and damage the environment.
“We are extremely worried about the vast number of bombs and missiles dropped on agricultural areas in the Gaza Strip as reports confirmed that those bombs included white phosphorus and depleted uranium”, explained Agha in letters he sent to his counterparts in a number of Arab, Muslim, and foreign countries.
He also urged his counterparts to take firm stands against those Israeli practices, saying that the Israeli warships were still shelling Palestinian fishing boats anchored at Gaza port.
The minister estimated the losses in the agricultural sector to more than 170 million dollars, indicating that the Israeli aggression destroyed vast areas of fertile lands, water wells, and pastures, pointing out that his ministry lacks the needed equipments to cope with the problem due to the unjust Israeli siege on the heavily populated Strip.
“We won”t beg for our rights that the international laws had given us as we were democratically elected by our people, and thus we are obliged to protect those rights; however, I want to remind you that your failure in helping our people in this regard doubles the pain and suffering of the oppressed and innocent Palestinians in Gaza. Yet, history would always remember those who take good stands in time of need”, Agha underlined in his letter.