UNDP official: Israel denies development rights in Gaza http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=382671

UNDP’s Gaza office head Sascha Garumann said Wednesday that the international community must re-focus on development in the enclave, despite the “serious impediment” of Israel’s blockade and occupation.The bulk of international efforts go to humanitarian assistance, the development agency official said, urging the community to “go beyond” emergency support. Palestinians are “highly educated, and can help themselves,” he told Ma’an.At the same time, the policies of Israel in Gaza “deny [Palestinian] rights to development,” Garumann said, noting “you can’t develop an economy in this context.”Recent changes to the blockade were “very minimal,” he continued.His comments followed a tour of a UNDP-supervised project in the Strip