Sunday 6 December 2009

JERUSALEM POST FINDS A SOLUTION TO GAZA’S HOUSING PROBLEMS

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December 6, 2009 at 7:24 am (DesertPeace Editorial, Gaza, Israel, Palestine, War Crimes)

 
Two-story houses built of wood and enforced by sand bags could help alleviate the housing crisis in Gaza.
An Egyptian architect has designed a house costing only $2000 to construct, without using materials such as concrete or steel, banned from entering the territory by Israel.


Sounds great…… right?  WRONG!



Just where is that wood supposed to come from? Perhaps the wood from the 14,000 Palestinian olive trees destroyed by Israel this year alone can be used in this project. Other than this, there is no wood available in Israel or Palestine for construction purposes. THIS IS A DESERT!


Homes in Israel and Palestine are built of stone and concrete. Floors are made of tiles or stone. There are two major reasons for this; one is the climate….. summers are very hot in this part of the world. Stone helps keep the buildings cool inside. The second reason is THIS IS A DESERT! There is no wood available here for construction purposes.

While the aim is to construct family houses, according to local news sources the design can also be applied to larger buildings such as Mosques, administrative buildings and even hospitals with up to four floors.



Again, sounds great if there was not a threat of the Israelis burning down those structures as soon as they were completed. Homes built of stone also offer some protection against the attacks from Israeli forces.The plan also assumes that the Israeli government will lift its siege of Gaza and allow the necessary wood to be allowed entry. They are not allowing concrete, why should we believe they will allow wood?

The Jerusalem Post should use whatever resources it has to come up with a REAL solution to Gaza’s housing problems. PEACE would solve most of them. Lifting the illegal siege will solve the rest. Instead we see Israel continue its inhumane practices against the local population in Gaza by guaranteeing they will suffer this coming winter.

So please Jerusalem Post, try to do better. This solution of yours just won’t do.


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