Tel Aviv, May 27: Israel, which insists the humanitarian situation in Gaza is “good,” on Wednesday sent foreign journalists an ironic message recommending a fancy restaurant in the besieged Palestinian enclave.
“In anticipation of foreign correspondents travelling to Gaza to cover reports of alleged humanitarian difficulties in the Hamas-run territory … the Government Press Office is pleased to bring to your attention the attached menu and information for the Roots Club and Restaurant in Gaza,” the GPO said.
“We have been told the beef stroganoff and cream of spinach soup are highly recommended,” it said, attaching links to the restaurant’s website (http://www.rootsclub.ps/services.php#roots-restaurant) and a video of the “luxurious facilities.”
Israel has imposed a crippling blockade of the overcrowded coastal strip allowing in only humanitarian and basic goods.
Human rights groups, both international and Israeli, slammed Israel’s siege of Gaza, branding it “collective punishment.”
Aid agencies say the blockade has severely hampered reconstruction efforts following Israel’s devastating 22-day offensive launched in December 2008.
Colonel Moshe Levy, who heads Israel’s Gaza coordination and liaison office, told reporters on Tuesday the “humanitarian situation in Gaza is good and stable.”
The United Nations on the other hand says it is concerned by a “deterioration of living conditions in the Gaza Strip, mainly as a result of the Israeli blockade.”
Gaza is still considered under Israeli occupation as Israel controls air, sea and land access to the Strip.
The Rafah crossing with Egypt, Gaza’s sole border crossing that bypasses Israel, rarely opens as Egypt is under immense US and Israeli pressure to keep the crossing shut.
More than 80 percent of Gaza’s population relies on foreign aid, although there are a small number of hotels and restaurants catering to wealthier Palestinians, foreign journalists and aid workers.
—Agencies