00:00So this Monday morning should be marking the reopening of the Rafah border crossing between
00:17Gaza and Egypt, often seen as the Palestinian territory's lifeline to the world. Israeli
00:22authorities have said crossings are scheduled to resume this Monday, although in a very
00:27controlled and limited manner. 50 patients requiring medical evacuation should be allowed to leave
00:34daily, according to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while 50 people should be allowed to
00:40re-enter Gaza from Egypt. Israeli authorities on Sunday also said they were moving to terminate
00:47the operations of Doctors Without Borders in Gaza by February 28th. The NGO, which provides funding
00:54and international staff for hospitals in the Enclave, saw its operations suspended by
01:00Israel because it refused to comply with new requirements, asking them to submit lists of
01:06local employees. So for more on this, let's speak with Olivier Routeau. He's the head of
01:15Operations at Première Urgence Internationale. Monsieur Routeau, thank you for being with
01:20us. To begin with, what do you make of the Israeli requirements that have been imposed on humanitarian
01:29NGOs operating in Gaza? Does this, in effect, completely prevent any aid, any aid work from actually
01:38happening in Gaza? Good morning, thank you for your question. This is a very important question. First, I want to say that these
01:49requirements are fully illegal because we are operating in Palestine and not in Israel. And this process of
01:56registration is by itself not legal. It's imposed by Israel. And it's a very, very important barrier for the human
02:05interaction within the Gaza Strip. The re-recommend itself and Première Urgence Internationale as the other organization, member of IDA network, and the Doctor Without Borders is facing the same thing.
02:16We are almost all aligned to say that the requirement of providing the staff list is not legal. It's dangerous for the staff. Imagine that Doctor Without Borders has been 500 and their own staff killed by Israel. So how we can trust the guarantee not offered by Israel regarding the staff? That's why this is important to stay in line according to the
02:23human principles and the human principles and the human principles and the human principles and the human principles and the human law.
02:28What do you make of the Israeli argument for the Israeli argument for the Israeli government?
02:30And in fact, the human principles of providing the staff list is not legal. It's dangerous for the staff. Imagine that the doctors without the bubbles have been 500 and their own staff killed by Israel. So how we can trust the guarantee not offered by Israel regarding the staff? That's why this is important to stay in line according to the human principles and the international human law.
02:46What do you make of the Israeli argument for these requirements saying that Hamas has used all these humanitarian organizations to infiltrate some of their people in these organizations?
03:05We are very clear about that because based on that such risk that probably could exist, we have our own process validated by all donors about our own screening and vetting process to ensure that it cannot happen. And to be very, very clear regarding promotions international, we are doing many times and it never happened. So we are very clear and confident about our own process.
03:32We are just getting news now from Egyptian state-linked media saying that the Rafa crossing has opened and is going to process 50 people in each direction per day. What do you make of this reopening of the Rafa border? How important is this passage?
03:53It's somehow not easy to respond to your question because for the people that will be able to take medical care in Egypt, it's of course a good news, but we are talking about only 50 person almost. And imagine the number of people that are looking for urgent medical or other kind of support. And it's a good news for them, but it's not enough. Definitely.
04:21Just confirming here that it's not just the Egyptian state media that's reporting it. Now Israeli security officials also saying that this Rafa crossing has reopened, although, as we mentioned, extremely, to an extremely limited, limited manner with only 50 a day.
04:39You mentioned it earlier. Let's just get to the actual situation on the ground in Gaza, the humanitarian conditions there, still extremely dire and spice in spite of that, that very fragile ceasefire.
04:51Where do you start? What's the priority in terms of aid when you're facing a situation like Gaza?
04:58Emotionally, the situation is so dire, so there's need everywhere. And this is why we are so, I'm going to say, maybe rude with what is offered now by the International Committee and Israel.
05:12It's months and years now that we are just screaming every day about the fact that the barrier has to be released. And we have a lot of capacities to provide more assistance.
05:27I think the last week, 10 children just died about the living conditions because the cold is heavy, but it's not a question about the weather. It's a question about what we have been somehow blocked to provide the required assistance.
05:42And this is why we are so angry about the situation. It's something that could happen differently.
05:51Olivier Routeau, you're the head of operations at Première Urgence Internationale. Thank you very much for sharing those insights on the situation for humanitarian work there in the Palestinian enclave.
06:03Thank you. Thank you for that. And I think this is why this is important to continue to give up the floor because the process of this illustration is the goal about kicking out the last witness about what happened in the gas trip.
06:22Thank you, Olivier Routeau.
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