Minister Costello to make fact-finding visit to Gaza

9 October 2013

by Cllr Joe Costello

Minister for Trade and Development Joe Costello, will make a fact-finding visit to Gaza today, Wednesday 9 October, to see the situation on the ground and the humanitarian impact of the Israeli blockade on the people of Gaza.

He will meet relief agencies who are working to provide emergency food supplies to Palestinian refugees in Gaza, including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), who provide food assistance to more than 800,000 refugees in Gaza. Minister Costello will visit the Nuseirat Distribution Centre, where he will see the impact of Ireland’s support to UNRWA. He will also visit the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights.

“This is a time of cautious hope in the Middle East Peace Process, but it is also a time of increasing difficulty for many ordinary Palestinians, especially the people of Gaza. Today, I will meet Palestinian refugees in Gaza to hear their stories and hopes for the future.

“UNRWA’s emergency food support provides the lifeline for thousands of refugee families and helps to prevent a large scale crisis in an area where more than one in two families are at risk of hunger.

The Minister yesterday held meetings in Ramallah with Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, Prisons Minister, Issa Qaraqe’, the chief Palestinian negotiator Dr Saeb Erekat and the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Riyad al-Maliki.