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The following letter was published in a full-page advertisement in The Irish Times on 31 January 2009: Israel’s bombardment of Gaza killed over 1,300 Palestinians, a third of them children. Thousands have been wounded. Many victims had been taking refuge in clearly marked UN facilities. This assault came in the wake of years of economic blockade by Israel. This blockade, which is illegal under international humanitarian law, has destroyed the Gaza economy and condemned its population to poverty. According to a World Bank report last September, “98 percent of Gaza’s industrial operations are now inactive.” The most recent attack on Gaza is only the latest phase in Israel’s oppression of the Palestinian people and appropriation of their land.