People shot by Israeli soldiers in the Gaza Strip want the European Union to cut research funding to Israeli defence and security industries.
But their demands have been met with short shrift by the European Commission, highlighting the sense of abandonment of a population ring-fenced in an open air like prison.
The drive from the Israeli-controlled Erez crossing in the Gaza Strip towards the shoreline passes by the usual dilapidated and faded pastel-coloured apartment blocks.
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Already a member? Login hereNikolaj joined EUobserver in 2012 and covers home affairs. He is originally from Denmark, but spent much of his life in France and in Belgium. He was awarded the King Baudouin Foundation grant for investigative journalism in 2010.