Opinion | Columnists
A state of total despair
Israel's crimes against the people of Gaza are increasing the misery of the occupied people.
- By Manal Alafrangi, Deputy Opinion Editor
- Published: 00:34 February 19, 2008
The innocent civilians in Gaza are currently experiencing daily Israeli attacks and incursions, which seem to come in various forms and randomly. Sometimes there are aerial attacks, sometimes ground offensives. Palestinians are left to guess when and where the next big blast will occur. Families are losing their loved ones; several each day. As a result, the majority is living in a total state of despair.
And what is the Palestinian leadership doing about it? Nothing, would be the response of the majority of Gazans. Both Hamas and Fatah are negatively impacting their people because of their selfish power struggle.
Then there is Egypt, which has kept up the rhetoric of warnings and consequences - making TV announcements and expressing strong opinions. All the while, the 1.5 million residents in Gaza are eking out a sorry existence. Things are definitely getting out of control; just two days ago, the Israeli military said it has taken about 80 Palestinians to Israel for questioning. Besides that, four Palestinians were killed in the Israeli military attacks yesterday morning.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, who more or less emerged blameless in the Winograd report for his actions during last year's war against Lebanon, has given his army a "free hand" to target "militants" in Gaza.
Firstly, what does free hand mean? Uninterrupted Israeli aggression on civilians? He should be questioned by his counterparts in the West Bank.
Meanwhile, the Rafah crossing, which was forced open late last month by Hamas to enable the trapped Palestinians to replenish their supplies, has now been sealed again and the blockade against the Palestinians has resumed. In fact, according to many accounts, Israel's grip on the Strip has now been tightened even more.
Natural reaction
Some in the international community contend that the reason behind the brief breach of the border was to showcase a win by the Hamas movement or to embarrass Egypt. It was, in fact, a natural reaction to the suffocating siege. Many forget that we are talking about a people under occupation, who are desperate to maintain a minimum standard of living. According to the United Nations, about 80 per cent of Gaza's 1.5 million residents live below the poverty line.
Having been placed under virtual "house arrest", Palestinians in Gaza needed to act before starvation took its toll. And despite all this, the steadfastness and determination of Palestinians in their fight to end Israel's illegal occupation remains unfazed.
Hamas continues to offer a cease-fire but Israel refuses to even consider it. Regardless of the cheap propaganda in various media outlets that Hamas wants to split from the West Bank, the reality on the ground is that we are talking about one people under one occupation.
According to international law, Israel remains responsible for the more-than-dire situation in the Occupied Territories, and it is in this context that future decisions should be made.
Israel thus far had hoped that given Gazans' suffering, Hamas would begin to weaken and it would eventually lose its position of power. But that is not the case today. Most probably, Hamas has gained more supporters for trying to get some supplies into Gaza.
In other words, the policy of putting the Palestinians on a "diet", to borrow from former prime minister Ariel Sharon's chief of staff, Dov Weisglass, is not working. It has been two years since the US and EU embarked on a policy of cutting off the Hamas government, both politically and financially. But the Islamist organisation remains in full control. That is, economic punishment has hurt the population far more than it hurt the leaders.
Instead of trying to squeeze it out, isn't it time Israel started to "deal" with Hamas? Leaving them out, as was done in Annapolis, would in the end undermine the Jewish state's long-term security. For its part, Hamas must control the firing of rockets towards Israel which, as many know, rarely kill people whereas Israeli reprisals result in the deaths of hundreds of Palestinians in the course of a couple of months. The irony is, neither appears willing to back down.
The alternative to dialogue is alarming for Gaza, which is indeed a ticking time bomb.
Your comments
I condemn the lack of action by Islamic countries and the world to force Israel to lift the siege of Gaza. How many more Palestinians must die before action is taken?
Mabon Dane
Haverhill,UK
Posted: February 19, 2008, 02:02
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