Middle East Politics.Net » Gaza

Gaza One Year On

davidhulme — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 20:56:32 +0000

The New York Review of Books reports on Gaza and the Israeli Peace Movement one year after the Gaza offensive.

David Hulme

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Official Figures on Gaza Offensive

davidhulme — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:08:48 +0000

B’Tselem, the Israeli organization that focuses on human rights in the occupied territories issued its assessment of fatalities during the Gaza offensive known as Operation Cast Lead.

David Hulme

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Israel, Hamas, Fatah Prisoner Swap

davidhulme — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 21:11:33 +0000

Helena Cobban has a very detailed run down on the latest Israeli-Palestinian behind-the-scenes negotiations over prisoner releases that could free key Hamas and Fateh militants from Israeli hands, and one Israeli soldier held in Gaza since 2006. All of this could be the precursor to declaration of another truce between Hamas and Israel. At the same time reconciliation between Hamas and Fateh seems to be proceeding with a view to shared responsibilities and new elections.

David Hulme

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Collective Despair Over Gaza

davidhulme — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:43:57 +0000

People around the world, among them journalists, commentators, bloggers, scholars and government leaders have decried the Israeli attack on Gaza. International Herald Tribune and New York Times columnist Roger Cohen writes in The New York Review of Books (February 12 issue), “I have never previously felt so despondent about Israel, so shamed by its actions, so despairing of any peace that might terminate the dominion of the dead in favor of the opportunity of the living.” Reflecting on the peace and reconciliation that France and Germany, and Germany and Poland have achieved in the years that have followed WWII, Cohen wonders why it is that Israelis and Palestinians cannot make the same turn in their collective thinking.

More on this at Vision.

David Hulme

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Gaza Set Back 20 Years

davidhulme — Tue, 10 Feb 2009 05:31:16 +0000

The latest war in the region ended January 18 when Israel and Hamas each declared separate ceasefires. During 23 days of bombardment and ground fighting, 1300 Palestinians (mostly civilians) and 13 Israelis (3 civilians) died. The disproportionate death toll tells the story of military asymmetry, but not the true dimensions of the human tragedy. In addition to loss of innocent life on both sides, there are almost 5,000 Palestinians injured, 21,000 homes lost and 50,000 people displaced. More than a million citizens of Gaza are struggling in what some have described as the world’s largest prison, sealed off from help. Infrastructure and agriculture are wrecked. Schools, factories and hospitals are severely damaged or destroyed. Palestinian sources within Gaza claim 60% of agricultural land destroyed and 80% of this year’s produce obliterated. Financial loss in the agricultural sector is said to be $170 million. It may take 20 years for Gaza to get back to where it was on December 26, 2008, the day before the latest war started.

David Hulme

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Grossman and Gaza

davidhulme — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:44:41 +0000

Israeli author, David Grossman has a reasoned piece in the NYT today about the current Israeli campaign to crush Hamas. He argues for a 48 hour unilateral ceasefire on Israel’s part. Grossman, whose eldest son was killed in the 2006 Lebanon War, maintains that such an approach taken early in that conflict, would have put Israel in a much better position now. During the proposed 48 hour ceasefire, he suggests that international mediators should be invited to resolve the immediate crisis. His analysis takes note that Israel has the duty to defend not only Israeli citizens subject to Hamas rockets, but also innocent Gazan Palestinians.

David Hulme

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Pro-Palestinian Movement Extricates Students from Gaza

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:42:28 +0000

The Free Gaza Movement claims to have smuggled at least 11 university students out of Gaza, reaching Cyprus on Friday, according to reports by Al Jazeera. Israel’s blockade has previously not permitted students studying in Gaza to leave. The move is intended to allow the students to study at universities elsewhere in Europe and Canada, which would not otherwise been possible since Israel has denied requests for exit visas from the area. Israel allowed the vessel Dignity into the prohibited area because it contained pro-Palestinian activists seeking to offer humanitarian supplies to Gazan residents. The Movement has stated that the mission’s purpose is to allow students located in Gaza to continue to pursue academics at other universities at which they have been accepted.

Paul Shapiro

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Hamas Anniversary Draws Both Celebration and Discomfort

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:38:58 +0000

Supporters of Hamas gathered in Gaza City on Sunday to mark the 21^st anniversary of the Sunni organization’s founding. Presumably in recognition of the occasion, a meeting involving Israeli and Egyptian officials took place in Cairo in an attempt to seek renewal of the current ceasefire agreement between Hamas’ military apparatus and opposition forces in Gaza. Meanwhile, the atmosphere inside the stadium was electric, as an estimated 150,000 demonstrators fervently waved green flags (considered to be the traditional color of Islam) in what is perceived to be an intentional showcase of Hamas’ strength. Gazan Hamas leader Ismail Haniya is reported as saying “We tell the occupation and the world we are here steadfast on our land and we will defend ourselves and we will defend our land and we will defend our right.” If it was not a political rally, an objective observer might even have mistaken it for an athletic event due to the concerted effort to display symbols of loyalty throughout the venue. Some speculate that, though the rally serves to commemorate the group’s anniversary, its timing is also related to the reality that the ceasefire agreement may not be renewed. Both Hamas and the Israelis accuse the other side of failing to honor its side of the truce.

Paul Shapiro

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Banking Troubles in Gaza – $25 Million Delivered

pshapiro — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 06:37:01 +0000

Public sector employees in the Gaza Strip have recently encountered difficulties collecting their salaries due to the severe cash shortage faced by area banks. The shortage is in part a result of the Israeli blockade that has prevented many from traveling freely to and from Gaza – a detrimental effect on business, especially with regard to the Palestinian banking system. In an effort to ease the stress, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has requested that the Israeli blockade allow money to enter the Palestinian treasury from outside the borders in hopes of avoiding more widespread financial collapse. Subsequently, Israel allowed an armored truck carrying $25 million in currency to enter from the West Bank. This amount is half of that which Prime Minister Fayyad requested of Israeli officials in order to pay Gaza’s civil servants.

Paul Shapiro

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Gaza: Israel Allows Aid

pshapiro — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:06:00 +0000

For the fifth time this month, the Israeli military has allowed humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip, temporarily permitting international officials to travel through the blockade it has in place. Though Hamas controls Gaza, the United Nations has urged Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert to allow aid to be dispersed to hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the area. Both the United States and the European Union currently classify Hamas as a terrorist organization. However, with living conditions reported to be extremely poor, and in the wake of militant rocket attacks that prompted Israel to tighten its security around Gaza, UN officials have described the conditions there as the “worst ever” and sought to deliver supplies to Gazan residents in an effort to help them deal with the myriad problems that plague the area.

Paul Shapiro

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