Ordinary Gazans hurt most by 3-year blockade
While I support Israel’s right to defend itself, I do not support the idea of denying human rights. Israelis have gone to extremes if we are to believe this Associated Press story that I will summarize here.
Three out of four factories in Gaza have closed because they can’t import or export. Legitimate businesses have been replaced by a Hamas-controlled black market economy. Millions of gallons of sewage are pumped into the sea every day because a lack of spare parts holds up infrastructure repairs.
Those suffering most from the blockade by Egypt and Israel are ordinary Gazans. They include tens of thousands who lost their jobs as a result of the blockade. For now, Israel only allows in a few dozen types of goods, such as potato chips, frozen meats and medicines, but bans raw materials, including construction supplies, and virtually all exports.
As a result, more than 70 percent of Gaza’s 3,900 factories are closed or operating at minimal capacity. Eighty percent of Gazans receive humanitarian aid, up from 63 percent in 2006, the U.N. says. Some 300,000 have no income at all, a threefold increase over the course of a year.
The problem is that Gazans continue to support the idea that Israel has no right to even exist. For the most part they support the idea that all Jews should leave Israel. The irony is that Gaza is looking more and more like Masada. Israelis face an impossible situation that they cannot resolve without participation of the Palestinians. Perhaps they have no other choice then the one they have chosen. Who in this world can offer a more reasonable path?
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