Kristof: There Should Be Pressure On Egypt And Israel To Relieve Gaza
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The suffering here has multiple causes. Israel sustains a siege that amounts to economic warfare on an entire population. Hamas provokes Israel, squanders resources and is brutal and oppressive in its own right. Egypt has closed smuggling tunnels that used to relieve the stranglehold, and it mostly keeps its border with Gaza closed. The 1.8 million Gazans are on their own, and one step forward should be international pressure on Israel and Egypt to ease the blockade…
Israel and Egypt both have legitimate security concerns in Gaza (an Egyptian court recently declared Hamas a terrorist organization), but the Israeli human rights organization Gisha notes that it’s ridiculous for Israel to insist that the ongoing economic stranglehold is essential for security.
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Robert M. Snyder March 9th, 2015 at 12:13 am
The article says:
“The suffering here has multiple causes….Egypt has closed smuggling tunnels that used to relieve the stranglehold, and it mostly keeps its border with Gaza closed.”
Gaza is not surrounded by Israel. It has a border with Egypt. Egypt could open that border tomorrow and provide every Palestinian with unrestricted access to products, services, travel, etc. If Gaza is in a stranglehold, it’s only because both Egypt and Israel keep the border closed.
And yet you point your finger only at Israel. Why does Egypt get a pass? They built a steel wall, for gosh sakes.