A Palestinian baby lies in an incubator in a kindergartenat Shifa hospital in Gaza Strip May 1, 2006. (Reuters)
The situation in Palestine, especially Gaza, is even more overwhelmingly tragic than normal. Despite the fact that the Hamas government has said they support a Palestine "next to Israel" and would accept Israel within the 1967 borders, the EU's and US's of the world insist on punishing all Palestinians in the Occupied Territories for electing a government whose ideology they disagree with.
Yet somehow it's cool with everyone that 62 percent of Israelis support what essentially amounts to the government-funded ethnic cleansing of Palestinians living inside Israel.
Ali Abunimah, astute as always, reflected on this situation recently in a powerful piece, Helping Israel kill Palestinians.
Suppose I were to leave my office here in Chicago and walk the short distance to the kidney dialysis unit down the road and pull out the tubes to which four elderly patients were attached, making them seriously ill or killing them. Suppose I said I did this because I disagreed with the Bush Administration's invasion and occupation of Iraq, its use of torture, and its countless other profoundly undemocractic and illegal policies. What would that make me? A murderer for sure, a monster and a new vicious kind of terrorist. Such an action would be unconscionable in any moral system.
And yet this is what the so-called "international community," a few powerful governments, feel entitled to do to Palestinians because those governments disagree with the policies of the elected Hamas authority.
By now - too many days into this situation - some of the world is starting to react. Yet others, such as strong-arm fascist John Bolton, are trying their best to hold off aid to achieve the highest number of dead Palestinians as possible.
58 years later, in a variety of forms, the Nakba truly does continue.
World powers unite to kill Palestinians
Well they're not doing a very good job of are they?
Anyho, why are the Palestinians so dependent on hand outs? Why don't they channel their terrorist tendancies into helping the Palestinian economy?
"Ethnic-cleansing"?! Again not doing a very good job at it are they? Perhaps they ought to look at the more effective techniques employed in Sudan...
Posted by: j0nz | May 12, 2006 at 07:18 AM
j0nz, why the fuck are the Israelis so dependent on handouts? They wouldnt a day without cash and military hardware from the west. You dont give a fuck about Sudan so dont pretend that you are you inhuman sack of shit.
Posted by: Anti-LGF | May 16, 2006 at 06:55 AM
although i support returning the conquered areas, one should not forget that these areas were conquered after an alliance between lebanon and syria against israel errupted in 1967. the purpose of that war was to ELIMINATE israel. needless to say, this was very strongly supported by the palestinians who lived in these areas. israel fought this war in order to protect itself as a proper nation, and eventually conquered these territories in order to prevent another such sequence of violence from happening.
palestinian government has recieved hundreds of milions of dollars -- yet the money was always transfered to the corrupted few, chosen by the idiots who later complained of their poor economic state.
a people who elects and supports a group who wish to eliminate all israelis and bomb innocents every time they get, is also a community of people who should bare the consequences of their decisions. what happens now is ultimately the fault of the 80% who voted for hamas. "congrats".
p.s. ali abunimah is a twat, as always. misusing words such as the holocaust (which she probably denies) and apartheid.
p.p.s. "anti-lgf" - did you know that israel supplied palestine with money and free medical care for many, many years? i wonder why their arab friends in syria and lebanon dont make sure that the palestines have proper food and medical care. hmmmm
Posted by: Oren | July 15, 2006 at 10:34 PM