Gazans stock up on petrol and food as fuel supplies run dry
I sometimes wonder if the Israelis are setting out to radicalise the Palestinians, there is certainly no better way to do it than by replicating the Israeli reaction to events in Gaza.
Gazans rushed to stock up on petrol and food yesterday as Israel cut fuel supplies in its first concrete response to Hamas's seizure of power in Gaza.The people of Palestine know that this is happening because of Israel, so if Israel hope they will transfer the blame for this on to Hamas then they are asking for an awful lot. After all, Hamas are the legitimate representative's of the Palestine people, this is the party they voted for, so they will understand that Israel's actions are an attempt to punish them for making a democratic choice that the Israelis disagreed with.The Israeli embargo applied a telling squeeze to petrol supplies in Gaza. Vehicles queued to stock up on fuel and some stations ran out within hours. Dor Alon, the private Israeli fuel company that supplies Gaza, said it would only send shipments to Gaza's power stations. Many areas of Gaza have been without electricity since power cables were damaged in last week's fighting. Gazans also stockpiled food, emptying supermarket shelves of food and contributing to price rises.
Workers at Gaza's only fuel warehouse told the Associated Press that supplies had run out. Early yesterday, the owners of 15 petrol companies came to the warehouse and purchased the last 30 tonnes of fuel. Asef Hamdi, a worker at a Gaza petrol station, feared what the end of the fuel shipments would mean for the territory.
"The results will be Gaza in full darkness, with no cars," he said. "In simple words ... welcome to the Taliban lifestyle".
The Karni crossing, through which Gaza's imports and exports flow, is closed; it is not clear when it will reopen. A few hundred Gazans attempted to escape Gaza through the Erez crossing into Israel but most were denied entry. Israeli soldiers fired rubber bullets and tear gas canisters to maintain order in the tunnels that lead to the Israeli checkpoint.The Karni crossing has been one of the ways that Israel has punished the Palestinians for daring to elect Hamas. Since their election it has been closed more times than it has been open.
Abbas' seizure of power, by dismissing the coalition government which was set up to replace the Hamas government chosen by the people of Palestine, has been recognised as legitimate by Israel, the US and the EU only because their puppet has been placed back in power. However, even the puppet administration are admitting that they have problems:
The new Palestinian Prime Minister says his government faces a "credibility problem" but is nonetheless the only legitimate administration.The Israelis, the US and the EU can applaud what has happened all they like, but the people who have to accept this imposition are the people of Palestine, and Salam Fayyad is correct when he states that this new government have a "credibility problem". The people of Palestine know who they voted for and it's not the people who are currently claiming to have legitimacy.
Fayyad continued:
"I think we do have a serious credibility problem and that... emanates from the fact that there is total breakdown here... particularly in the security sphere."
And Israel, by deciding to heap further pressure on the people of Gaza, are simply adding insult to injury.
Considering the fact that Hamas want a two state solution, have operated cease fires against Israel even when the Israelis did not reciprocate, and simply want a return to the 1967 borders, one has to wonder whether or not the Israelis are manufacturing their inability to deal with Hamas in the same way as they used to manufacture their inability to deal with the PLO.Mr Haniyeh called the new government illegal and insisted he remains in power. "The council of ministers considers the steps adopted by President Mahmoud Abbas to ... have no basis in law," he said.
Hamas officials began to try to create stability in Gaza after months of instability and violence. Volunteers from Hamas directed traffic while its militias began trying to collect weapons held by families. However, Hamas does not have the power to open borders or import and export goods without cooperating with Egypt and Israel, which do not recognise its seizure of power.
Mr Haniyeh said Hamas was forced to take action against the Fatah security forces last week after a series of attacks against Hamas, including an attack on his home. In an interview with France's Le Figaro, he said: "It was necessary to bring an end to this disorder. Calm has returned and I think that the security situation will be much better than before. There will be one legitimate armed force and we will bring law and discipline to Gaza."
Mr Haniyeh also emphasised that his platform was the same as that of the Palestine Liberation Organisation in its desire for a two-state solution although he did not explicitly recognise the legitimacy of the state of Israel. "We want the creation of a Palestinian state on the 1967 borders, that is Gaza and the West Bank, with East Jerusalem as its capital. The PLO is in charge of negotiations on this point. We have agreed to respect all the past agreements signed by the PA," he said.
For years Israel fooled the Americans into thinking that they could not negotiate with the PLO whilst all the time Israel was engaging in illegal settlement building, the stealing of more and more Palestinian land.
Now it is Hamas that cannot be dealt with. But one thing remains a constant, the ordinary citizens of Gaza continue to be punished.
If Israel wanted to radicalise the entire population of Gaza, she couldn't choose a more efficient way of doing so than the actions she is currently engaging in.
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4 comments:
Naturally the US and Israel are completely to blame for Hamas' latest murderous rampage.
You operate under the mistaken impression that just because somebody is democratically elected, the world is under some kind of obligation to deal with that person. I think we can look back through history and assemble a list of many dictators and despots who have been democratically elected, ja?
With democracy comes responsibility. In choosing Hamas, the choice was made to continue the war with Israel and reject peace. And still, the Islamic terrorists Hamas still refuses to recognize the right of Israel to exist.
Israel removed their settlements from Gaza, withdrew their forces, and left them to their own devices. The Palestinians were given an opportunity to make an attempt at responsibly governing the territory, and chose not to. Instead, they continued attacks on Israel. And now Hamas has perpetrated a coup against their own government.
The terrorists Hamas have proven time and again that they are not interested in any form of negotiation or moderation, and the Hamas cheerleaders and apologists are in denial. Unless they reject the fundamental tenet of their existence (the destruction of Israel), the people who voted them into power are going to have to take a hard look at whether or not they want to live as a civilized people.
The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity, and we are going to see Hamas continue to bring nothing but misery, terrorism, and extremism. Democracy carries with it responsibility. Maybe in the future the Palestinians will embrace that concept.
I think we can look back through history and assemble a list of many dictators and despots who have been democratically elected, ja?
Off you go then. Name as many as you like. And if the "Ja" is an attempt to hint that Hitler was elected you might want to check your facts before you make that assertion.
Israel removed their settlements from Gaza, withdrew their forces, and left them to their own devices.
Garbage. Israel continued to control the borders, the water, the air space and everything else you can name.
And now Hamas has perpetrated a coup against their own government.
Elected governments cannot perform coups against themselves, which would lead any sensible person to conclude that the coup has been performed the other way around. But, as your government supports this coup, you will choose to ignore the fact that a coup is taking place.
The Palestinians never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity
Is there a book of cliches that you work from whenever you address the Middle East? Because that's the biggest pro-Israeli cliche of all.
Israel continued to control the borders
Every nation (except the US) controls their borders. Israel used to let let the Palestinians work inside Israel, but a few murdered children later, decided that maybe they should tighten up their borders.
Elected governments cannot perform coups against themselves
Okay... I'm pretty sure you are aware that the PA was a coalition government. I guess by your reasoning if the Tories win the next election they can start throwing Labour members off buildings and replace the army and police with their own thugs?
Israel continued to control the borders
Every nation (except the US) controls their borders.
The borders of Gaza and Egypt are not Israeli borders and yet Israel continues to control them. I also notice you have no comment regarding Israel continuing to control the water and the air space in this supposedly "free" Palestinian area.
Elected governments cannot perform coups against themselves
Okay... I'm pretty sure you are aware that the PA was a coalition government. I guess by your reasoning if the Tories win the next election they can start throwing Labour members off buildings and replace the army and police with their own thugs?
If the Tories win the next election would it be acceptable to you were the Russians to label Britain a Fascist/Capitalist state and immediately impose sanctions upon us? And, were Russia to do so, would it be fair to say they were attempting to punish the British people for their democratic choice?
Why did Bush insist on an election in Palestine, an election in which he knew Hamas were going to stand, if he was not willing to go along with whatever result that election yielded? I mean, Abbas did not want the election because, I suspect, he knew that he might lose. Bush insisted upon it. Why did he do that if he was not prepared to accept the result? Especially at a time when he claims to be exporting democracy to the region. That's staggeringly dumb.
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