- After Hamas was overwhelmingly elected in January 2006,
Israel, Washington and the West ended all outside aid, imposed an economic
embargo and sanctions, and politically isolated the new government.
-
- Stepped up repression followed, including regular IDF
incursions, bombings, killings, targeted assassinations, arrests, property
destruction, and Israeli-instigated internal conflict that left Fatah usurping
authority in the West Bank, leaving Gaza alone under Hamas.
-
- In June 2007, conditions worsened after Israel imposed
its siege, medieval-like, according to some, for its harshness. Now, nearing
its third anniversary, it's still in place, slowly suffocating and strangling
1.5 million people, trapped by closed borders, regular incursions and attacks,
and shortages of everything needed to function and survive. A humanitarian
crisis resulted and continues. The West and most regional states are culpable,
complicit or indifferent to a real time catastrophe.
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- Israel's Policy of Exclusion and Restrictions
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- The Gisha Legal Center for Freedom of Movement (www.gisha.org)
is a 2005-founded Israeli NGO, "whose goal is to protect the freedom
of movement of Palestinians, especially Gaza residents" - rights international
and Israeli law guarantee. Yet under 43 years of military occupation, Palestinian
rights have been systematically compromised, abused, and violated, worst
of all in Gaza under siege.
-
- In January 2010, Gisha examined the situation in a report
titled, "Restrictions on the transfer of goods to Gaza: Obstruction
and Obfuscation," saying that:
-
- "Beginning in September 2007, Israel openly stated
that it would restrict the movement of goods into and out of Gaza (not
for security), but (to) apply 'pressure' or 'sanctions' on the Hamas regime."
-
- Earlier, claimed security concerns were cited - from
open borders and goods through them, including "dual use" ones
with military potential. Hereafter, a limited "humanitarian minimum"
would be permitted excluding everything deemed not "essential for
the survival of the civilian population."
-
- What followed were exclusions halting exports, normal
economic activity, production, agriculture, and availability of commonplace
items like shoes, paper, school supplies, and tea called "luxuries."
Gisha called it "economic warfare (and) collective punishment designed
to weaken the (Gazan) economy as part of its warfare against the Hamas
regime."
-
- Because of Western complicity and regional indifference,
Israel maintains tight control, squeezing the life out of Gaza, using Hamas
as pretext, a government it doesn't control like Fatah under Abbas.
-
- In a December 2008 paper titled, "Gaza Closure Defined:
Collective Punishment," Gisha was blunt in calling Israel's action:
-
- "Not a siege, not a blockade, not economic sanctions
(but an imposed) closure for purposes of collective punishment (illegally
in place to harm) the civilian population and civilian institutions by
blocking the passage of goods necessary for health, well-being, and economic
life." It's solely a political act for political gain, unrelated to
security or military necessity.
-
- Linking it to Hamas' use of rockets, its right to self
defense under international law, is bogus on its face. Claiming foods,
medicines, fuel for electricity and other essential to life goods relate
to security is outlandish and illegal under international law.
-
- A Gisha May 6 news release said that:
-
- "After 12 months of unsuccessful (Freedom of Information
Act) attempts (to) obtain (Israeli) documentation about (its) policy concerning
the entry of food and other goods into (Gaza), and after claiming for many
months that no such documents exist, Israel has finally admitted that it
does indeed possess the information (including) a list of goods whose admission
into (Gaza) is permitted." More on this below.
-
- In 2009, one of several Haaretz reports alleged arbitrariness
and corruption in Israel's Gaza policy as well as vagueness about what
constitutes "humanitarian," let alone the low quantities let
in that fall far below minimally sustainable levels for 1.5 million people.
As a result, other humanitarian aid efforts and Gaza's tunnel economy supplement
to compensate, but never enough to relieve dire conditions that worsen,
not improve.
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- Gisha's Obtained Israeli Documents
-
- They list policies that include:
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- (1) "The procedure for admitting goods into the
Gaza Strip," that regulates how requests for goods transfers are processed
and updates allowed products.
-
- (2) "The procedure for monitoring and assessing
supply in the Gaza Strip," that regulates the monitoring of the supply
of goods permitted, ostensibly to prevent shortages.
-
- (3) "A list of humanitarian products approved for
admission into the Gaza Strip."
-
- (4) A document called "Food Needs in Gaza - Red
Lines," that reportedly establishes minimal nutritional requirements
for subsistence, or as Ehud Olmert advisor Dov Weisglass said in early
2006:
-
- "The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet,
but not to make them die of hunger." In other words, make them suffer
enough to reject Hamas or force its officials to accede to Israeli demands
and function like Fatah as Tel Aviv's enforcer - and if fail at both, slowly
suffocate and strangle the entire population.
-
- The "Red Lines" document reportedly establishes
minimal nutritional requirements at below subsistence levels. Unreleased
to the public, it's believed to contain detailed tables of the number of
grams and calories of each permitted food item by age and gender. Israel
refused to release it, saying the Freedom of Information Act doesn't require
it because it's a "draft document" that doesn't serve as basis
for policy. Gisha countered by saying:
-
- "This argument does not provide an answer to the
question of how Israel manages to 'provide effective warning of expected
shortages' of goods in Gaza while continuing to insist that there is no
working document that defines (their) minimum required quantities. It is
not clear why Israel....chooses to invest so many resources in the attempt
to conceal information....How is the disclosure that Israel forbids the
entry of sage and ginger, yet allows in cinnamon, related to security needs?"
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- Israel balks at releasing anything for reasons of national
security and its foreign relations (its image), with no further explanation,
except that the information in this case was so "confidential"
that only a court in closed session should hear it, excluding Gisha attorneys.
-
- Yet what logic excludes cans containing food, but allows
Israeli produced tomato paste? Or why large tubs of margarine are embargoed
but not individual sticks. Below is a list of allowed and banned items,
subject to arbitrary changes and permissible quantities.
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- Wheat, animal feed, flour, cooking oil, cooking fat,
sugar, salt, pasta, dates, garlic, chickpeas, rice, beans, lentils, kidney
beans, margarine, some dairy products, powdered milk, frozen meat and fish,
frozen vegetables, animal medicines, gas for medical use, empty bags for
flour, certain medicines and medical equipment, diapers, toilet paper,
detergent, washing liquid, shampoo, soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, cleaning
products for tiles and glass, toilet cleaner, yeast, fertilized and unfertilized
eggs, some fruit, semolina, polyethylene for greenhouses, some agricultural
materials, tea, instant and regular coffee, canned tuna, salami, canned
meat, bath and washing-up sponges, cloths to mop floors, baby wipes, some
canned goods other than fruit, dried herb mix, black pepper, chicken stock
powder, blankets, olives, matches, candles, sticks for brooms, rubbish
bins, mops, hand cleansing gel, aniseed, cinnamon, camomile, water dispensers,
potatoes, mineral water, tahini, combs, hair brushes, shoes, wood for doorposts
and window frames, small amounts of aluminum, and some kitchenware.
-
- Prohibited items include common ones like sage, cardamon,
jam, vinegar, chocolate, fruit preserves and dried fruit, seeds and nuts,
biscuits and sweets, fresh meat, fabric for clothing, fishing rods, musical
instruments, writing implements, notebooks, newspapers, toys, razors, heaters,
horses, donkeys, goats, cattle, and chicks.
-
- Any and as many of the above items can be changed arbitrarily
by military order without further explanation - Israel's customary practice
to harass, abuse and cause harm enough for Amnesty International (AI) to
title its one year after Operation Cast Lead report, "Failing Gaza:
No rebuilding, no recovery, and no more excuses," concluding with
a "call to action" for Quartet members, the EU, Russia, UN and
US, to end the blockade by all available means under international law
to assure that Palestinian rights are restored, enforced, and assured.
-
- Nothing has been done so far, AI calling it "a sign
of the wider failure to hold all parties to account for (ongoing) violations
of international law." In January 2009, former Ireland President and
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson said:
-
- "Their whole civilisation has been destroyed, I'm
not exaggerating....It's almost unbelievable that the world doesn't care
while this is happening." Its silence makes it complicit.
-
- In June 2009, Jews for Justice for Palestinians accused
Israel of "deliberating keep(ing) Gaza on the edge of starvation,"
based on a Yotam Feldman-Uri Blau Haaretz investigatory report explaining
that Israel's policy isn't fixed, but continually subject to change at
the whim of the Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the (Occupied)
Territories (COGAT).
-
- For example, after excluding them, carrots and pumpkins
were allowed in. Yet items like cherries, kiwi, green almonds and pomegranates
are prohibited and halvah most often. At the time, no official approved
or banned items lists were available, COGAT officials saying only that
"Any goods that we allow in, or prohibit - you'll know about....by
phone. That's the way we work."
-
- A former COGAT senior officer said:
-
- "If you go back two years (ago when the blockade
began), you see that it was utter foolishness. There was a vague, unclear
policy, influenced by the interests of certain groups, by this or that
lobby, without any policy that derived from the needs of the population....What
happened was that Israeli interest took precedence over the needs of the
populace."
-
- They, in turn, use their tunnel economy to compensate
for shortfalls, but it's never enough to meet needs. Since the blockade's
imposition, the Karni terminal has been closed. Earlier, over 600 trucks
crossed daily. Now Kerem Shalom crossing handles most goods by conveyor
belt for wheat, seeds and animal feed.
-
- Nissim Jan, a former Shin Bet agent, profits most as
"head of the crossings department." He built a small empire profiteering
from the siege that includes a logistical and shipping services company,
as well as real estate deals. He's also erecting a building in the Barnea
area of Ashkelon, apparently partnering with Didi Yamin, the contractor.
In addition, he's closely connected to Nasser Saraj, in charge of Israel
- Gaza crossings.
-
- According to one Israeli:
-
- "The services Jan supplies on both sides of the
crossing have made him one of the most significant figures at Kerem Shalom."
-
- He says that "Nothing that happens at the crossings
escapes my notice."
-
- Defense Ministry sources told Haaretz that they've been
checking complaints about his activities, including charging a fee for
every truck entering Gaza. Jan denies it, yet he profits both ways by charging
Palestinians for services rendered. He was fined for one incident involving
about 100 tons of cooking gas, reported at the time to be stolen. He claimed
he paid the fine to say "Leave me alone."
-
- His operation clarifies an added reason for maintaining
the siege - the fact that Israeli businessmen profiteer from the misery
of 1.5 million people, and do it on both sides of the border.
-
- Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at
lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com
and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the
Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays
at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs
are archived for easy listening.
-
- http://www.progressiveradionetwork.com/the-progressive-news-hour/.
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