Gaza

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How long has Israel been blockading Gaza? After the 1967 war, Israel occupied the Gaza strip. This lasted for 38 years. There has been a humanitarian crisis in Gaza for the Palestinians the entire time of the occupation and the years following. Just take a look at the countless news articles for yourself: http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=humanitarian+crisis+gaza&um=1&sa=N&sugg=d&as_user_hdate=2001 The people of Gaza never have received the proper medical supplies and food that they have needed to live healthy lives. 80% of Palestinians in Gaza live below the poverty line and 35% of them are classified as “extremely impoverished.” Unemployment has been very high in the past few decades (say, anywhere from 30-50%) and Israel has placed severe restrictions on their trade even before Hamas was elected. After Israel left their settlements in 2005, they never stopped controlling the Gaza borders, maritime, or airspace, and they banned Hamas from creating a military, although they held the right to take military action against Gaza whenever necessary. Israel has never allowed in all of the food and medical supplies that the Palestinians so very much need, although they do allow in a minimal amount. Why would the Palestinians elect a terrorist group as their government? Israel pushed for Gaza to hold a free election, expecting that Fatah would be elected, but the majority of the people of Gaza had lost all hope of Fatah actually making a difference in their lives or achieving peace in the region, while Hamas was offering them extensive social programs and a more radical approach of confronting the people who have been oppressing them for so long. Hamas is not a group to be condoned, but it is important to look at the situation from a Palestinian's point of view. After they had been oppressed by Israel for so long they finally saw a glimpse of hope into a better future. The brutal regime of Hamas on Israel seems well deserved by the Palestinian people. Suicide bombings are implanted in their head from childhood as an honorable way to fight their oppressors. They look at what Fatah has done and only associate them with Israeli occupation. "We are being punished simply for resisting oppression and striving for justice. Those who threaten to impose sanctions on our people are the same powers that initiated our suffering and continue to support our oppressors almost unconditionally. We, the victims, are being penalised while our oppressors are pampered. The US and EU could have used the success of Hamas to open a new chapter in their relations with the Palestinians, the Arabs and the Muslims and to understand better a movement that has so far been seen largely through the eyes of the Zionist occupiers of our land... Hamas has been elected mainly because of its immovable faith in the inevitability of victory; and Hamas is immune to bribery, intimidation and blackmail. While we are keen on having friendly relations with all nations we shall not seek friendships at the expense of our legitimate rights. We have seen how other nations, including the peoples of Vietnam and South Africa, persisted in their struggle until their quest for freedom and justice was accomplished. We are no different, our cause is no less worthy, our determination is no less profound and our patience is no less abundant." - http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/jan/31/comment.israelandthepalestinians Why did Hamas violate the ceasefire? Yes, Hamas did agree to a ceasefire in June, after a siege much like the one today, but I'm not so sure that they were the ones who violated it first. The ceasefire was violated by either side in the first few days of the truce. So why would they even agree to a ceasefire just to violate it in the first week? It's more reasonable to believe that a Palestinian who was unaffiliated with Hamas fired a rocket into Israel and Israel assumed that Hamas was responsible. http://www.opednews.com/maxwrite/diarypage.php?did=8039 http://www.presstv.ir/detail.aspx?id=61573§ionid=351020202 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/low/middle_east/7470530.stm But whomever violated the ceasefire first doesn't really matter. Hamas did continue to shoot rockets into Israel, and Israel continued starving the people of Gaza and not allowing proper medical supplies in. What do you expect from the people that you oppress and give no hope to? Do you expect them to just lie around and die? Hamas fights the only way it can. I don't agree with it, because I believe in nonviolent resistance. I think Hamas is way too proud and radical to be a valid government, but I'm not going to chastise them for shooting rockets that were doing very little damage while Israel was doing something far worse... letting them starve to death and die of preventable diseases. And now, killing a vastly disproportional amount of people with no real achievable goal. Israel is practicing today so many things that the Geneva convention has banned. They are war criminals and have turned Gaza into the largest internment camp in history. What happens to the Israeli citizens who don't support the attacks on Palestine? Conscientious objectors are jailed for refusing to serve in the army. http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/MDE15/048/2008/en/abd29a9d-ccf6-11dd-9047-0dd649cecd02/mde150482008en.html http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFq1FdqTiUY My proposal for a solution in Gaza The siege on Gaza needs to stop immediately. The longer the siege lasts, the more violent resistance will result. Whether it be through Hamas or through any other means, the people of Gaza will not stop fighting Israel any way they can until they have something that they have never had after the Israeli war of independence... hope. Israel's restrictions on trade need to be dropped, there is no reason to punish people with poverty. Perhaps when the Palestinians see a glimpse of hope they will then try to make peace with their oppressors.