The Gaza Blockade

Fruit and vegies on sale in Gaza

Trying to get information on the Gaza Strip on the internet isn't easy, there's conflicting information. I read that Israel, the US and and the EU have been responsible for allowing 1.5 million people, mostly women and children, to live in abject poverty, 65% of children under 18 aren't getting enough food, they can't afford to buy soap, the price of safe drinking water has tripled, in 2009 65% of babies 9-12 months were severely anaemic and none of the 3,425 homes destroyed by Israel have been rebuilt, displacing 20,000 people. Then I find a picture showing an abundance of fruit and vegies for sale in Gaza. Someone is telling porkies.


Then I discover an organisation called IHH, headed by Bulent Yildirim, organised the aid for Gaza flotilla, Intelligence agencies warn it's tied to Islamic terrorists. Only one of the six ships headed for Gaza met with resistance from Israel, it was the Mavi Marmara and Bulent Yildirim was on it. Knowing that a violent episode was about the happen, he held a one year old baby in his arms as he said "This is a message to Israel". He's been recruiting sympathetic people from around the world to sail with him to Gaza which explains why there were so many foreigners on board. Are the two Sydney Morning Herald employees sympathetic to the cause of Gaza or are they after a good story, only time will tell.


Israel has many friends and allies around the world. How much better would it be to ruin their reputation in the eyes of their friends, let them see just how cruel and ruthless they really are. If this was the strategy, it worked very well because nations around the world, including Australia, have all dumped on Israel and are asking for an independent enquiry into the debacle.


Taking the opposite point of view, the Israelis have murdered innocent people and it's clearly an outrage. Haneen Zoabi, an Arab-Israeli MP who was on board said that Israeli commandos let at least two of the wounded die of their injuries while they searched the ship for weapons and herded the passengers into rooms. As the only Hewbrew speaker, she tried to solicit help from the commandos "I made a sign in Hewbrew 'Please we have two very dangerous injuries. Please give us help" she said. But the soldiers ignored her. "They died in the coming half hour" she told the London Times.


We have no idea what really happened, all we have is a video clip. I believe the activists knew very well they would be stopped and searched for arms, it happens all the time, and it's logical to assume they were expecting a confrontation. On the video you can clearly see people wielding what appears to be wooden or metal poles, as the soldiers descend onto the ship.


Rightly or wrongly, Israel is suffering condemnation from the world and needs a miracle of biblical proportions. I guess now she'll find out who her true friends are.