Me, Issandr el-Imrani and the NDP stooge on Egypt and Gaza w Riz Khan on Aljazeera

One more bloody Israeli massacre

Israeli troops storm the Turkish aid boat:

Protests in Istanbul following the massacre:

Live from the Flotilla: Break the Siege on Gaza

and by ipadio (in English) here

Egypt's Two-Faced Gaza Policy

Egypt’s actions in Gaza have been a source of confusion for some time. Far from bureaucracy or misinformation this is part of a purposeful campaign of a two-faced regime.

Four factors uphold the Egypt authorities’ central role in the Gaza Strip.

First, the Egyptian regime aims to present Hamas as an example of the ineptitude of the Muslim Brotherhood to govern. Second, the regime’s acquiescence to American policies in the region entails a central emphasis on Israel’s “security.” Third, the importance of portraying Egypt as a principle mediator in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and thus a significant political player in the region. And finally, an attempt to maintain Egypt’s image of supporting the Palestinian cause.

Two days following the one-year anniversary of the beginning of Operation Cast Lead- the Israeli assault on the Gaza Strip- Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits Cairo for a closed meeting with Egyptian president Husni Mubarak. The visit acted as a confirmation of Egypt’s role in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and especially in the siege of the Gaza Strip.

Egypt’s 80 million strong population is a force to be reckoned with and the Mubarak regime has no interest in having the masses up in arms about turmoil in the neighboring Gaza Strip. The timing of the Israeli premier’s visit means the regime is confident in where it stands vis-à-vis the Egyptian public. Revealing the methods of Egypt’s actions in the Palestinian enclave and its ensuing propaganda machine will help shed some light on its position in the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

In January 2006, the Egyptian regime was one of many governments not to recognize Hamas’s parliamentary election victory. While the supplanted Fateh government did accede to Hamas forming a new cabinet, president Mahmoud Abbas and his ring of confidants held on to their control over all PA security forces. Due to this condition of undefined authority, widespread violence prevailed in the following months between Palestinian factions and clans. In the Gaza Strip lawlessness started spiraling out of control.

During this period of internal struggle the Mubarak regime opened Egypt’s borders to weapon shipments from the USA intended for Muhammed Dahlan, the Palestinian president’s National Security Advisor. The controversial Fateh strongman was the mastermind behind much of the unrest on Gaza’s streets, funding and supplying with weapons dissidents willing to oppose the new Hamas authorities.

When the Gaza-based cabinet sensed an impending Dahlan-lead coup it reacted with force, taking control of PA police stations, intelligence and security forces headquarters. Though all these security apparatuses by Palestinian law fall under the jurisdiction of the PA Ministry of Interior, up until that moment Fateh had denied its rival authority over them. On the final day of Hamas’s four-day sweep of the Gaza Strip, the Egyptian military sent a ship off the coast of Gaza City for select Fateh escapees. The Egyptian authorities sheltered the Fateh members in Egypt while providing others safe passage to the West Bank.

Since that time the Egyptian regime has treated the Gaza Strip as a hostile entity. Following Hamas’s “takeover,” Israel intensified an already existent siege on the Palestinian enclave. What is often obscured is the fact that Egypt has full legal sovereignty over Gaza’s southern border and thus plays a part in the Israeli-lead blockade. All exports are prohibited via both Israeli and Egyptian controlled border crossings. Moreover, Israel has slowed the inflow of goods into Gaza to- Israeli- determined essentials- largely entailing limited international aid and select Israeli goods dumped onto Gaza’s captive market. The Mubarak regime, for its part, has opened its border to Gaza for international aid only under extreme external- never internal- pressure. During Israel’s Operation Cast Lead, with aid convoys amassing on its border, goods entered at a trickle.

Eventually, Egyptian authorities re-routed aid through the Karem Abu Salim crossing, where Israeli “inspection” implied the Israeli military determined every item that would and would not enter. Counter to Egyptian government claims, the regime has complete sovereignty over its border crossing with the Gaza Strip, yet coordinates closely with Israeli authorities.

Thus, the Mubarak regime allowed for the opening of the Rafah border crossing when it sent arms shipments to Fateh- with Israeli approval. Furthermore, the Egyptian authorities opened the border under particular international pressure created by the likes of the Viva Palestina convoys, which provided the Egyptian government with fodder to claim their professed pro-Palestinian stance. During Operation Cast Lead, the Egyptian regime likewise opened its border crossing with the primary purpose of portraying itself in line with a claimed historic tradition of standing by the Palestinians in times of crisis.

The recent construction of a steel wall 30 meters under the ground along the Egypt-Gaza border is a further stage of the Egyptian authorities conceding to collective punishment on Gaza’s population. Initially Egyptian government sources responded to reports of the wall’s existence as “baseless,” claiming that the regime “is dealing with smuggling seriously and is capable of stopping it without this wall.” Eventually the Egyptian president conceded to the barrier’s construction as a prevention of "threats to national security." The wall, built by the Egyptian firm Arab Contractors with foreign funding, includes pipes that delve deep into the earth with the assumed purpose of flooding existent tunnels.

The steel wall is likely to have devastating environmental effects on agricultural land on either side of the barrier. If successful at preventing tunnels, the wall could cut Gaza’s final economic lifeline. The tunnels are used primarily to import everything from clothes, household items like tea glasses, coffee and spices to car spare parts, gas and medicine.

If the Egyptian government succeeds in preventing such vital inflows, the wall will be a case in point of the Egyptian regime’s political efforts. By joining the Israeli authorities in collectively punishing the Gaza Strip’s entire population the Egyptian authorities reveal themselves to be a key component of an Israeli undertaking to choke Hamas’s opposition to Israeli colonial expansion. The Egyptian regime is complying with its American ally’s demands, as well as trying to position itself as a political heavyweight in a region. With growing opposition- not from Israel- but from the likes of Syria, Iran and Qatar, Egypt’s regime wants to hold on to its historic regional hegemony.

Cynically, Egypt’s Foreign Minister reported that in Netanyahu and Mubarak’s meeting on January 29th, the Egyptians had requested Israel, to “take many internal steps to lift the pressure off of Palestinians.”

The Egyptians for their part have no interest in doing so.

Israel Determining Gaza's "Minimum" Level of Nutritional Subsistence?

On October 28 2009 Israeli Human Rights organization Gisha filed a case at an Israeli District Court calling for Israel to explain its policy on its siege on Gaza.

Gisha required an answer for the sporadic way that Israel runs the siege on Gaza. They demanded what criteria exist for the definition of "humanitarian" goods and how the list is determined on what is and is not permitted into Gaza.

In court again on January 21 the presiding judge was not pleased with the Israeli state spokesman's response who had claimed that a document on "red lines" that defines "minimum" nutritional subsistence levels for Gazans did not exist.

Guy Inbar, the spokesman of the Israeli Coordinator of Activities in the Territories wrote, "the office of the Coordinator of Activities examines the requirements of the Gaza population all the time"- like a prison warden.

The judge gave the occupying state 30 days to provide an explanation on how they are "putting Palestinians on a diet."

My Friend Fares... One Year On

In January 2009 Fares Akram's diary described the ordeal of life in Gaza during the Israeli military assault. A year on, he describes how he still mourns his lost father, but keeps going for the sake of a baby born in war.

Read On

End Aid to Gaza

"The humanitarian situation here in Gaza continues to deteriorate at an alarming rate for the ordinary poor citizens," John Ging told the press a few days ago.

I used to live just a few minutes walk from where John Ging works. I saw his Toyota 4Runner riddled with bullets after an assassination attempt in March of 2007. I can understand his drive to speak out on behalf of Palestinians in Gaza, I can understand his passion to try and increase UNRWA's funding to feed more people across the Gaza Strip... but sometimes I wonder if he should just get out of Gaza. UNRWA should close their offices, stop the food distribution, stop rebuilding homes that the Israeli F16s bombed, stop running schools for thousands of children under siege, stop running summer camps for children with PTSD syndrome from ongoing incursions, aerial extra-judicial assassinations, sonic booms, bombings and an illegal embargo on travel in and out of Gaza. Actually along with UNRWA, Care International, World Vision and Oxfam should leave, the ICRC and Dfid, USAID and the EU should stop funding projects and just get out. Just get out. Out of the prison in which their staff serve as wardons- maybe well-intentioned at times, philanthropic, empathetic- but wardons non-the-less. For Gaza is a prison and if you are not part of the Israeli administration running the siege on Gaza, but you are feeding those that go hungry day in and day out, that are psychological tormented by the rat-like conditions they live due to that siege, then you are serving their ends.

If we would all get out then it would not be so easy to turn down a report that calls on Israel to be tried for war crimes of which the military onslaught in January was no exception- for it goes on day after day after. In the Gaza Strip crimes against humanity are a daily occurance and by feeding workers and their families that are made jobless and dignity-less we are serving the occupation and its goals.

Ariel Sharon said it so succinctly in May 2003, "Today there are 1.8 million Palestinians fed by international organizations," addressing his cabinet he asked, "[w]ould you like to take this upon yourselves? Where will we get the money?"

The Zionist project created the closed enclave that is called the Gaza Strip, through their violent attacks on villages across Palestine trippling the inhabitants of that area within a matter of weeks. Thus, according to international law they alone ought to take responsibility to provide for the people living in these occupied spaces. Instead, we not only stand by and sanction them as they incarcerate and torment the very ones they drove out of their homes just over 60 years ago... but we subsidize theie actions.

Meanwhile, the EU states and the usa are "searching for consensus."

TOGAZA.NET

In commemoration of the breaching of the Rafah border between Gaza and Egypt one year ago on January 23rd, 2008 the Egyptian Popular Committee in Solidarity with The Palestinian People is calling for a MARCH TO GAZA.

On December 27th, 2008 Israel started a horrific bloodbath in Gaza eventually killing almost 1500 Palestinians, including 410 children and injuring thousands. Israel’s ensuing military onslaught destroyed homes, schools, places of worship, and essential infrastructure leading to a humanitarian catastrophe. These attacks are exacerbated by Israel’s ongoing siege, which leaves the Palestinian people in Gaza prisoners within Israeli created borders and dependent on the trickle of supplies that its occupier allows in.

The Call:
End the Siege on Gaza.

The Vision:
We hope for the call to spread organically, to look different in different places around the world. Whether a defined distance is walked, a specific number of people participate or the march is carried out individually, whether calling for boycott or trying Israel for war crimes we are hoping that such efforts will pick up momentum and increase.

Though the immediate Israeli military onslaught on Gaza- for the time being- has come to a standstill this is not a solution. Let us seize this time of urgency to act and call for an end to siege on Gaza. Though our respective governments reject expressing our resistance to the status quo we- the multitude- must move to the streets, as a collective global expression in condemnation of Israel’s actions.

→ The Egypt group will march on Gaza from multiple locations starting February 6th

Follow all events at: www.togaza.net

Another letter from Gaza..

Philip,

Every time I think life in here can't get any worse, but surprisingly it does! At work we reached a level where we have money but can't spend it to do any kind of relief work, there is nothing in the local market, no food, no hygiene items, no school bags, no medicine, nothing at all!!!!! We ended up distributing toy kits in times when people can't find anything to eat!!

I am ok Philip but has so much heart aches, it is the feeling of helplessness that kills you and feeling of neglect and disappointment. Today I was in the field to monitor some of our protection activities in Jabalia and I was struck by the scenes of donkey carts standing on the road sides to pick people and to make room for more people on the cart, the cart driver asked the people to ride standing to make space for as many people as possible. While an old lady holding a baby was left there alone cause she was unable to ride standing... Where in the world would you see such humiliating scenes?

In the session children were asked to draw on a white paper a place where they feel more safe and protected, children drew different things and started presenting them, and one child "Mahmoud" started presenting to the rest of the children what he drew "a grave with his name on it" but he further explained that he would feel more protected among those people that he loved and cherished and left all at once. Mahmoud didn't cry, he told me he is a real man and shouldn't cry and because those entombed people are resting in peace away from the sound of shooting and tanks.

Streets are completely empty, taxi's have all kinds of smells and flavors now that driver use cooking oil and gas. At first I had big concerns about taking those bomber taxi's, now I only have concerns about not being able to reach my office! I don't go out anymore, last time I saw Wisam and my friends was on my birthday April 24th, transportation cost it too expensive and I no longer can afford the expenses of my daily movement!

I want to cry Philip, but I am unable, I even feel worse that I might be able to travel, I don't feel good staying, I don't feel good leaving either. I think this is Gaza, you can't afford living inside it and you can't afford leaving it!

Keep us in your prayers, you are so much missed in here my dear friend!

Maha

MET: Siege of Gaza bites into Israeli economy

The Middle East Times's Mel Frykberg,

Gaza's shattered economy is not the only casualty of Israel's embargo and siege on the Palestinian territory, now under the control of Hamas. The sanctions are coming back to bite Israel too, with tens of thousands of Israeli jobs on the line as businesses face losses or closure after losing their major market.

The West Bank and Gaza Strip constitute Israel's second biggest market after the United States. In 2006, the combined 3.5 million residents of the Palestinian territories imported over $2 billion worth of Israeli products, or more than 6 percent of all Israeli exports excluding diamonds. This is the same amount that Italy and France combined, two of the eight richest countries in the world, imported from Israel.

Israel's business community has voiced its alarm. Ronen Leshem, head of the business department at Israel's Peres Center for Peace, wrote recently in an op-ed in The Marker, an Israeli business publication: "In a few weeks, the business sector in Gaza is going to collapse, and one of the big losers is going to be Israel."

Good night Gaza

My driver tonight informed me all gas stations in Gaza are out of gas. All gas in Gaza enters via Israel, which directly or indirectly controls all of Gaza’s borders. Two days ago Israel allowed the last shipment in.

Yesterday, an empty government building was bombed by an F-16. Over forty civilians were wounded, mainly children. One woman was killed. Most of them were near the building attending a wedding. This incident was a no-no for Israel, but in the overall equation it has already been forgotten, today the world of breaking news is on to bigger and better events. The children with charred faces, one family with a mother less, mourn on. But even they, are already getting used to the matter. They have no other choice.

In Gaza weddings often turn into funerals.

The UN’s food aid trucks are being prevented from entering Gaza as well. This zoo is closed for a few days and its inhabitants will have to wait until its keepers consider letting in the bare necessities.

Bakeries have closed, they are out of flour.

The absurdity of the matter is that Gaza’s keepers will eventually let food and gas in because a humanitarian disaster that draws too much attention is of no benefit to any entertainment park’s administration. So it is only a matter of days till the bakeries are happily selling bread again. Until then, everyone will make due because they too know that a zoo with no feed may actually make a headline or two.

With a much increased siege since June of 2007 there is no cement in Gaza. These days graves, which here are usually covered with cement, are laid over with asbestos or scrap metal.

Electricity comes and goes but tonight I have the honor of turning off my own lights as I go to sleep.

Good night.