Doc's Talk: The Real "Siege" of the Gaza Strip

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

The Real "Siege" of the Gaza Strip

Khaled Abu Toameh
August 12, 2014

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/4599/siege-of-gaza

Egypt has not only turned Gaza into an "open-air prison." It has prevented the delivery of humanitarian aid to the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip before and during the war.
Last year, more than 100 Muslim scholars signed a petition accusing Egypt and Arab countries of participating in the siege of Gaza by keeping Egypt's Rafah border crossing with Gaza closed and preventing medical and humanitarian aid.
Egypt does not want anyone to talk about its blockade of Gaza. At the cease-fire discussions taking place in Cairo, the Palestinians have been asked not to talk about the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt.
The Egyptians want the world to blame only Israel for the "siege" on the Gaza Strip, and turn it into an Israeli, and not an Egyptian, problem.
While Egypt continues to impose strict restrictions, hundreds of trucks of food and basic supplies — and ambulances and medical staff from Israel — are being transported into Gaza through border crossings with Israel.
Whatever is ultimately decided, Hamas's leaders will find ways to smuggle weapons into Gaza: their goal is to destroy Israel.

Recent calls for lifting the "siege" on the Gaza Strip have ignored that Hamas's main demand, even more than for an airport or seaport, is that Egypt reopen the Rafah border crossing, the Palestinians' only gateway to the Arab world.
Hamas wants open borders because it wants to pursue its ultimate goal of "liberating all Palestine, from the river to the sea." Now that it has lost most of its smuggling tunnels as a result of Egyptian military operations, Hamas is searching for other ways to bring weapons into the Gaza Strip.
Hamas's leaders know that their chances of getting an airport or a seaport are extremely low. In the past, material brought into Gaza has included mainly weapons, cement taken to build attack-tunnels into Israel, and dual-use material.
Much of this was either brought into Gaza through smuggling tunnels, or else through Egypt's Rafah terminal, along its Gaza border which is nearly nine miles [14 km] long.
Egypt's Rafah terminal with Gaza, however, has been closed most of the time since Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip in July 2007, while border crossings with Israel, such as Kerem Shalom and Erez, have remained open.

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, January 2009. (Source: International Transport Workers' Federation)

Even during the current Operation Protective Edge, the Egyptians rejected demands to reopen the Rafah terminal indefinitely. In the first two weeks of the war, the Egyptians did open the terminal briefly – but only to allow Egyptians citizens and some foreigners trapped in the Gaza Strip to leave.
Facing increased criticism at home and in the Arab world, the Egyptian authorities also permitted some wounded Palestinians to cross through the terminal for medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
Egypt has not only turned the Gaza Strip into an "open air prison." It has also prevented many activists and countries from delivering humanitarian and medical aid to the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip, both before and during the war.
Egypt does not want anyone to talk about its blockade and other restrictions against the Gaza Strip.
At the cease-fire discussions currently taking place in Cairo between Israel and Hamas through Egyptian mediators, the Palestinians have been asked not to talk about Egypt's Rafah border crossing.
The Egyptians want the world to blame only Israel for the "siege" on the Gaza Strip. They continue to ignore the fact that Hamas's main demand continues to be the reopening of the Rafah border crossing.
Hamas and the Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip have apparently chosen to comply with the Egyptian demand to remain silent about the continued closure of the Rafah border crossing.
In fact, the Palestinians seem to have lost any hope that Egypt would ever agree to the indefinite opening of the terminal. That is why Hamas is insisting, now more than ever, on an airport and seaport in the Gaza Strip that would serve as an alternative to the Rafah border crossing.
Palestinian sources said that the Egyptians have encouraged the Palestinians to insist on their demand regarding an airport and seaport.
When the Egyptians say that they support the Palestinian demand for lifting the "siege" on the Gaza Strip, they mean that the Palestinians are entitled to any border crossing except the Rafah terminal. Egypt would like the Palestinians to have their own airport and seaport so they would never have to use an Egyptian border crossing with the Gaza Strip.
Moreover, the Egyptians would like to see the Gaza Strip turned into an Israeli, and not Egyptian, problem.
In an attempt to divert attention from Cairo's responsibility for the blockade, Egypt's Foreign Ministry issued a statement this week calling on Israel to lift the "siege."
"Egypt insists on the lifting of the Israeli siege," the statement read. "We are continuing our efforts to end the inhumane siege imposed by Israel on the Gaza Strip."
Today, it is a sign of hypocrisy that Egypt is calling on Israel to lift the "siege" on the Gaza Strip.
The statement, of course, made no reference to Egypt's role in the "siege." Nor did the ministry mention the tough security measures taken by Egypt recently, including the destruction of more than 1600 smuggling tunnels along its shared border with the Gaza Strip over the past year.
In the last three weeks, the Egyptian army destroyed 20 tunnels. This occurred as the Israel Defense Forces were also targeting tunnels inside the Gaza Strip.
Yet this has not prevented the Egyptians from continuing with their efforts to mislead the world about the situation in the Gaza Strip.
Alarmed by growing criticism of Egypt's measures against the Gaza Strip, an Egyptian diplomat described the allegations as "lies and fabrications."
The Egyptian diplomat's defense of his country came as representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross and the Arab Red Crescent denounced Cairo's refusal to allow humanitarian and medical aid into the Gaza Strip during the war as "unjust and incapacitating."
It also followed a call by a Palestinian foreign ministry committee to reopen the Rafah border crossing to save the wounded. The committee also condemned the closure of the Rafah as a "breach of international law and human values."
Last March, the Egyptian authorities deported 62 Western women who arrived in Cairo to protest against the closure of the Rafah border crossing. Egyptian Gen. Zakariya Hussein praised the authorities for deporting the French and Belgian women. "Egypt should not be used as a gate to other countries such as Libya, Palestine and Sudan," he said.
The anti-Egyptian campaign reached its peak last year, when more than 100 Muslim scholars signed a petition warning against the "crime" of keeping the Rafah border crossing shut.
The petition accused Egypt and other Arab countries of participating in the siege on the Gaza Strip by keeping the Rafah terminal closed and preventing medical and humanitarian aid, and the destroying the smuggling tunnels.
It is no secret that Egypt's President, Abdel Fattah Sisi, sees Hamas, an offshoot of Muslim Brotherhood, as a threat to Egypt's national security.
Last year, a retired Egyptian army general, Sami Hassan, talked about a plan by Sisi to tighten the siege on the Gaza Strip and bring down Hamas. Hassan said that Sisi's main goal is to prompt Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to rise against Hamas. Egypt has allocated $750 million to carry out its plan and bring the Palestinian Authority back to the Gaza Strip.
According to Palestinian sources, the Egyptians have over the past few weeks expressed fierce opposition into turning the Rafah terminal into another official border crossing with the Gaza Strip. The Egyptians, the sources said, are worried that the reopening of the Rafah terminal would facilitate terrorist attacks by radical Islamist groups against Egyptian targets, especially in Sinai.
While the Egyptians continue to impose strict restrictions, hundreds of trucks of food and basic supplies are being transported into the Gaza Strip through border crossings with Israel. This is happening even as even rockets are being launched at the Kerem Shalom border crossing. A total of 2,772 trucks entered the Gaza Strip through Kerem Shalom since July 8. Meanwhile, only a few trucks were allowed to enter through Rafah.
Israel has also allowed ambulances and medical staff into the Gaza Strip over the past few weeks, while the Egyptian side of the border crossing has been closed. On August 8, there were a total of 169 ambulance transfers through the Erez border crossing with Israel. In addition, a total of 38 medical professionals from Israel and the West Bank have entered the Gaza Strip over the past two weeks. The Egyptians did not send even one physician to the Gaza Strip during the same period.
The Egyptian blockade and severe security measures against the Gaza Strip, including the closure of the Rafah border crossing, are part of the reasons why the last war erupted. But the Egyptian authorities do not want to accept any responsibility. Instead, they are doing their utmost to shift the blame toward Israel.
Whatever is ultimately decided, Hamas's leaders will find ways to smuggle weapons into Gaza because their outspokenly main goal is to destroy Israel and the Jews.

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The IDF’s Minorities in Numbers and Pictures

In honor of IDF Diversity Week, we present diversity through numbers and pictures. Each year, more and more Muslims, Christians, Druze, Bedouin and immigrants from around the world take on the responsibility of defending Israel.

MUSLIMS:

Muslim Arab Israelis are not required to draft in the IDF, but there are many who volunteer. In 2013, there were over 200 Muslims serving in the IDF and over 300 in the reserves.

Bedouins:

Bedouins are nomadic Muslims who were in Israel when modern borders were set in place and are now considered Israeli citizens. They are not required to draft but a growing number choose to enlist. In 2012, there were over 1,400 Bedouin Muslim soldiers doing regular IDF service and almost 1,500 in the reserves.

Read more:http://www.idfblog.com/2014/02/27/truth-idf-numbers-pictures/#more-34027

Are you aware that in 2013, Middle class taxes go up-significantly?

In January of next year, the federal income tax rate for middle-class taxpayers is scheduled to rise from 25 percent to 28 percent, and the payroll tax is scheduled to rise from 13.3 percent to 15.3 percent… This drives the marginal tax rate based on the aforementioned three taxes to 48.12 percent. Add in state and local property, corporate, excise, and other state and local taxes, and the percentage of each additional dollar that is taxed hovers around 50 percent… When half of each additional dollar earned is taxed away, taxpayers experience a disincentive to start businesses or expand existing ones. This leads to fewer jobs being created.

Why is HAMAS Inside Tampa Schools?

Clare Lopez

Kelly Miliziano, who teaches history classes at Steinbrenner High School in the Tampa, Florida area apparently thinks it’s perfectly OK to invite a senior official of a HAMAS-affiliated organization into her classroom to discuss Islam with her students. According to local media reports, not only has this been going on for years, but in spite of the civil and criminal proceedings that could result from such reckless negligence, the Hillsborough County school superintendent, Mary Ellen Elia, and the chairman of the school board, Candy Olson, also expressed approval for students under their responsibility to be exposed repeatedly to guest speaker, Hassan Shibly, who is the Executive Director for the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) in the Tampa area.
More...

Did You Know... Ignoring the Call to Islam will Bring Jihad

‘Conquest through Da’wa [proselytizing] that is what we hope for. We will conquer Europe, we will conquer America! Not through sword but through Da’wa.’
-- Yousef al-Qaradawi , Muslim Brotherhood spiritual leader The Arabic word ‘Da’wa’ means the “call to Islam.” But do not think that Da’wa is the same thing as an invitation to an optional holiday event. The classical Islamic doctrine of jihad mandates that enemies must be given the opportunity to convert to Islam or pay the jizya tax before it is permissible to attack them.
Clare M. Lopez

Who is being discriminated-facts tell the truth

Religious bias

Hate crimes motivated by religious bias accounted for 1,409 offenses reported by law enforcement. A breakdown of the bias motivation of religious-bias offenses showed:

65.4 percent were anti-Jewish.
13.2 percent were anti-Islamic.
9.5 percent were anti-other religion, i.e., those not specified.
4.3 percent were anti-Catholic.
3.8 percent were anti-multiple religions, group.
3.3 percent were anti-Protestant.
0.5 percent were anti-Atheism/Agnosticism/etc.

http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/hate-crime/2010/narratives/hate-crime-2010-incidents-and-offenses.

On March 31, 1977, the Dutch newspaper Trouw published an interview

with PLO executive committee member Zahir Muhsein. Here's what he said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct "Palestinian people" to oppose Zionism.

For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

In March 1977, Zahir Muhsein, a PLO executive, said:

"The Palestinian people does not exist. The creation of a Palestinian state is only a means for continuing our struggle against the state of Israel for our Arab unity. In reality today there is no difference between Jordanians, Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese. Only for political and tactical reasons do we speak today about the existence of a Palestinian people, since Arab national interests demand that we posit the existence of a distinct Palestinian people to oppose Zionism."

"For tactical reasons, Jordan, which is a sovereign state with defined borders, cannot raise claims to Haifa and Jaffa, while as a Palestinian, I can undoubtedly demand Haifa, Jaffa, Beer-Sheva and Jerusalem. However, the moment we reclaim our right to all of Palestine, we will not wait even a minute to unite Palestine and Jordan."

The Arab Apartheid

Ben-Dror Yemini
In 1948, the Arab countries refused to accept the UN partition proposal and they launched a war of annihilation against the State of Israel which had barely been established. All precedents in this matter showed that the party that starts the war - and with a declaration of annihilation, yet - pays a price for it. Between 550,000 and 710,000 Arabs fled because of the war and a larger number of 850,000 Jews were expelled or fled from Arab countries (the "Jewish nakba").
Population exchanges and expulsions were the norm at that time, occurring in dozens of other conflict points and affecting about 52 million people. In all the population exchange precedents that occurred during or at the end of an armed conflict, there was no return of refugees to the previous region, which had turned into a new national state.
Only the Arab states acted completely differently from the rest of the world. Instead of assimilating the refugees, they crushed them despite the fact that they were their coreligionists and members of the Arab nation - instituting a regime of apartheid. So the "nakba" was not caused by the actual dispossession, which had also been experienced by tens of millions of others. The "nakba" is the story of the apartheid, oppression, abuse and denial of rights suffered by the Arab refugees at the hands of the Arab countries. (Maariv)

International Law and Military Operations in Practice - Col. Richard Kemp

"Islamist fighting groups study the international laws of armed conflict carefully and they understand it well. They know that a British or Israeli commander and his men are bound by international law and the rules of engagement that flow from it. They then do their utmost to exploit what they view as one of their enemy's main weaknesses. Their very modus operandi is built on the correct assumption that Western armies will normally abide by the rules, while these insurgents employ a deliberate policy of operating consistently outside international law. "

Lost Historical Moments

What Rabin’s last Knesset speech really said:repudiation of a Palestinian state

Rabin ruled out a fully sovereign Palestinian state :

“We view the permanent solution in the framework of State of Israel which will include most of the area of the Land of Israel as it was under the rule of the British Mandate, and alongside it a Palestinian entity which will be a home to most of the Palestinian residents living in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. We would like this to be an entity which is less than a state, and which will independently run the lives of the Palestinians under its authority.”

Rabin ruled out a total withdrawal from Judea and Samaria and thus a return to the pre-June 1967 borders :

“The borders of the State of Israel, during the permanent solution, will be beyond the lines which existed before the Six Day War. We will not return to the 4 June 1967 lines.”

Rabin ruled out withdrawing form the Jordan Valley:

“The security border of the State of Israel will be located in the Jordan Valley, in the broadest meaning of that term.”

Rabin ruled out uprooting settlement blocs, like the Gush Katif bloc in Gaza (which was subsequently uprooted by former Prime Minister Ariel Sharon):

“The establishment of blocs of settlements in Judea and Samaria, like the one in Gush Katif.

AND

Rabin ruled out removing any settlement before coming to a full peace agreement with the Palestinians:

“I want to remind you: we committed ourselves, that is, we came to an agreement, and committed ourselves before the Knesset, not to uproot a single settlement in the framework of the interim agreement, and not to hinder building for natural growth.”

Rabin insisted on Israel retaining full security control of the borders with Egypt and Jordan, contrary to Israel’s relinquishment of the Philadelphia Corridor on the border with Egypt:

“The responsibility for external security along the borders with Egypt and Jordan, as well as control over the airspace above all of the territories and Gaza Strip maritime zone, remains in our hands.”

Correcting Oslo Myths-Part 2

3) Kuttab laments that the post-1993 Oslo process resulted in a Palestinian Authority "whose ministers and legislators are not guaranteed passage between Gaza and the West Bank ...."

Before free passage or other perquisites, PA leaders were obligated, among other things, to eliminate the terrorist infrastructure in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, end anti-Israeli, antisemitic incitement in schools, mosques, and communications media, and resolve all outstanding issues through peaceful negotiations. They met none of these commitments, sometimes bolstering terrorism and greatly increasing incitement.

4) Kuttab complains that under Oslo the PA got "lightly armed police ---- but no real sovereignty over the land or contiguity between our communities in Gaza and the West Bank."

Oslo agreements repeatedly were revised, regardless of Palestinian non-compliance, until the authorized number of police grew from 8,000 to 40,000. Though they were to be the only armed forces in the territories, Israeli estimates early in the second intifada put the number of gunmen - police, "security services," terrorists, and armed gangs - at 85,000. Their armament reportedly included not only heavy machine guns and rocket-propelled grenades, but also anti-tank and anti-aircraft missiles.

Sovereignty was to be negotiated in the envisioned 1998 "final status" talks - after a five-year period of confidence-building. Palestinian leadership chronically undermined the process. Palestinian terrorism made the 1993 - 1998 Oslo period more deadly for Israelis than the 15 years preceding it.

The United States doesn't have contiguity between the lower 48 states and Alaska and Hawaii; territorial contiguity between the West Bank and Gaza Strip - that is, through the 20 miles of Israeli territory between them - was never promised and would destroy Israeli contiguity.

5) "Palestinians have been made to endure hundreds of checkpoints in the West Bank, an eight-foot wall deep in our territories, and tight Israeli control over borders."

The security barrier is not "deep in Palestinian territories," but rather encompasses less than 8 percent of Judea and Samaria, and is mostly a fence, rarely a wall; the land in question is not "our [Palestinian] territories" but disputed territory to which, according to the authors of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, Jews as well as Arabs have claims; and there are no international borders, only the 1949 armistice lines with Jordan. Under 242, borders remain to be negotiated. As for checkpoints - like the security barrier and "tight Israeli control" - Palestinian Arabs precipitated these measures themselves. No terrorism and there would be no fence or tight Israeli control and few checkpoints - like before the first intifada.

Correcting Some Oslo Myths

1) In Oslo "Israeli, Palestinian and other world leaders promised that ... Palestinian sovereignty would be solidified."

No, they didn't. The 1993 Declaration of Principles and subsequent Oslo agreements outlined a process by which final status negotiations about the West Bank and Gaza Strip would be reached. The process required an end to anti-Israel terrorism and incitement and a commitment to peaceful negotiations. The PA, Fatah, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, and other terrorist groups, sabotaged the process from the start.

2) "The reality is that, in defiance of U.N. Security Council Resolution 242, which states that it is inadmissible to occupy land by force, Palestinian territories are still under foreign military occupation."
Wrong again. Resolution 242 (1967) does note "the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war." It also affirms the right of every state in the area "to live in peace with secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force." There were no "Palestinian territories." Jordan occupied the West Bank, Egypt controlled Gaza. Israel did not have "secure and recognized boundaries," so retention of some of those territories was possible under 242. Israel is not a "foreign" military occupier in the West Bank but, pending final negotiations, the lawful military administrator as a result of a successful war of self-defense.

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