"Critics seem to dismiss the basic cause-and-effect connection between Hamas-led violence and the plight of the Palestinians."

The Gaza Blockade A Fact Sheet

(November 24, 2008)

The State of Israel set up a blockade of the Gaza Strip in 2006 after the terrorist organization, Hamas, obtained control of the area. In recent months, in response to barrages of rocketfire from Gaza into Israel, sanctions and security around the area have been increased.

Although Israel has tolerated many months of rocket attacks on their cities, international outcry from the United Nations as well as worldwide media has focused almost entirely on the Palestinian plight in Gaza, which they assume to be a result of the blockade.

Despite the terror onslaught, Israel sends thousands of liters of fuel into Gaza every day, and electricity from Israeli power sources is not being witheld. Interestingly, Palestinian Authority sources maintain that there is not a shortage of fuel in Gaza. They accuse Hamas of stealing thousands of liters of fuel from local Gazan companies and then telling the media that there is no fuel left. Fatah members also claim that Hamas is lying about the fuel shortage "crisis" for propagandistic reasons. On November 24, 2008, Israel opened the crossings to the Gaza Strip and allowed through humanitarian supplies, including medicine, food and fuel.

Additionally, the Ministry maintains that commercial crossings between Gaza and Israel have been kept open - especially since the June 19, 2008, "state of calm" which allowed for a 50% increase of material goods into Gaza. The materials that are allowed into the terrority include medicine and medical supplies, food, some fuel and building materials. Gazans in need of medical assistance in Israel have continued to be allowed in. Even after the "state of calm" was broken by Hamas, those Gazans seeking medical treatment in Israel were still allowed to do so although they were chaperoned during the process. The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs posesses daily delivery statements from Israel into Gaza since the June 19 agreement. These published statistics prove that the media and the High Commissioner for Human Rights are incorrect in reporting that the Israeli government has been preventing humanitarian supplies into Gaza.

Indeed, Hamas is not only witholding supplies from the Palestinians in Gaza but the organization is also spending all of its resources on weapons of terror instead of material goods that a government is expected to provide for its citizens.

The relative peace in Israel for the last several months was broken in early November 2008 when Hamas again began to fire rockets into Israel in response to Israel's raid of an illegal militant tunnel from Gaza. Israel has maintained a "calm" front and has not retaliated to these rocket attacks with military measures. Instead, Israel increased security around the Gaza border on Tuesday which prompted criticism from the United Nations.

Later on November 18, 2008, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navi Pillay, called for a stop to the Israel-enforced blockade of Gaza. Pillay declared that the situation in Gaza was one that impeded upon the humanitarian rights of the Palestinians living in the Gaza Strip. The suffering of the Palestinians in Gaza, she claimed, was the fault of the Israeli government. Only in Pillay's last sentence did she mention Hamas' rocket attacks on Israel - the sole reason for the imposed blockade.

The Israeli representative to the United Nations, Aharon Leshno-Yaar and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs took strong offense at the High Commissioner's statement and her inaccurate assumptions. Pillay's blatant oversight of Palestinian violence towards Israel was especially outrageous because over 170 rockets and mortars have been fired at Israel in the past ten days alone.

UN critics question why Israel did not open the Gaza blockade during the nearly six-month ceasefire and allow for supplies to be delivered to the Palestinians. The UN's assumption that Israel has not permitted the entrance of material goods into Gaza, however, is simply incorrect and has been formed out of Hamas-led media ploys.

Media critics and the United Nations have consistently ignored the terrorist attacks on Israel in favor of a focus on Palestinian suffering. As always, they seem to dismiss the basic cause-and-effect connection between Hamas-led violence and the plight of the Palestinians. Were Hamas and, for that matter, the PA willing to maintain a legitimate ceasefire, Israel would feel secure enough to dissolve the blockade of Gaza.

Sources:

The Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ha'aretz, The Jerusalem Post
Yedioth Acharonot

JCPA* Condemns U.N.'s Palestinian Solidarity Day
Group Finds Assembly President’s Remarks Troubling

[*The Jewish Council for Public Affairs, online at www.jewishpublicaffairs.org, is the umbrella group of Jewish community relations organizations nationally.]

NEW YORK – The United Nations’ endorsement of a day intended to decry Israel’s existence is a jarring reminder that the international body continues to be a generally hostile environment for Israel that impedes its ability to foster peace and reconciliation among all the states in the Middle East, says a leading Jewish advocacy group.



The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) condemns the UN’s observance of its annual International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People, which was once again marked Monday and today with events intended to mourn Israel’s 60 years of existence. JCPA also deplores UN General Assembly President Miguel D'Escoto Brockmann of Nicaragua for remarks made on Monday comparing Israel’s policies in the Palestinian territories to South Africa’s apartheid policies.



JCPA Chair Andrea Weinstein issued the following statement:

“It is terribly sad that the members of the UN General Assembly find it necessary to spend two days participating in programs criticizing a member state’s existence. It is even more abhorrent that the Assembly’s current president would seek to delegitimize Israel by comparing its policies to those of Apartheid South Africa. These programs and baseless rhetoric demonizing Israel do nothing constructive to find a resolution to the conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, and instead harm these efforts by creating a toxic atmosphere.”



The UN General Assembly first called for the annual observance of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People in 1977. This year’s events come despite positive developments in recent years such as Israel’s invitation to be part of the UN’s Western European and others regional group in 2000, the UN General Assembly’s adoption of an Israel-sponsored resolution in 2005 and intensified efforts to include Israeli professionals in UN projects.