Living under ‘Israeli peace’?

This is what living under ‘Israeli peace’ is all about
BÜLENT KENEŞ, 04 February 2009, Wednesday

Israel killed about 1,400 people, 437 of whom were children and two-thirds of whom were civilians. Moreover, it wounded about 6,000 people, most of whom were again women and children.

It devastated Gaza, which was already in ruins because of Israeli blockades and embargoes, and made the lives of Palestinians unbearable. Knowing no limits to its aggression, Israel shamelessly started to push its propaganda onto the world, claiming that all these things happened to the Palestinians because they had elected Hamas. According to Israel, Hamas was responsible for the killings of infants and the massacre of women. Hitting UN buildings, hospitals, schools and ambulances with Israeli fire and shells was the fault of Hamas. According to the Israeli propaganda machine, we should put the blame on Hamas and on those who elected Hamas for the white phosphorus shells -- the use of which is regarded as a war crime under international law -- that targeted the Palestinian nation.

I do not suggest that Hamas is free from guilt or error. Any organization that resorts to terrorist methods, be it Hamas, al-Qaeda or Israel, deserves to be condemned. Thus, Hamas is not exempt from this condemnation to the extent that it resorts to terror. However, this applies to Israel as well if and when it attempts to massacre or terrorize an entire nation.

Israel puts the blame for the unilateral massacre, which it tends to describe as a "war," on Hamas, which it claims violated the cease-fire. But even the terms and conditions of what it calls a cease-fire are full of things that tread underfoot a nation's dignity, self-esteem and right to live. How can we ignore the fact that Israel's inhumane policies and its insolence and aggressiveness, which completely disregard a nation, are the primary factors in the creation of the stifling atmosphere that has nurtured Hamas?

A summary of Israeli restrictions on Palestinians compiled by Amira Hass on the Web site www.counterpunch.org gives a glimpse into what living in Gaza under Israeli oppression and embargo is like. When you read Hass' article, you get a very clear picture of how living in Gaza under "Israeli peace" can be worse than dying. The following are some of the bans and prohibitions imposed by Israel on the Palestinians, which Hass collected from Haaretz, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and human rights organization Machsom Watch and which clearly explain why Hamas has emerged as a hope for Palestinians:

"Standing prohibitions: *Palestinians from the Gaza Strip are forbidden to stay in the West Bank. * Palestinians are forbidden to enter East Jerusalem. * West Bank Palestinians are forbidden to enter the Gaza Strip through the Erez crossing. * Palestinians are forbidden to enter the Jordan Valley. * Palestinians are forbidden to enter villages, lands, towns and neighborhoods along the ‘seam line' between the separation fence and the Green Line (some 10 percent of the West Bank). * Palestinians who are not residents of the villages Beit Furik and Beit Dajan in the Nablus area, and Ramadin, south of Hebron, are forbidden entry. * Palestinians are forbidden to enter the settlements' area (even if their lands are inside the settlements' built area); Palestinians are forbidden to enter Nablus in a vehicle. * Palestinian residents of Jerusalem are forbidden to enter area A (Palestinian towns in the West Bank). *

Gaza Strip residents are forbidden to enter the West Bank via the Allenby crossing. * Palestinians are forbidden to travel abroad via Ben-Gurion Airport; Children under age 16 are forbidden to leave Nablus without an original birth certificate and parental escort. * Palestinians with permits to enter Israel are forbidden to enter through the crossings used by Israelis and tourists. *Gaza residents are forbidden to establish residency in the West Bank. * West Bank residents are forbidden to establish residency in the Jordan valley, seam line communities or the villages of Beit Furik and Beit Dajan. * Palestinians are forbidden to transfer merchandise and cargo through internal West Bank checkpoints.

"Periodic prohibitions: * Residents of certain parts of the West Bank are forbidden to travel to the rest of the West Bank. * People of a certain age group -- mainly men from the age of 16 to 30, 35 or 40 -- are forbidden to leave the areas where they reside (usually Nablus and other cities in the northern West Bank). * Private cars may not pass the Swahara-Abu Dis checkpoint (which separates the northern and southern West Bank).

"Travel permits required: * A magnetic card (intended for entrance to Israel, but eases the passage through checkpoints within the West Bank). * A work permit for Israel (the employer must come to the civil administration offices and apply for one). * A permit for medical treatment in Israel and Palestinian hospitals in East Jerusalem (The applicant must produce an invitation from the hospital, his complete medical background and proof that the treatment he is seeking cannot be provided in the occupied territories). * A travel permit to pass through Jordan valley checkpoints. * A merchant's permit to transfer goods. * A permit to farm along the seam line requires a form from the land registry office, a title deed, and proof of first-degree relations to the registered property owner. * Entry permit for the seam line (for relatives, medical teams, construction workers, etc. Those with permits must enter and leave via the same crossing even if it is far away or closing early). * Permits to pass from Gaza, through Israel to the West Bank. * A birth certificate for children under 16. * A long-standing resident identity card for those who live in seam-line enclaves;

"Checkpoints and barriers: * There were 75 manned checkpoints in the West Bank as of January 9, 2007. * There are on average 150 mobile checkpoints a week (as of September 2006). * There are 446 obstacles placed between roads and villages, including concrete cubes, earth ramparts, 88 iron gates and 74 kilometers of fences along main roads. * There are 83 iron gates along the separation fence, dividing lands from their owners. Only 25 of the gates open occasionally."

Source: http://www.todayszaman.com/

Comment: Zionist Israel is an Aphartied Regime that continues to harrass the Palestinians since its inception blessed by the Big Powers. Let's Sanction and Boycott Aphartied Israel.