Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Humanitarian needs in Gaza

My apologies in advance for the sarcasm in this post.

The Main Stream Media (MSM) would have you believe that the naval blockade, imposed by the IDF in Gaza, for the purposes of blocking weapons (particularly missiles) from coming into Gaza - has led to mass starvation and human suffering in Gaza. Gaza - the same land in which Israeli citizens were uprooted from their homes and businesses. If you believed what the MSM told you, you would envision a strip of land in which children were starving in the streets and food was scarce - after all, isn't that the purpose of the flotillas?

Weren't the flotillas sent to the region to make attempts to end this human suffering - as imposed by those bloodthirsty Israelis?

Isn't this what the MSM is telling us all?

The following truths of the situation are found in articles and photos that you will NEVER EVER see published by our guardians - the MSM (open the links and view the photos):


"Israel quietly helps to build Palestine, without Obama and the EU's interference"

* The truth is that an independent Palestine is now quietly being built, with Israeli assistance. So long as the Obama administration and European politicians don’t clumsily meddle as they have in the past and make unrealistic demands for the process to be completed more quickly than it can be, I am confident the outcome will be a positive one. (The last time an American president – Bill Clinton in 2000 – tried to hurry things along unrealistically, it merely resulted in blowing up in everybody’s faces – literally – and set back hopes for peace by some years.)

* Israelis and Palestinians may never agree on borders that will satisfy everyone. But that doesn’t mean they won’t live in peace. Not all Germans and French agree who should control Alsace Lorraine. Poles and Russians, Slovenes and Croats, Britons and Irish, and peoples all over the world, have border disputes. But that doesn’t keep them from coexisting with one another. Nor – so long as partisan journalists and human rights groups don’t mislead Western politicians into making bad decisions – will it prevent Israelis and Palestinians from doing so.

In Gaza too, the shops and markets are crammed with food and goods – see for example, these photos from last Friday’s Palestine Today newspaper about the Eid celebrations in Gaza. These are not the pictures you are ever likely to see on the BBC or Le Monde or The New York Times. No, Gaza is not like a “concentration camp,” nor is the “humanitarian crisis in Gaza is on the scale of Darfur,” as British journalist Lauren Booth (who is also Tony Blair’s sister-in-law) has sa


Wandering around downtown Nablus the shops and restaurants I saw were full. There were plenty of expensive cars on the streets. Indeed I counted considerably more BMWs and Mercedes than I’ve seen, for example, in downtown Jerusalem or Tel Aviv.

And perhaps most importantly of all, we had driven from Jerusalem to Nablus without going through any Israeli checkpoints. The government of Benjamin Netanyahu has removed them all since the Israeli security services (with the encouragement and support of President George W. Bush) were allowed, over recent years, to crush the intifada, restore security to the West Bank and set up the conditions for the economic boom that is now occurring. (There was one border post on the return leg of the journey, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, but the young female guard just waved me and the two Palestinians I was traveling with, through.)


Also see this article, and the links contained within for more pics:

"Gaza Luxury Mall"

While Hamas continues to complain that Gaza lacks building materials, a luxury mall in Gaza City held its grand opening over the weekend. Among the goods on sale are Israeli men's clothing, and items from Turkey, France, and the United States.

Photojournalist Tom Gross, who publicized photos from Saturday's event on his website, noted that the opening coincided with a visit to Gaza from European Union foreign policy director Catherine Ashton. "The BBC and other media have featured extensive reports all day long on what they term the dire economic situation in Gaza; why are they not mentioning the new shopping mall that opened there yesterday?” Gross asked.

Hamas has often accused Israel of creating a “siege” by keeping its border crossings to Gaza closed. According to Hamas, Gaza lacks electricity and building supplies.

Gross, who has previously posted pictures of fancy restaurants, shops filled with goods, and even an Olympic-size swimming pool during the “Israeli siege,” pointed out that Gaza enjoys a higher standard of living than Turkey, which recently sent citizens on a flotilla to Gaza in violation of an Israeli naval blockade of Hamas. Noting that life expectancy and literacy rates are higher in Gaza than in Turkey, while infant mortality rates are lower, he asked, “Have they considered that perhaps the humanitarian flotillas ought to be going in the other direction, towards Turkey?”


But these pics really do show the suffering and carnage, again, all because of the terrible conditions imposed by Israel (open and view the pictures):

Photos here and here

I suppose those flotillas, which have been sent to Gaza - with only the most honest and truthful intentions imaginable - have supplied these malls and outdoor vendors with the various items seen. Amazing what a few boats filled with supplies can do for a region.

Sometimes, in these last days, all one can do is shake their head in disbelief. Disbelief that we have a "main-stream-media" that is so agenda driven that the truth is nowhere to be found. The "truth" is filtered and selectively based upon what meets with the progressive agenda - an agenda that aids and assists Israel's enemies, in a collective effort to destroy the nation.

Just as the Bible informed us.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Scott

I recently saw a very brief news item on tv, with pics of nightclubs that had opened up in Gaza. The clubs were only for the very wealthy as poorer Palis coudn't afford the prices. Flash cars, high fashion, the affluence of any Western big city.

Sue

Scott said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Scott said...

I hadn't seen that one.

I have no doubt that problems exist in Gaza, but most of the current problems are because of Hamas and their regime, not because of the "regular" people of Gaza or Israel - Hamas is the underlying problem.

Expected Imminently said...

Scott
It was only a few weeks ago. It was the early evening news and I have tried to trace it but nothing comes up. It wasn't repeated, I may have missed it, but they may have 'pulled' it.

It was a short film of extremely wealthy Pali's using these brand new nightclubs. The cars were very expensive. The commentator clearly made a distinction between the rich and poor in Gaza.

I'm getting on, but I know what I saw and wondered about them showing it - then nothing. More manipulation of the news?
Sue

Scott said...

Yea, Sue, I don't doubt that.
I think the whole point is - Gaza is no different from any region in the world - there is some opulence, some poverty etc....Hamas has messed everything else. But the main point seems to be this - There is no pressing need for these flotillas, and they are 100% "political", intended to do Israel harm, yet the MSM falls into place and denies the public information on Gaza that life IS relatively normal; (again, excepting Hamas) - despite the MSM propaganda.