Thursday, July 1, 2010
Is Gilad Shalit a prisoner of war?, Ali Abunimah
In a stunt labelled the "True Freedom Flotilla" Gabriella Shalev, Israel's ambassador to the UN, other diplomats and Zionist activists set sail last week on New York's Hudson River towards UN headquarters. Their goal was to draw attention to Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier captured by Hamas four years ago as he was enforcing Israel's occupation and blockade of the Gaza Strip. Shalev reportedly carried an "aid" package containing underwear, eyeglasses and food intended for Shalit. Malcolm Hoenlein, the executive vice chairman of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, the Zionist umbrella group that organised the event, complained that the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has been prevented from visiting Shalit, while Israel allegedly allows "some 15,000 to 18,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid" into the besieged Gaza Strip each week.
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Comparing Shalit's situation to that of the Gazans suggests the the Israelis accept that the strip is one big prison camp.
ReplyDeleteWhy Mc Chrystal Did It.
ReplyDeleteIsrael's government doesn't want Gilad Shalit back.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you think that is?
ReplyDeleteThe tragedy of the Shalit case is not just that Israel is using it to divert attention from the collective punishment of Palestinians, but that Shalit could already have been home long ago if Israel's leaders had not reneged on the German-brokered deal. It seems that for the Israeli government Shalit is more useful for his propaganda value as a captive, in stunts like the "True Freedom Flotilla," than he would be as a free man reunited with his loved ones.
ReplyDeleteHave you come to a different conclusion?
Not really. I simply thought about all the extraordinary efforts the Israelis have always used in order to get back soldiers...even the bodies of dead soldiers. Hmmmm. or is that part of the myth? Perhaps you are right.
ReplyDelete<span>Not really. I simply thought about all the extraordinary efforts the Israelis have always used in order to get soldiers back...even the bodies of dead soldiers. Hmmmm. or is that part of the myth? Perhaps you are right.</span>
ReplyDeleteOff topic, but I found this article interesting:
ReplyDeleteSince June 2007 -- and the split of the Palestinian Authority in two halves, one running Gaza and one running the West Bank - U.S. policy has banked heavily on an attempt to back the West Bank half, headed by President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Salam Fayyad. When the Obama administration took office in January 2009, it doubled down on the U.S. bet on Abbas and Fayyad. Fayyad has responded with an ambitious program that is designed to provide the institutional basis for a Palestinian state. His unassuming style, honest and capable administration, and sometimes soothing words have led to a host of international paeans to "Fayyadism." Salam Fayyad is held to be quietly building a Palestinian state rather than waiting for international actors to deliver one.
There is no doubt that Fayyad as an individual has some real virtues: a measure of personal integrity, an ability to convey an attitude that politics is about public service rather than personal aggrandizement, and a shift from revolutionary rhetoric to practical action. But is Fayyadism building a Palestinian state?
No.
http://mideast.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2010/06/30/a_little_rain_on_the_palestinian_parade
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ReplyDeleteSaw this at Sullivan's blog:
<span>Gaza besieged: tunnels, smuggling and the Israeli blockade. economist.com/video</span>
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73SHfQLFgdU&feature=player_embedded#!</span>