UN-Truth

The Israeli Government Press Office is reporting that the “security cabinet” has voted unanimously to declare that: “Hamas is a terrorist organization that has taken control of the Gaza Strip and turned it into hostile territory. This organization engages in hostile activity against the State of Israel and its citizens and bears responsibility for this activity. In light of the foregoing, it has been decided to adopt the recommendations that have been presented by the security establishment, including the continuation of military and counter-terrorist operations against the terrorist organizations. Additional sanctions will be placed on the Hamas regime in order to restrict the passage of various goods to the Gaza Strip and reduce the supply of fuel and electricity. Restrictions will also be placed on the movement of people to and from the Gaza Strip. The sanctions will be enacted following a legal examination, while taking into account both the humanitarian aspects relevant to the Gaza Strip and the intention to avoid a humanitarian crisis”.

What will Condoleeza Rice make of this? How can a Palestinian State come into existence if one inextricable part of it — the Gaza Strip — is deemed enemy territory and put under Israeli sanctions?

Well, we didn’t have to wait too long to learn what Secretary Rice thinks. The Associated Press is reporting as breaking news that “Rice said Wednesday the United States ‘will not abandon the innocent Palestinians in Gaza,’ shortly after Israel declared the territory to be an enemy entity in order to cut off power and fuel supplies to the coastal strip. At the same time, Rice said Gaza, ruled by the Islamic militant Hamas group, ‘is a hostile entity to us as well’ … Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesman, said … ‘If the occupation government considers half of the Palestinian population and land as its enemies, how can we expect any results regarding fundamental issues?’ ”
The AP update is posted here.

Rice told journalists just hours earlier, en route to Jerusalem, that “as I’ve said many times, the Palestinians have waited long enough for their state and the Israelis have waited long enough for the security that’s going to come from having a democratic neighbor … We’re trying to support the forces in the Middle East, and in this case most especially the Palestinians and the Israelis, who see a future for the Middle East in which former enemies can live in peace and security side by side, people who believe that that is going to be achieved through a negotiated two-state solution, who believe in a two-state solution. And I’ve said on any number of occasions the people who believe in a two-state solution have got to be shown that, in fact, it is possible to have one. We can’t simply continue to say we want a two-state solution.  We’ve got to start to move toward one.  And I think the bilateral track that the Palestinians and the Israelis have themselves established and the teams that they are going to appoint are dedicated to doing exactly that.”.

However, Haaretz newspaper says that: “The security cabinet declared the Gaza Strip an ‘enemy entity’ on Wednesday … The cabinet made the decision to declare Gaza an ‘enemy entity’ following a legal examination by the Foreign Ministry regarding how to define the Strip in order to allow Israel to impose sanctions under international law. As a result of the decision, Israel will reduce ties with the Strip to a bare minimum. The ministers determined that the steps will be ‘implemented in accordance with formal legal position papers and the humanitarian situation in the field’ … The ministers stressed that Hamas is the organization in charge in Gaza, and that security forces will continue operating against Hamas and other militant groups … Meanwhile, Israel Radio reported that deposed Palestinian prime minister Ismail Haniyeh of Hamas met early Wednesday with Islamic Jihad leaders, in an attempt to convince them to halt the rocket fire”.

See the Haaretz report here.

Israel’s largest-circulation daily newspaper, Yedioth Ahronot, said in an editorial today, as summarized by the Government Press Office, that “If Israel becomes convinced that collective punishment will drastically reduce rocket fire at it, the supporters of such action will multiply, regardless of the accompanying moral discomfort and even if it does not jibe with international law.”

The Ynet website says that “security cabinet met on Wednesday morning to discuss recent events in Gaza, including last week’s Qassam attack against the Zikim military base. Over 60 soldiers were wounded in the attack. All cabinet ministers and Prime Minister Ehud Olmert voiced their objection to retaking Gaza at this time. On Tuesday Defense Minister Barak convened the IDF chief of staff and other senior military officials, including representatives from the Military Advocate General specializing in international law, to discuss possible punitive measures Israel could take against Gaza as the rockets continue to fall. Following the meeting Barak conclude that Gaza and the Hamas government must first be declared a hostile entity. Barak’s office said that in accordance with international law – in dealing with a hostile entity, Israel would be able to respond without imposing a collective punishment against the civilian Palestinian population. Those measures include preventing the flow of funds into Gaza, restricting the operations of the various border crossings, cutting off the Israeli supply of fuel to Gaza and cutting back the amount of electricity provided to the public … The unanimous vote also authorized the imposing of economic sanctions against Gaza, so long as they do not affect the civilian population. The measures to be taken against Gaza include cutting back on the supply of electricity and fuel, in accordance with international law”.

This seems like pure delusion.

Ynet also reports that “Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhoum said that Israel’s decision constituted a ‘declaration of war’. ‘This is a dangerous escalation of the attempt to legitimize destroying Palestinian land, criminal behavior and bringing a humanitarian disaster on the Palestinian people. This is Israel attempting a knock-out blow against Hamas following its successes in taking control of Gaza. I find the silence and cooperation of the man in Ramallah (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas) with the enemy to be very curious indeed’, said Barhoum”.
The Ynet report is here.

The Jerusalem Post reports, however, that “Following the decision, a UN official called the move problematic, telling Army Radio that since Gaza was still under Israeli occupation and Israel controlled all crossings in and out of the area, collective punishment of all Gaza residents would constitute a violation of international law”.
The Jerusalem Post item is here.

Filed under: Gaza, Israel, Middle East Peace Process, Palestine & Palestinians, Quartet