“Children Go Hungry In Gaza”
It is difficult to exaggerate the economic collapse of Gaza, with the Palestinian Authority cut off from funds by Israel, the United States and the European Union after Hamas won the legislative elections on Jan. 25, says STEVEN ERLANGER in The New York Times.
“Since then, the authority has paid most of its 73,000 employees here, nearly 40 percent of Gaza’s work force, only 1.5 months’ salary, resulting in a severe economic depression and growing signs of malnutrition, especially among the poorest children.
“Gaza’s situation has worsened since Palestinian gunmen, including those from Hamas, killed two Israeli soldiers and captured a third on June 25. Israel reinvaded Gaza, and has since killed more than 240 Palestinians, many of them in gun battles.
“An Israeli airstrike on Gaza’s only electrical power plant means that most Gazans now get only 7 to 12 hours a day of electricity, at unpredictable hours, with running water largely dependent on electric pumps.
“Fishermen, now prevented from going more than a few hundred yards from shore by the Israeli Navy, are using hand-thrown nets from the beach to catch a few sprats and sardines.
“Jan Egeland, the United Nations under secretary for humanitarian affairs, said that Gaza was “a ticking time bomb.â€? The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development warned Tuesday that the economy could shrink next year to the level of 15 years ago, and unemployment could rise to over 50 percent. The World Bank expects gross domestic product to decline by 27 percent this year.
“The United Nations is now helping to feed 830,000 people in Gaza, an increase of 100,000 since March, but to receive the relief agency’s aid they have to be classified as refugees, who make up 70 percent of Gaza’s 1.4 million people. The increase is largely refugees who work for the government and did not need assistance before.
“The World Food Program helps to feed the poorest of the nonrefugees and now has 220,000 beneficiaries, an increase of 25 percent since March, which includes 136,000 people considered to be the ‘chronic poor,’ who are not getting previous welfare benefits from the Authority.
(An Israeli soldier giving water to a thirsty Palestinian child.)
” ‘We have a complete deterioration of the economic situation in Gaza,’ said Kirstie Campbell of the agency. ‘People can’t afford the basic things.’ Seventy percent of Gazans now depend on the United Nations for food aid.”
20 Responses to ““Children Go Hungry In Gaza””
Why aren’t the oil rich Arab countries helping Palestine?
Due to the high oil price, they are swimming in money and could easily help.
Do the Palestinians blame their Arab brothers and sister for lack of solidarity? Or do they only blame Israel, the US and Europe?
Excellent question Berlin Bear.
It is time for sincere introspection among Palestinians and Israelis. And maybe a moment of truth for both the crisis-ridden countries.
It seems that the entire world, including the Arab world, Europe and the US, is least bothered whether common Israeli or Palestinian people live or die. They are all into their big geo-political games and can only help in worsening the situation.
Israel and Palestine must see this reality, shed their hatred and think of innovative ways to live in peace. I know it is a very big challenge…but then the two countries can’t just embark on a journey to annihilate one another.
Don’t forget that there was a time when the Jews and the Palestinians lived peacefully together for centuries in the now war-torn area before Europe, and later the US, meddled in their affairs nearly 100 years ago.
If once the Jews and the Palestinians could live in peace, I can’t see why attempts can’t be made by the two countries for the return of good days.
Atleast for the sake of children of Israel and Palestine who have committed no crime to deserve this!
As long as the Arab world in general is commited (or indifferent to those who are) the destruction of the state of Israel, peace in that region is impossible. Unless they achieve their stated goal and destroy Israel, of course.
Until such time, innocent children will suffer. Including those Isreali kids deliberately blown up by terrorists.
As for Bear’s question: Palestinian refugees are still sitting in their camps. How much help do they get from other Arabs?
Regards,
Bookman
Swaraaj,
You are really ducking the question asked by Berlin Bear. The question is, why do Palestinians reflexly blame THE WEST for their problems, when there are clearly Arabs that could provide for their needs but choose not to do so? I suppose I can put myself in the position of an individual Palestinian and see that groups like Hamas often do serve humanitarian needs, and thus they see help coming from Arab faces but not from the West…but do they not realize that Saudi Arabia alone could probably feed and provide for needs of all Palestinians but chooses not to do so? Why is the West the scapegoat? Because that is what they have been taught to believe.
And when you say this:
Yes, there was Western imperialism a century ago that triggered modern day conflicts. But you seem to forget that it was the UN that came up with the two state solution. The same UN that allows dictators and oppressive regimes to have a seat at the table. Yet these countries seem to only want to invoke the UN when it serves their purpose. Do you forget that in 1948 it was only hours after Israel became a state that the bombing began? The UN offered a solution for the two groups to divide the territory (and yes, there were serious issues like resettlement that should have been better resolved), but Palestinians chose the way of war while Israel tried to establish itself. The course was then set for Israel to have to choose between aggressively defending its right to exist, or allowing its people to be destroyed.
Swaraaj,
I do want to commend you for the picture of the Israeli soldier providing water to the child. It is fairminded of you to show that image, rather than choosing only to show the suffering or perhaps images of Arab helping Arab, because the truth is more complex than that. The truth is that most in Israel and the West do feel great sympathy for the people who are caught in the middle of this incredible tragedy…we just differ on where we believe the solution lies.
Maybe if the Palestinians spent their money on food instead of weapons and rockets, then their people wouldn’t starve. Maybe if Hamas didn’t blindly attack Israel after Israel withdrew from Gaza, there would not be a blockade. Maybe if Palestinian leadership wasn’t so corrupt and skimming most of the western aid (Arafat was worth close to a billion dollars when he died – how did he “earn” that money?) the people of Gaza would not starve.
What’s going on in Gaza is a tragedy, but it’s the people in power in Gaza who are primarily responsible, not the West or Israel. The Palestinian house needs a serious cleaning before the West should give more money.
One thing that has gotten completely overlooked in the press is that Israel and Hamas are still fighting a low scale but consistent war. Michael Totten’s website, as usual, has the first hand scoop.
Well, I don’t think it helps our position of counterterrorism to allow children in Gaza to starve. The reason organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah have been so successful is they have met the humanitarian needs of their peoples, where the government has failed. Wouldn’t it be a boon to our wounded image abroad and great anti-terrorist propaganda to intercede here and make a great humanitarian gesture?
A military solution is not possible in the ME-it will not eliminate terrorism-poverty and starvation are its breeding grounds. Severe sanctions placed on Iraq in the ’90′s served as a great recruiting tool for OSB, as the Arab world was inundated with images of Western-induced starvation.
C Stanley,
Isn’t that like asking why modern Republicans blame gay marriage for the nation’s problems? It’s a way to change the subject and deflect blame onto a perceived other. The oldest trick in the book. But that’s not to say Israel hasn’t collectively punished the Palestinian people. It’s why we need a long-term settlement so the forces of moderation can come to together. The problem is that the conflict empowers the Netanyahus and the Hamases instead of the Abbases and the Pereses. Only the US can stop this cycle. Nobody else can.
Hey, that’s a cheap shot
Yes, I know the answer to my question is that scapegoating works to deflect criticism from where it should properly be directed. I was asking the question only rhetorically, for Swaraaj to consider it, because his arguments seem to center on the West being responsible, without any culpability on the PNA or other Arabs.
On this:
How do you perceive that this is possible? To be honest, I’ve lost track of where things stand with the quartet’s proposal for EU to funnel relief funds directly to aid those in need, without funding Hamas govt. Did they ever get that together? Also, for a time I was seeing talk that the pressure from the West was working, because Abbas and the Hamas govt. were giving signals that they would give in to the demands to recognize Israel. Anyone know any sources for updates on all of that? The latest info I can find is from back in June.
I agree Elrod…
And the time when the US may stop this cycle is likely to come immediately after the Bush era. For the simple reason that Bush is now caught in a complex situation of his, and his advisors, making… and it seems unlikely that he would be able to extricate himself from the mess.
In another two years the world would be suffering from extreme ‘war’/fear/uncertainty fatigue. Even the macho players would start panting for breath, if not fall flat on the ground due to sheer exhaustion.
Of course, there is the financial bankruptcy factor directly connected to the unrealistic ambitions and the greed factor of certain leaders/nations.
I have a gut feeling that the world would be a differnt/better place to live in in the year 2009.
Kim,
This website of USAID gives info on what the US is currently doing; in addition, the UN provides a lot of food aid.
(in July the budget was almost doubled, from $215 million to $384 million.)
So, it’s not as if the West isn’t doing anything, but the problem is more complex. The current crisis is due to two main factors:
1. The Palestinian economy is hugely dependent on foriegn aid and taxes paid by Israel. A very large percentage of the Palestinian people rely on govt.salaries, which come from those two sources. Since the election of Hamas, both have been cut off and these workers aren’t being paid. EU traditionally has been the largest source of the foreign aid, and as I mentioned in my last post, I’m not sure if they’ve come up with a solution to get the money directly to the people instead of through Hamas govt. And on the Israeli payments, I know that Condi Rice has asked the Israelis to resume those payments, but I honestly don’t know if we’ve put pressure on them to do so. I assume the Israelis feel the same dilemma as EU: concern that money paid to Hamas govt will go toward attacks on Israel rather than legitimate uses.
2. The other major problem is restriction of movement of the Palestinian people, which Israel feels is necessary for its security. Israel says that it is allowing sufficient flow of food and other goods, while Palestinians claim otherwise.
Elrod I might be completely insane, but I’m not necessarily sure that the current situation empowers either Hamas nor Netanyahu. About a year before the Palestinian election, every article interviewing Palestinians I read had the respondents replying that they were ready for a two state solution but they were sick of Fatah’s corruption and felt like Hamas would allow them to become prosperous because it would help the common man. I couple this with the Hamas declared ceasefire that happened only a couple of months after The New Republic published an article about a border town where the residents were turning on Hamas because they were sick of their attacks prompting Israeli reprisals. I have read nothing about what the average Palestinian thinks since the election, but considering the sentiment before it, I always viewed their win as primarily domestic. Since the situation has deterioated even further (because of Hamas’ refusal to accept Israel’s right to exist, and the abduction of the Israeli soldier) I wouldn’t be surprised if Hamas was bearing the brunt of blame. Perhaps this is why one of the leading Hamas spokesmen said a couple weeks ago that most of the problems were caused by Palestinian actions and they should stop blaming other people. The way I read the current situation is that the hardline factions are fighting with the moderate factions to direct the future of Hamas (and within Fatah as well) — and they are a currently stalemated. (The compromise happened a couple of days ago when Fatah and Hamas reconciliated and Hamas gave permission to start peace talks while not rejecting their charter.) Since Israel is out of Gaza and seems to be making active good faith efforts to help the second they are no longer under attack, this might very well help the moderates.
As for Israel, I have yet to read much of anyone proclaiming that leaving Lebanon/Gaza was a bad idea — they are just astounded at how poorly the response was when attacked. Olmert might fall, but as long as a militarily competent person arises that follows Sharon’s vision I don’t see any way Netanyahu could have a chance at power. Does anyone have any clearly sourced information on how either populace feels?
Ironic, I was searching for news and found that apparently there is rather big news.
C Stanley,
It looks like progress until the last paragraph. Haniya appears to still be blaming Israel for evrything. I’m not as familiar w/ the situation as I should be regarding Israeli occupation, refugees returning, and prisoners being released. Additionally they (Hamas) won’t recognize Israel. Until Hamas is either gone or recognizes the problems they are creating, I see little progress.
Jim B,
Yes, as I read more I see that it isn’t as promising as it seemed at first glance. Here’s a quote from a Jerusalem Post article:
Interesting discussion!
C. Stanley (and others) make great points.
Swaraaj, I think you are picture of the time before the creation of Israel is overly rosy and you are too optimistic concerning the future, when you write: “And the time when the US may stop this cycle is likely to come immediately after the Bush era.”
The next president will inherit many problems, that cannot be solved easily.
Thanks for the link- C Stanley! I had read a while back that we were getting involved on the humanitarian end, but wasn’t aware of the extent. I think we need to be a glaring presence in the effort so that Al Jazeera will have those images to broadcast as well as the troops occupying Iraq.
I remember after the earthquake in Pakistan, that when US helicopters showed up to help, the tribal people were amazed, as they had only had exposure to us as aggressors prior to that tragic event. More of the same will help our image as a benevolent superpower that can intercede in important humanitarian crises.
Swaraaj, it is a myth that muslims lived in peace with Jews or any other people for centuries. islam has always been at war with non-muslims and non-muslims live as dhimmis under islamic rule
Yeah, well, as long as the Jews submitted to that, then everything was nice and peaceful, right? Why quibble over little details? (being sarcastic here)