(Wall Street Journal) Editorial - Baroness Catherine Ashton, the EU's new chief diplomat, used her maiden speech in the European Parliament to fuel the Continent's No. 1 international-affairs obsession: trashing the Jewish state. It's rather odd that no sooner had Israel left Gaza in 2005, than the same people who so anxiously had called for Israel to "end the occupation" wanted it back in the picture. Even though Hamas returned Israel's peace gesture with relentless rocket attacks, Israel is nevertheless expected to establish some sort of free-trade zone with the Islamists and open its borders again to Palestinian suicide bombers. The Baroness has only Israel in her crosshairs, even though Jerusalem is actually still providing a lifeline to the Palestinians. Despite all the misreporting about a "humanitarian catastrophe" in Gaza as a result of Israel's blockade, the flow of aid support from Israel is uninterrupted. In the week of Dec. 13-19 alone, 553 truckloads with 13,587 tons of merchandise reached Gaza from Israel, according to the Israel Foreign Ministry. For an authentic look at life in Gaza, check out the photos of crowded markets filled with food, clothing and candy, published by Palestine Today, a Gaza newspaper. Lady Ashton also failed to acknowledge that it is the Palestinians' refusal to restart negotiations rather than Israeli intransigence that stands in the way of a Palestinian state.
2009-12-23 08:35:12Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive