(Jerusalem Post) Yaakov Katz - For Maj.-Gen. Eitan Dangot, coordinator of government activities in the territories, the International Monetary Fund report claiming that the economy in Gaza had grown by 16% is proof of what he has been telling international diplomats for the past year: there is no humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Contrary to public thinking, the easing of the Gaza blockade started months before the flotilla incident in May. "The Palestinians in Gaza have for years been receiving the same amount of food which is sent in according to the amount they request," he says. "Even now, with our more liberal policy, they are still asking for the same amount, which means they were never really lacking." In August, Dangot testified that the so-called aid flotillas are nothing more than an attempt to strengthen Hamas. "The flotillas help Hamas' agenda. The Mavi Marmara did not have a single bag of food on it. Just weapons and anti-Israel propaganda....The medicine [it carried] had expired." The real humanitarian crisis in Gaza, he says, has to do with IDF soldier Gilad Shalit, who is still in Hamas captivity four years after he was abducted. In the West Bank, Dangot refers to the lifting of 27 roadblocks over the past two years. At the same time, he does not feel that PA security forces are prepared to receive complete control, particularly in Area A cities like Ramallah and Nablus.
2010-09-28 09:23:16Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive