(JNS) Melanie Phillips - Despite all the evidence of UNRWA's terrorist ties, there has been hysterical outrage over Israel's parliamentary ban. There have been claims that it will deepen the humanitarian crisis with Gazans now on the brink of starvation, a claim that's been made repeatedly during the war but has always proved untrue. In reality, hundreds of aid trucks enter Gaza every week. Hamas continues to steal the aid and sell it on the black market at hugely inflated prices. Hamas has seized an estimated $500 million in foreign aid since the war began. Moreover, why should Israel be held responsible for providing Gaza with humanitarian assistance? Israel has been under bombardment from Gaza for two decades. Gaza's population elected Hamas to rule them. Opinion polling consistently reveals that even among those who now hate Hamas, the vast majority support the killing of Israelis. Thousands of those civilians took part in the Oct. 7 atrocities in Israel and grossly abused the Israeli captives when they were dragged into Gaza. The IDF subsequently found evidence of ties to Hamas in virtually every house. In what conceivable moral universe is a country targeted for such a remorseless and genocidal attack expected to look after the welfare of its murderous attackers? The pretense that UNRWA exists to provide for the suffering was finally ripped apart by the part its employees played in the Oct. 7 atrocities and in the war that has followed. Israelis are no longer prepared to tolerate people who are trying to kill them and destroy their country while parading as humanitarian relief workers. The writer is a columnist for The Times-UK.
2024-11-05 00:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive