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Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/aug/28/israelandthepalestinians.middleeast
Showboating over Gaza
[Guardian-UK] Ron Prosor - Israel last Saturday permitted two boats of protesters to land in Gaza, disappointing the more aggressive agitators in the party, as they hankered for a confrontation with the Israeli navy that never came. Having thoroughly assessed the security risks, Israel granted the ships safe passage. Ironically, just three weeks earlier, scores of Palestinians were at the Israeli border, fleeing for their lives. Eleven Palestinians died and more than a hundred were injured in fierce fighting between Hamas and its Fatah rivals. Facing slaughter by Hamas forces, nearly 200 Fatah members fled to Israel for refuge. The portrayal of Israel as the villain and as the sole cause of conflict in the Middle East is jeopardizing the search for real solutions to complex problems. In Gaza, Hamas has ruthlessly crushed its rivals, stifling criticism and ransacking its opponents. Human Rights Watch recently reported on Hamas' rule, citing "arbitrary arrests, tortured detainees, clamping down on freedom of expression and assembly." Contrary to popular distortions regarding humanitarian aid, food and fuel supply, millions of liters of fuel are made available every week at the Nahal Oz fuel depot. Thousands of tons of food supplies, medical equipment and building materials are transported through the Sufa and Karni crossings weekly. Where does the aid and the fuel go? It is time to realize that bashing Israel will not build Palestine. Showboating designed to vilify Israel will not steer the Palestinians through the choppy waters to statehood. Instead, the world must encourage the Palestinians to build their infrastructure and develop governing institutions. The extremists who sabotage this must be held to account. The writer is the Israeli ambassador in London.