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Amnesia International: Forgetting the Real Culprits in Gaza

(Global Law Forum) Justus Reid Weiner and Dimitri Teresh - Amnesty International's new briefing paper titled "Suffocating: The Gaza Strip Under Israeli Blockade" forgets the actual cause for the clearly less-than-optimal circumstances in which Gazans live - the thousands of Hamas rocket, missile and mortar attacks that predated and prompted any economic sanctions put into effect by Israel. Gaza's offshore gas deposits (confirmed by British Gas) are worth an estimated $2 billion. If the Hamas government can stabilize the political situation long enough to install platforms to bring the gas to the surface, Gazans can reap the benefits. Amnesty might be better advised to redirect its efforts to entities that are genuinely in need of humanitarian assistance and that are not terrorizing their neighbors. Gazans receive the greatest amount of international aid per capita of any entity in the world. The $900 million pledged to rebuild Gaza by Secretary of State Clinton would go a long way towards alleviating the suffering of the millions who live in desperate circumstances in Haiti. And the Haitians are not likely to divert the foreign aid to launch missiles, rockets, and mortars toward their neighbors.
2010-01-21 08:49:08
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