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Who Is Responsible for Gaza Radicalism?

(Jerusalem Post) Barry Rubin - British ambassador to Israel Tom Phillips claimed in a recent interview that Israel's sanctions' regime in Gaza "was breeding radicalism." The message is that the problem is completely due to "us." The other side has no history, no worldview, no ideology, and no goals. Let's recall that the U.S. actually urged, and Israel accepted, Hamas participation in Palestinian elections, even though the group did not accept the Oslo Accords, recognize Israel, or cease using terrorism. When Hamas won the elections, neither the U.S. nor Israel tried to intervene or reverse the results. There was a border industrial area that provided jobs for Gazans from Israeli companies until Hamas attacked it. Finally, near the end of 2008, Hamas tore up the ceasefire and launched a massive rocket attack on Israel. This is not a picture of Gazans being driven to radicalism, it is a story of how a radical policy forced Israel to react. Phillips' line that it is Israel's policy which is creating "another generation of people that are not going to feel that friendly about Israel" is ludicrous in light of this reality. The writer is director of the Global Research in International Affairs Center at the Interdisciplinary Center (IDC), Herzliya.
2010-08-06 09:25:42
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