Tuesday, June 01, 2010

Israeli Assault on Aid Convoy

I’m not quite sure what to make of this one. What are these people thinking? I can only assume there was a suspicion that the ships were carrying more than humanitarian aid. The botched nighttime raid left nine Palestinian supporters dead and several dozen others, including seven Israeli soldiers wounded. That’s screwing the pooch big time.

I’m not sure I like the whole idea of blockading the Gaza Strip in the hopes of forcing Hamas out. Seems to me it’s more likely to drive more Palestinians into its arms.

Then there is the question of the legitimacy of Hamas to begin with. The west calls them terrorists but I’m sure most Palestinians look upon them as freedom fighters. I’m not taking a position here because I don’t have enough information, but Israel seems to be trying real hard to get everyone pissed off at them.

In the meantime Egypt has opened its border to Gaza, at least temporarily, and hundreds appear to be taking the opportunity to flee the impoverished strip. I suspect that the only thing the blockade is accomplishing is making a lot of poor people poorer.

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