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Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Gaza "Reduced to" Beggar State
2007-12-15
GAZA CITY -- The batteries are the size of a button on a man's shirt, small silvery dots that power hearing aids for several hundred Palestinian students taught by the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children in Gaza City.
It's always about the Children, isn't it?
Now the batteries, marketed by Radio Shack, are all but used up. The few that are left are losing power, turning voices into unintelligible echoes in the ears of Hala Abu Saif's 20 first-grade students.

The Israeli government is increasingly restricting the import into the Gaza Strip of batteries, anesthesia drugs, antibiotics, tobacco, coffee, gasoline, diesel fuel and other basic items, including chocolate and compressed air to make soft drinks.

This punishing seal has reduced Gaza, a territory of almost 1.5 million people, to beggar status, unable to maintain an effective public health system, administer public schools or preserve the traditional pleasures of everyday life by the sea.

"Essentially, it's the ordinary people, caught up in the conflict, paying the price for this political failure," said John Ging, director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency in Gaza, which serves the majority refugee population. "The humanitarian situation is atrocious, and it is easy to understand why -- 1.2 million Gazans now relying on U.N. food aid, 80,000 people who have lost jobs and the dignity of work. And the list goes on."

And now, a bit of balance....
Israeli military and political leaders say the restrictions are prompted by near-constant rocket and small-arms attacks and concerns over what uses Palestinian gunmen might have for some materials entering Gaza, particularly fuel and batteries.
Posted by:Bobby

#34  another W the press won't use: WINNING
Posted by: Frank G   2007-12-15 22:53  

#33  Ponnies, bunnies (fluffy) and baby ducks too.
Posted by: twobyfour   2007-12-15 22:50  

#32  The two W's also now stand for:

1. whine

2. whinge (whingeing is similar to whining except with a vaguely Continental accent and veiled references to "international law" and/or poodles.)
Posted by: Seafarious   2007-12-15 20:31  

#31  LOL!
Posted by: Mike N.   2007-12-15 20:18  

#30  It used to be that journalists delivered "the 5 Ws" -- who, what, when, where, and why. Then budgets got tight, so they started substituting pre-made agenda for "why". Now budgets are even tighter, so you're lucky if you get two Ws and an agenda. Ironically, this crackdown on Ws coincides with the sport of Bush-bashing. Sadly, if the Democrats win in 2008, Ws will be banned entirely and future generations will only know a 25-letter alphabet. At that point, the hite house in ashington ill be orthless because e ill all be spineless socialists anyay.
Posted by: Darrell   2007-12-15 19:24  

#29  or the last.
Posted by: Seafarious   2007-12-15 19:11  

#28  WaPo falls for the Paleowhine.

Not the first time.
Posted by: mhw   2007-12-15 18:56  

#27  Read the article, gems such as these reside there;


Israeli military officials said last week that 2,000 rockets had been launched from Gaza toward Israel this year, killing two Israelis, wounding many others and instilling fear across the southern region. Since the U.S.-sponsored peace conference in Annapolis, Md., last month, Israeli airstrikes and ground forces have killed 26 Hamas gunmen, the Islamic organization says, as well as at least four Palestinian civilians.


and this bleating...


"What do you call sending dozens of Gaza patients to a slow death because they are refused treatment?" Naim said. "That's not a humanitarian crisis. That's a war crime."


what do the Israelis say?


Maj. Peter Lerner, Israel's military liaison for international organizations working in Gaza, said 8,000 Gazans have been permitted to enter Israel for medical care since June.

It is not a risk-free venture for Israel. In 2004, a Palestinian woman detonated an explosives vest near the main Erez Crossing, killing four Israelis and herself. A year and a half later, a 21-year-old Palestinian woman passing through Erez for medical care at Soroka hospital in southern Israel was discovered smuggling a 20-pound bomb, which she unsuccessfully attempted to detonate.


I rest my case.

Posted by: Tony (UK)   2007-12-15 18:44  

#26  "As long as they have the strength to lob missiles over at Israel, they aren't at a 'Beggar' state yet."
Word, Darth. Cause, meet effect.
Posted by: Darrell   2007-12-15 18:29  

#25  I just wanna know how they make soft driks with compressed air.

?? ?
Posted by: Parabellum    2007-12-15 17:34  

#24  Joooooos to fight over?

WHAT?

Posted by: Thomas Woof   2007-12-15 17:25  

#23  reduced to a beggar state? Was it ever anything but?
Posted by: Whomong Guelph4611   2007-12-15 17:00  

#22  you know, it's almost as if you commenters are happy to see a populace of hateful citizens, terrorists and thugs, governed by a democratically elected band of terrorists and thugs, who seem to spend their time killing each other when they can't rocket a shrapnel bomb into a Joooo kindergarten, or kidnap and killl Jooos, suffer the fruits of their efforts


oh wait, so am I. Carry on
Posted by: Frank G   2007-12-15 17:00  

#21  As long as they still have food to fight over, I won't feel too sorry for these people.

Once they no longer have food to fight over, I will change my position to 'eat shit and die'.
Posted by: Mike N.   2007-12-15 16:12  

#20  basic items, including chocolate and compressed air to make soft drinks.

They aren't anywhere near bottom yet.
Posted by: trailing wife   2007-12-15 16:01  

#19  "...80,000 people who have lost jobs and the dignity of work. And the list goes on."

...and on and on and...
Posted by: DepotGuy   2007-12-15 15:29  

#18  GAZA CITY -- The batteries are the size of a button on a man's shirt, small silvery dots that power hearing aids suicide belts and bombs strapped to 5-year-olds for several hundred Palestinian students taught to be used to deliberately murder innocent men, women and chidren in Israel by the Atfaluna Society for Deaf Children by the Palistinian terrorists in Gaza City.

There - fixed it for ya - no charge.....
Posted by: CrazyFool   2007-12-15 12:47  

#17  Stole my thunder, OldSpook. There are two sides to every gaza: Israel and Egypt. Everyone professes a profound love for the Paleos, but it is only Israel that provides the luuuuuuv.

Every arab country pays lip service to the Paleos, but they are only a dagger to be used against the underbelly of Israel. Not even the Egyptians care about their dysfunctional burrowing neighbors.

Israel needs to announce that they are done with Gaza and it will be up to Egypt and other fools to pick up the slack.

Cry me a river. You can thank the Paleo's arab masters for reducing them down to the morons they are today.
Posted by: Alaska Paul   2007-12-15 12:26  

#16  Gaza is open on at least 2 sides other than what Israel controls.

Where is the Egyptian help coming from the south and syrian/saudi/arab help coming in the coast/ports?

(cue crickets chirping)


The Pleos are an Arab creation, aided and abetted to become an abomination - and they are most definitely NOT Israel's problem, other than keeping them and their rockets, bombs and bullets OUT of Israel.

LEt the Pleos figure it out for themselves that the paternalistic Islamofascist theocrats dont give a shit about them or than using them as a club to beat others with, nor do the strong man socialists kelptocrats (Afat's legacy) give a shit either other than how much money and power they can pump from others misery.


Posted by: OldSpook   2007-12-15 12:05  

#15  Anonymoose - I still say 1000 rounds for each rocket in a slowly advancing grid.
Posted by: 3dc   2007-12-15 11:48  

#14  I still think the major of Sderot should use city funds to buy a 105mm Howitzer and a couple of hundred rounds of ammo. Then, whenever a rocket is fired at Sderot, they automatically respond with an artillery shell, which has about the same range.

If they receive complaints about firing howitzer rounds at the Paleos, they could shrug and say that they are not firing the rounds at the Paleos, only at the rockets the Paleos fire at them. As such, the howitzer is solely a defensive weapon.

Pretty ineffective at defense, but if it is all you have, it is better than being defenseless against attack. Go ahead and argue that in court.
Posted by: Anonymoose   2007-12-15 10:25  

#13  The sins of the fathers are visited on the children, and ever has it been thus...
Posted by: M. Murcek   2007-12-15 10:11  

#12  *my* sympathy is stuck in customs at the Rafah crossing...
Posted by: Seafarious   2007-12-15 09:58  

#11  Sorry. All sympathied out this week. Try again next week. But try to get me early before I use it all up...
Posted by: tu3031   2007-12-15 09:40  

#10  Beggars who issue demands, conditions and routinely threaten their donors. I say f*ck em - let em starve in the dark
Posted by: Frank G   2007-12-15 09:30  

#9  I wonder what kind of batteries those rockets and launchers use.
Posted by: James   2007-12-15 09:21  

#8  Hey, the same children are being propagandized by Hamas TV every day to continue the conflict for generations to come, so they can't be that concerned. Any other nation doing that would have the UN come knocking. Let them eat sand.
Posted by: Hammerhead   2007-12-15 08:45  

#7  Ive given up tobacco, coffee, chocolate and soft drinks voluntarily. They really aren't all that healthy. Tasty yes. The trick is to substitute alcohol in its many palatable forms.

Maybe I could be a food consultant for the UN?
Posted by: BrerRabbit   2007-12-15 08:40  

#6  I am amazed at how little effect this prolonged whine for sympathy has upon me.

Really, I feel quite scrooge-like.
Posted by: Sgt. Mom   2007-12-15 08:24  

#5  Now the batteries, marketed by Radio Shack, are all but used up. The few that are left are losing power, turning voices into unintelligible echoes in the ears of Hala Abu Saif's 20 first-grade students.

Watching Nahoul's beat-down is not going to make much sense without subtitles.


Posted by: Excalibur   2007-12-15 07:57  

#4  Not reduced enough. As long as they have the strength to lob missiles over at Israel, they aren't at a "Beggar" state yet.
Posted by: DarthVader   2007-12-15 07:48  

#3  

WHAT?

Posted by: Thomas Woof   2007-12-15 07:37  

#2  "Essentially, it's the ordinary people, caught up in the conflict, paying the price for this political failure,"

Ordinary people who voted Hamas into power. And support "martyrs". And don't turn in bad guys. And walk into hotels and buses, stand next to strollers and blow themselves up. On holy days. And pass out candy when the WTC gets bombed. And voluntarily act as human shields. And strap bombs onto five year olds and tell them to approach IDF troops. And use ambulances as troop transports. And stage IDF atrocity videos. And kidnap soldiers. And seethe when terrorists are killed. And don't understand why their lives are so hard.
Posted by: gorb   2007-12-15 07:32  

#1  Who is at fault here, really?
Posted by: newc   2007-12-15 07:28  

00:00