At this moment there are over 1,400 people trying to get the Egyptian authorities to let them over the border with Gaza at Rafah in an act of solidarity and with essential supplies for the impoverished territory.
We are a year on from Israel’s brutal bombing of the strip, which killed the same number of people as those who have been trying to get into Gaza from 43 countries. There has also been a longstanding siege enforced by Israel and Egypt which has led to a humanitarian catastrophe. From DFID’s website, we know that:
- 61% of households are food insecure (this means hungry or in fear of starvation)
- 13% suffer sleep problems due to the “war”
- 60% do not have access to daily water
After the bombing of Gaza last year, the UK government pledged £47million towards the reconstruction effort. In the year since, only £20m has actually been spent though.
Why the difference between the figures? Clues lie in DFID press releases like the most recent one, where Douglas Alexander said:
“It is reprehensible to deprive ordinary people of the chance to rebuild their lives - punishing the poor and most vulnerable benefits no-one. I urge the Government of Israel to lift the restrictions on Gaza to ensure help can get through and that the new year offers new hope for thousands of people.”
While the statement is true, it is buried as his last comment on the issue (you actually need to click the link at the bottom to read the full press release to see it), while the release is headlined by a £53.5m package of aid for Palestine which they feel they need to justify by how it prevents extremism. It’s not clear how much of this announcement is new money and it does seem fatuous when £27m from previous announcements is still to be spent.
The UK government will point out that they are asking for Israel to open the borders to essential aid. However, diplomatically there are different levels on which they can make this call. They do not appear to be very serious about it.
This is a vital matter of life and death and the quote above betrays the fact that Israel and Egypt are acting immorally. The unprecedented gathering at the Gaza border also shows that. Douglas Alexander has tens of millions of pounds and he should be bursting down the barriers to give it out. If the Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and International Development secretary are actually determined about this, it doesn’t appear so.
That charity and aid have become such hot political issues shows how far off a peace process the region is. The approach of many, including the UK government, toward Gaza is a totally humanitarian one. It is not though an earthquake, a flood, or some other natural disaster which has befallen the people there.
The political dimension to this is not being addressed at all however, while even attempts towards achieving justice for the victims of last year’s assault have been thwarted. The UK government refused to take forward the Goldstone report, and then followed it up by apologising to Tzipi Livni (former Israeli foreign minister) for a warrant that was issued for her arrest in London due to her role in the Gaza bombings. By apologising for a judge’s actions, the government went against the principle of separation of powers and set a dangerous precedent for what they will apologise for. Any subsequent Labour attempt to hinder our courts pursuing war crimes will be opposed vigorously.
Instead of making frenzied telephone calls to placate opposition politicians in Israel, Gordon Brown should be expending energies on getting the borders open so that the basic needs of the ordinary people of Gaza can be met.
Douglas Alexander is a typical muslim-hating ZOG. Before expecting any good to come from him, you should keep his past actions in perspective.
Posted by: The Oppressed | 03 January 2010 at 04:55 AM
Where and when was £20 million spent?
Posted by: MuslimScot | 07 January 2010 at 04:46 PM