Sunday, June 13, 2010

Time to end, not 'ease' the siege


By Lamis Andoni
Al-Jazeera

"The visit by Amr Moussa, the secretary-general of the Arab League, to Gaza is the first serious attempt by an Arab official to break the Israeli-imposed siege on the tiny Strip.

It took a war, the lives of 1,400 Palestinians, and nine Turks, killed during a lethal Israeli interception of an aid flotilla, for Arab states to finally move against the blockade [I don't believe that this is true!]....

Endorsing collective punishment

Popular fury in the Arab world and beyond, triggered by the Israeli attack on the Mavi Marmara, has spurred American and European leaders to call for an easing of the Gazan population's continued suffering.

But, instead of calling for an immediate end to the siege, most statements and proposals have been aimed at "easing" or finding an "alternative" to it. And such prescriptions to make the siege more tolerable will only alleviate the pressure on Israel rather than on the beleaguered Gazans.

Finding an "alternative" to the siege is paramount to endorsing the Israeli policy of collective punishment and guaranteeing its own security while maintaining a free hand in arresting and killing Palestinians whenever it sees fit...."

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