This is why humanitarian aid is stuck outside Gaza
CNN reported yesterday (Tuesday) that a bipartisan effort is being made in Congress to support Israel “to help Israel win and totally eliminate the threat Hamas presents.” Schumer has “a list” of the support that Israeli leaders are requesting. It includes weaponry and humanitarian aid.
As Gaza crumbles under relentless airstrikes, without food, water, or power, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken is still looking into a humanitarian plan for the strip, “but as of now, there’s nothing concrete. It’s uncertain how this will work or whether it’s feasible.”
Blinken is also pessimistic about the possibility of so-called safe corridors to bring aid to the people who need it. He claims that Hamas might seize or block the aid from reaching Gaza. He gave no reasoning for this line of thinking.
Hundreds of tons of supplies wait at the Egypt border, donations from various countries and NGOs, while Israeli airstrikes continue and Gazans starve and die. Israel has bombed the border crossing multiple times.
Let’s recap.
Ok, Israel is requesting weaponry and humanitarian aid, and Congress is tripping over itself to provide whatever Israel needs. No doubt there is some need for humanitarian supplies in Israel. And you can never have too many weapons, right?
Gaza, on the other hand, is starving, dying of thirst, and cut off from the world – but Secretary Blinken can’t come up with a simple plan to move a convoy of humanitarian aid trucks. He doesn’t need money or resolutions from Congress. All he has to do is tell Israel (to whom we give $13 million a day in military aid) to allow safe passage so human beings can have food and water. That’s too much to ask.
Did he try threatening to withhold aid? America doesn’t do that. We are Israel’s staunchest ally. And Israel needs that money to do things like bomb Gaza – and maintain the punishing blockade that caused this war.
Why won’t Israel agree to something as humane as a humanitarian corridor, and why won’t Blinken force Netanyahu to agree? They claim they are worried that Hamas will intercept or block the aid, and it will never reach the people of Gaza that Israel is starving and killing. Bibi and Blinken really have Gazans’ best interests at heart. Please.
They (and much of the world) are operating from a deeply racist view of Hamas: they define the organization and its members as barbarians with no interest in the people of Gaza. They claim they are, as a group, lesser human beings. The alleged baby-beheadings and rapes (apparently unproven and therefore widely retracted – see this, this, this, this, this) during the first days of the escalation are just part of the reason.
Hamas has been causing major problems for Gazans for years, they say. Almost immediately after Hamas was elected, Israel initiated a crushing blockade on Gaza (still going, 16 years later). On top of that, Hamas keeps launching rockets at Israel, which “forces” Israel to retaliate with horrific airstrikes that kill civilians. This is all Hamas’ fault, they say. Obviously Hamas cares nothing for its people, because it keeps doing things that bring Israeli wrath, they say.
This perspective of Hamas – as the problem, as barbarians, as the source of Gazan suffering – is convenient for Israel and its dearest ally. It enables them to manufacture the theory that Hamas would block humanitarian aid to its own people, so that Israel can continue to starve and wipe out the civilians of Gaza.
Never mind that Hamas fighters are dying for the people of Gaza. They’re terrorists, and Israel knows what’s best for Gaza, they say.
Now for some facts
The people of Gaza voted for Hamas because the other political party (Fatah) cooperates with Israel. Hamas' campaign promise was to resist the occupation, not cooperate with it – and Gazans were sick of Israeli oppression and ready to shake things up.
Resistance against occupation – even armed resistance – is a universally recognized human right. Using the word “terrorism” to describe every action that harms or annoys Israel propagandizes the legitimate efforts of resistance groups While not all of Hamas’ efforts are “legitimate,” their effort to bring Gaza out from under Israel’s boot is.
Occupation itself – when it drags out as Israel's has – violates international law. Gaza is considered to be occupied, although Israel claims it is not. Israel, as an occupier, has many responsibilities toward the occupied population, which it is shirking – again, violating international law. One might even consider Israel’s illegal actions against legal resistance to be terrorism. (Think about that for a moment.)
Hamas (and other resistance groups) has been launching rockets toward Israel since April 16, 2001 – they began after six months of shelling and invasions by Israeli forces that killed 570+ Gazans. (Go ahead and read that again. I’ll wait.)
In the 22 years since Palestinians in Gaza started using rockets, they have killed a total of 37 Israelis (many of these deaths were not caused by Hamas rockets – this number does not include any rocket deaths in the current escalation). Another 28 Israelis have been killed by mortars. During the same time, Israeli air strikes have killed more than 4,000 Gazans. (You should probably read that again.)
Hamas and the other resistance groups in Gaza are fighting for Palestinian human rights: to end the blockade and occupation of Gaza, the occupation of the West Bank, the Israeli takeover of East Jerusalem, and the desecration of the Al-Aqsa mosque. They are not fighting to destroy Jews or the Jewish state, but to secure justice. (This is one of Israel’s best-kept secrets – and they have lots of secrets.)
Resistance groups are fighting with what they have (which isn’t much) against one of the most powerful militaries in the world – of course they’re going to get creamed.
There must be a better way, right?
Palestinians have gone to the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and the United Nations, begging for justice. No one has given them any real help (the US has actually blocked UN resolutions condemning Israel for its violence). They peacefully protested for 20 months straight – only to be shot by snipers. What else should they do?
Resistance fighters in Gaza (and the people of Gaza, if anyone is still alive at this point) know they are on their own, and so the fighters fight, and the people wait. They are already dying a slow death under blockade.
Israel’s refusal to own up to its ethnic cleansing that sent hundreds of thousands of Palestinians to Gaza as refugees, then its refusal to let them return to their homes (a violation of int’l law) because they were not Jewish, forced Gaza into a corner where they needed to resist. Then when they did resist, Israel punished them instead of solving the problem.
Resistance won’t go away until justice arrives. Palestinians are willing to die for that – and apparently Israel is willing to kill indefinitely to avoid it.