Bruce Wolman writes:
Did you notice how the Washington Institute for Near East Policy reduces the entire discussion of Gaza atrocities to the debate on the Israeli side?
"So
far, there have been only a few cases of alleged serious misconduct
involving the "cold-blooded" killing of civilians, and these are in
dispute."
far, there have been only a few cases of alleged serious misconduct
involving the "cold-blooded" killing of civilians, and these are in
dispute."
WINEP does not take any report seriously unless it comes from Israeli official sources. The Gazan side is wiped off the face of the map. Do Amnesty International, the UN, the Red Cross, Human Rights Watch, etc. only have a few cases they are investigating? I doubt WINEP has too many researchers on the ground in Gaza. It's a little too far from the Near East WINEP visits.
Perhaps the Israeli government worries that admitting even one incident will reveal them as something they have said they are not?
At times, it seems more like the code of administrators in civil government: the supervisor is always right.
Could they be concerned that the 'cousins' in the States will begin to understand that time has moved on, and Israel is no longer the land of the brave kibbutzim any longer?
The image of the settler is very different from that of the kibbutzim.
Which, on thought, is interesting. How and when did that image change?
Why?
Somebody said on this blog the test of virtue is power–I'd say it changed since 1967, when the USA started supporting Israel in every way, and a lot, and right or wrong. Give somebody enough rope and they will hang themselves.
Shiksa, I really noticed the hardening and souring of the atmosphere after 1973, when the honeymoon between US and Israel, among other things, ended rather abruptly with another war, in which Israel for the first time realised how militarily inept it was, conventionally and honourably speaking, and immediately adopted a "no more mr nice guy" attitude.
Last week in Gaza:
Commodities Import
A total of 671 truckloads of goods including 121 from humanitarian agencies (18%) were allowed • entry into Gaza this week compared to 1080 last week, representing an average of 121 truckloads per open day compared to a daily average of 246 received in the third week of July 2008.
The imported commodities included: food (520 truckloads, 68%), medical supplies (16 truckloads, • 2%), hygiene/cleaning supplies limited to chlorine, tissues, diapers, (84 truckloads, 11%) and non-edible consumables such as blankets, mattresses and, for the first time since 28 October 2008, clothes (33 truckloads, 4%). 14 truckloads containing education/stationery supplies and 4 truckloads with agricultural raw materials (fertilized eggs) were allowed entry.
No livestock, industrial/electrical appliances, vehicles/ transports, packaging applications or • construction materials were allowed entry.
Items banned by the Israeli authorities last week included jam, biscuits and tomato paste, resulting • in 498 boxes of USAID cargo and 2,488 boxes of World Vision cargo stopped from delivery to Gaza. According to COGAT, food parcels containing these foodstuffs, as well as tea, sweets and date bars, will be rejected in the future.