Israel's international standing may be plummeting due to its new government, but it would appear to remain unbowed. Today the AP is reporting that Israel is "very unlikely" to cooperate with a UN war crimes probe into the war in Gaza (Hamas has said they will support the investigation). In addition, there is yet another story about Israel preventing necessary humanitarian aid from entering Gaza. From the IPS article "Aid Rots Outside Gaza":
Flour, pasta, sugar, coffee, chocolate, tomato sauce, lentils, date bars, juice,
chickpeas, blankets, hospital beds, catheter tubes and other humanitarian-
based items are all sitting in at least eight storage points in and around Al-
Arish, a city in North Sinai approximately 50 kilometres from Gaza's border.Three months after the end of the war, much of the aid has either rotted or
been irreparably damaged as a result of both rain and sunshine, and Egypt's
refusal to open the Rafah crossing."To be honest, most of this aid will never make it to Gaza," a local
government official told IPS on condition of anonymity. "A lot of the food
here will have to be thrown away.". . .
All aid meant for Gaza via Egypt must currently pass through either Al-Auja
or Kerem Abu Sellem, Egypt's commercial crossings with Israel, and is
subject to both Israeli-Egyptian trade specifications and Israeli import law.Much of what is being stored in North Sinai – including food items like
lentils, pasta, chickpeas, and juice – has been deemed by Israel to be "non-
essential" to life in the Gaza Strip.Two thousand "family boxes" – containing essential supplies for Palestinian
families and donated by the Italian NGO Music for Peace – were recently
rejected at the Al-Auja crossing by Israeli authorities because they each
contained a jar of honey, the NGO's President, Stefano Robera, told IPS in Al-
Arish.
Nearly two months ago Hilary Clinton reportedly warned Israel about preventing aid into Gaza. Doesn't seem to have worked. It's time for the US to move beyond just giving warnings.
