George Galloway interviewed on Viva Palestina, the blockade of Gaza and the US role

by on January 7, 2010 15
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Viva Palestina leader George Galloway was interviewed this morning on Democracy Now from Gaza. The interview covered many issues, but the most important was the situation that Galloway has found on the ground now that the aid convoy has arrived:

About Adam Horowitz

Adam Horowitz is Co-Editor of Mondoweiss.net.
Posted in Israel/Palestine

{ 15 comments... read them below or add one }

  1. Citizen says:
    January 7, 2010 at 11:40 am

    Galloway says, while the Egyptian regime curtails medicine into Gaza, Israel has the sole authority to curtail (or expand) the entry of food; Israel has been literally starving the Palestinians. He describes the Palestinian women combing through garbage for food for their families. Really makes me proud of my country and anxious to give its government more tax dollars.

    We segued from the prime mobile of greed, the cold war, right into the war on terror, with fear as the main pusher for our drug. Goering said all you need to do in any democracy is push fear to allow the sheep to head for their own shearing.

  2. gmeyers says:
    January 7, 2010 at 11:44 am

    Finally also a bit of attention for the VP! convoy. They deserve it.

    In Paris there was a demo on front of the Egyptian Embassy, apparently or ganised by those brave Frenchmen who didn’t make it into Gaza…

  3. Oscar says:
    January 7, 2010 at 12:59 pm

    Citizen, you’re right. It seems that the US is doing everything in its power to assist in the slow-motion genocide of the Palestinian people. The US Army Corp of Engineers appears to be supervising the construction of the steel Wall of Shame and if there is a legitimate military reason for sealing off the tunnels (arms smuggling), why didn’t the US insist on Israel and Egypt suspending the siege first (for humanitarian reasons)?

    As the world opinion of Obama continues to deteriorate alongside America’s credibility in the eyes of the Arab, Muslim and Islamic populations, it seems clear that the Obama administration is once again becoming “Israel’s Lawyer” (David Miller’s phrase for the Bush-era negotiating team between the Israelis and Palestinians.)

    The recent JPost interview with Michael Oren is eye-popping. The Israelis have come full circle from the handwringing that Obama is an “anti-Israel” president. Check out Oren’s confidence that the US has recently backed Israel in every way:

    There have recently been reports that the US was making changes in some of the arms deals the Bush administration had brokered with Saudi Arabia and some of the Gulf states, to ease Israeli concerns that this would damage the qualitative edge.

    In addition, Oren said, the administration was “very good” on the Goldstone Commission report, “unequivocally condemning” it and “working to mitigate the impact of the report.”

    Likewise, he said, the US was “very active, at many levels” in lobbying the EU against adopting a Swedish EU resolution that would have called for east Jerusalem to be the capital of a future Palestinian state. US efforts there, he said, “brought about a real change.”

    And in the same vein, he said, Obama came out clearly after meeting in the White House earlier this month with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and said broadly that “an improvement of Turkey’s relations with Israel was an American interest. He said it publicly, and we were gratified by that.

    “This is the kind of stuff that doesn’t make the press here, but there are many nuances to the relationship. It is not monochromatic. Because there is so much emphasis on the settlements, on east Jerusalem, you don’t see the other things.”

    Oren said he didn’t believe that the US was planning to come out with a new diplomatic “plan” that it would then foist on the parties, as many in the EU and Russia are hoping for.

    [Source: link to jpost.com

    Israel has the full faith and credit of US foreign policy behind it. The ethnic cleansing of Palestine will accelerate once the Wall of Shame has closed off the last tunnel. Palestinians will die by the tens of thousands of disease and famine, and your US taxpayer dollars is funding the greatest humanitarian disaster of the 21st century.

    Bono is a hypocrite. The best he can do is muster a wish in a NYT op-ed that a Gandhi arises for the Palestinians. How about a Bono for the Palestinians, instead. Do something, rock star — do something.

  4. Kathleen says:
    January 7, 2010 at 1:33 pm

    Rachel Maddow still giving endless coverage to the human rights issue in Uganda having to do with Gay Rights. Rachel still giving lots of time to protesters in Iran. But Rachel along with the so called liberal Keith Olbermann still not a whisper about the Goldstone Report, the Gaza Freedom March or Viva Palestina. Oh that liberal press. Rachel more than willing to pick and choose her human rights focus. 14oo Palestinians killed last year and Rachel neither mentioned this anniversary, the continued siege on the Gaza or the recent convoy that made it in. Rachel Maddow is a hypocrite a serious hypocrite.

    The alleged progressive website of Crooks and Liars continues to be Israeli occupied territory. Not a mention of the Gaza Freedom Marchers or of Viva Palestina. Not a mention of Viva Palestina over at Firedoglake, Juan Cole has a bit about it, Have yet to check, Raw Story, Huff Po etc.

    Serious blog clogs on the I/P issue at many of the so called progressive blogs.

    Rachel no different than the rest of U.S. news outlets on this issue. Her owners allow which human rights issues she can cover and RAchel complie$$$$

  5. potsherd says:
    January 7, 2010 at 2:25 pm

    Everyone speculates on Egypt’s motives, the influence of the US and Israel. Everyone has a theory, no one seems to know for sure. Egyptian officials are all into spin.

    Zvi Bar’el speculates: link to haaretz.com

    Egypt’s stance does not arise from its desire to help the Israeli siege on Gaza or to respond to the United States’ demand to prevent smuggling. It is intended to show both Hamas and Syria that just as it has the power to open the border crossings at will and relieve the siege, so it can twist Hamas’ arm.

    Egypt has good reason to do so, after Hamas refused to sign the reconciliation agreement with Fatah that Egypt had suggested. Egypt is also making it clear to Syria that from now on Damascus and Iran no longer have exclusive control over Hamas’ moves, and that Cairo has a powerful economic lever at its disposal.

    I tend to think that Egypt is taking the side of Abbas and wants to see a Fatah-controlled Gaza – which is of course consistent with the US and Israel’s position.

    • potsherd says:
      January 7, 2010 at 2:35 pm

      And Abbas is complaining that the Arab press (ie, al-Jazeera) keeps taking the side of Hamas. With good reason.

      Nabil Darjani: “Cutting off life support for Palestinians in the Hamas areas is unacceptable and you cannot justify the way the people in Gaza are being treated. This makes people sympathize with Hamas, whether they are for Hamas or not.”

      “Even people who would normally support Fatah are now supportive of Hamas,” he said. “It’s not a matter of being a fundamentalist but a matter of taking a human-rights position.”

      Darjani argued that while the Arab world does not blame Fatah directly for the Gaza blockade, the party is indirectly accused of allowing its maintenance.

      “Fatah is flirting with Egypt and in a sense that’s a sign of supporting what’s happening in Gaza,” he said.
      link to jpost.com

  7. potsherd says:
    January 7, 2010 at 7:31 pm

    The Egyptian ambassador to Saudi spins a load of bullshit with one kernel of possible truth:

    He revealed that Hezbollah members accused of plotting terrorist acts in Egypt, who were also using the tunnels to smuggle themselves into the country, were the most important factor behind the construction of the wall. He said the wall would seal off almost 1,000 tunnels and prevent Palestinians from opening anymore.

    Ambassador Ouf stressed that Egypt was not abandoning the Palestinians by building the wall nor was the country making a stand against Hamas in favor of President Mahmoud Abbas. He said his country was simply supporting the Palestinian people who elected Abbas. The ambassador urged the Arab and Muslim world to use logic rather than passion when assessing the wall and understand that Egypt, in its capacity as a sovereign state, has the right to construct whatever facility it needs to maintain its security.

    link to arabnews.com

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  9. Rehmat says:
    January 8, 2010 at 8:24 am

    Hosni Mubarak, like the rest of western Arab puppet rulers, doesn’t like to see an Islamic political force arising in the Arab world – because that would put the final nail on their rotten coffins. Hosni is luckier than the other puppets though – he recieves the highest USAID ($1.5 billion), only second to Israel ($6-14 billion). So in order to keep that USAID keep flowing, Egyptian government has to act as “Israel’s security dog” on the other side of the fence.

    Mahmoud Abbas is the newest US-sponsored Arab dictators, who never leave the power until death – natural or by the will of his sponsor. His current term as elected PA president expired on January 4, 2009. Washington-Tel Aviv warned him that if he called the election – FATAH will certaily loose to HAMAS, and as a result Abbas & Associates will loose their hefty American salaries. So Abbas got the message and announced not to call for the election and stay put as ‘president for life’.

    Abu Mazen, please come back!
    link to rehmat1.wordpress.com

  10. potsherd says:
    January 8, 2010 at 9:19 am

    Galloway has now been deported from Egypt on his return from Gaza, will probably not be allowed to return. Others from VP expected to be arrested.

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