The Israeli NGO Gisha has just released an interactive computer game called "Safe Passage" to highlight the ongoing siege of Gaza. A player chooses one of three characters – a student trying to use a scholarship, a businessman who wants to sell ice cream in the West Bank or a father trying to stay with his family – and attempts to navigate their way through Israel’s closure policies.
While Israel’s draconian restrictions on common foodstuffs like coriander and nutmeg have received much needed attention, the game helps point to two larger issues – the ongoing restriction on movement and the intentional separation of Gaza from the West Bank. Gisha’s director Sari Bashi, points out, "This week’s announcement of ‘easing’ the closure of Gaza fails to end the ban on export or on travel between Gaza and the West Bank. Israel should allow the free passage of goods and persons between Gaza and the West Bank as the basis for a healthy and prosperous society."
Play the game here.
