UPDATE(2): EGYPTIANS HAVING PROBLEMS WITH HAMAS
The Associated Press is reporting that... "The border breach was engineered by Hamas to pressure Egypt to negotiate new border arrangements. Both Israel and Egypt have kept Gaza largely sealed in the past two years, especially since the violent Hamas takeover of the territory in June." "Egypt faces a dilemma over how to handle the border crisis. If it acts forcefully against the Gazans, it could anger its own people, who sympathize with the Palestinians' plight. But if it does nothing, it risks infiltration by Islamic militants." "Egypt has rejected any suggestion of assuming responsibility for the crowded, impoverished territory - a hot issue in light of comments this week by Israeli officials who said the border breach could relieve Israel of its burdens in Gaza."
UPDATE(1): ISRAEL WANTS EGYPT TO SUPERVISE GAZA...
"Israel wants to cut its links with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip after militants blasted open the territory's border with Egypt in defiance of an Israeli blockade, Israel's deputy defense minister said on Thursday."
"Israel, which occupied the Gaza Strip in 1967, pulled troops and settlers out in 2005 but still controls its northern and eastern borders, airspace and coastal waters, and has imposed a blockade it says is meant to counter militant rocket fire."
"Deputy Defence Minister Matan Vilnai said Israel wanted to wash its hands of Gaza altogether by handing over the supply of electricity, water and medicine to others. An Israeli security official said Egypt should take over responsibility."
"'We need to understand that when Gaza is open to the other side we lose responsibility for it. So we want to disconnect from it,' Vilnai said."
The original story...
It is an open secret, almost everybody in the Middle East hates and fears the Palestinians. Primarily because the Palestinians tend to bring chaos, corruption and a malevolent leadership into each area they inhabit.
According to the TimesOnLine...
"Hamas 'spent months cutting through Gaza wall in secret operation.' The wall had already been sliced through before the explosions brought it down."
As tens of thousands of Palestinians clambered back and forth between the Gaza strip and Egypt today, details emerged of the audacious operation that brought down a hated border wall and handed the Islamist group Hamas what might be its greatest propaganda coup.
Hamas, which took control of the coastal territory last June after a stand-off with Fatah, has denied that its men set off the explosions that brought down as much as two-thirds of the 12-km wall in the early hours.
But a Hamas border guard interviewed by The Times at the border admitted that the Islamist group was responsible and had been involved for months in slicing through the heavy metal wall using oxy-acetylene cutting torches.
That meant that when the explosive charges were set off in 17 different locations between midnight and 1am the 40ft wall came tumbling down, leaving it lying like a broken concertina down the middle of no-man's land as an estimated 350,000 Gazans flooded into Egypt.
As Gazans flooded into Egypt, the strip's Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniya, called for an urgent meeting with his rivals in Fatah and with the Egyptian authorities to work a new border arrangement.
Mr Haniya called for the border crossing to be reopened "on the basis of national participation," meaning that Hamas would be prepared to cede some control to President Abbas and his Fatah-led government in the West Bank. "We donât want to be the only ones in control of these matters," Mr Haniya said, speaking from his Gaza City office live on Hamas TV.
"Everything Haniya is saying is simply to exploit this situation to win political gains. ... It is a part of the problem, not the solution," said Ashraf Ajramim, a Cabinet minister in Mr Abbas's government. Israel refused to comment on the developments in Gaza.
The destruction of the wall prompted hundreds of thousands to cross into Egypt â and Egyptian border guards did not try to stem the tide of humanity.
Instead Rafah became a huge Middle Eastern bazaar. Thousands of people were herding back cows, sheep and even camels from Egypt into the Gaza strip. Others brought back motorbikes while many women lugged back cans of olive oil and men could be seen weighed down with jerry-cans full of fuel.
Moneychangers flocked to the border, offering Egyptian pounds and American dollars for the Gazans' Israeli shekels. The shops soon began to run out, however, and those returning were complaining of sky-rocketing prices.
Instead, many people jumped into taxis - or even on the roofs of taxis - to take themselves to El Arish, 45km away, the nearest town with shops.
Egyptian shopkeepers swiftly raised prices of milk, taxi rides and cigarettes, but that did not deter the Gazans, for many of whom it was their first trip out of the territory.
Some staggered back into Gaza carrying televisions, and others sported brand-new mobile phones. In Gaza City, prices of cigarettes - which had skyrocketed during the total blockade of the past week - fell by 70 per cent in a few hours.
Rami al-Shawwa, a 23-year old falafel vendor, said he planned to head to Egypt in the afternoon, after his brothers returned from there. He was going to buy waterpipe tobacco and just âsmell some new airâ.
This does not appear to be simply a matter of poor, oppressed people seeking freedom...
From the Los Angeles Times...
"The chaos in Gaza offered a diversion to Mubarak's domestic economic troubles, but the Palestinians also presented his government with a number of troubling scenarios: how long Egypt, a poor nation, can cope with a humanitarian crisis; the complicated and increasingly brusque dilemma over long-term border security with Israel; and the possible influx of militants who could add a dangerous element to Egypt's main political opposition group, the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood."
"Egyptians are historically sympathetic to Palestinians, 'so the crisis boosts Mubarak's image, but on the other hand problems can arise,' said Gamal Abdel Gawad, a political analyst with the Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. 'There could be militants, terrorists, smugglers and traders coming across. There is no security at the border and all kinds of people are flowing freely."
Pardon me for my cynical viewpoint... but something seems wrong...
There is no doubt in my mind that everything in the Middle East is about power and money. Religion is merely the backdrop that allows corrupt dictators (both religious and secular) to maintain their power over their people with a minimal amount of military force... and providing a righteous reason for all of their oppressive activities.
So I must ask myself, why would Egypt (and the Egyptian Secret Police) knowingly ignore this Hamas military operation to proceed? My only conclusion is that it was done for political purposes to help the Egyptian government restore some of their lost luster with the Arab world, to make a bid for increased United States foreign aid ... and possibly to provide the democrats with additional talking points about a potential flare-up in the region.
How long will it be before the United States starts pumping additional millions in "humanitarian" aid into the region?
Even though many Middle Eastern countries are openly hostile to the United States and its allies, this has not prevented a significant flow for American dollars into the region. While the American people hear mostly about U.S. aid to Israel, the media is not so quick to mention the additional sums of taxpayer money that is poured into corrupt foreign government rat-holes to be used to bolster the personal fortunes of its dictators before even a dime reaches the intended citizen-victims.
Stepping back for a moment to November 15th, 2005, President Bush signed a 20.9 BILLION dollar aid package which included...
Bush Signs $20.9 Billion 2006 Foreign Aid Spending Measure
MIDDLE EAST, SOUTH ASIA, SUDAN
⢠Israel -- $2.3 billion in military aid -- a $60 million increase over 2005 levels -- and $240 million in economic assistance;
⢠Egypt -- $1.3 billion in military aid and $495 million in economic assistance, provided that Egypt undertakes "significant economic and political reforms which are additional to those which were undertaken in previous fiscal years";
⢠Jordan -- $250 million in economic assistance;
⢠West Bank and Gaza -- $2 million in development assistance for programs to be administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
Moving right along to 2007
House Passes $21.3 Billion Fiscal 2007 Foreign Aid Spending Bill -- Representatives reject proposal to cut assistance to Egypt
"...$2.5 billion in aid to Israel, $1.8 billion for Egypt and $450 million for Sudan."
By some counts, the United States has pumped approximately 63.5 BILLION dollars into Egypt since 1948.
Where are the Arab petro-dollars?
Considering the BILLIONS of dollars invested by Middle Eastern potentates in the United States and elsewhere, where is their significant investment in their own region? For those who will immediately point to Dubai, I would like to remind my readers that Dubai produces nothing, it is an entity that was designed solely by its Ruler to serve as the hub of commerce where a tribute (in lieu of oppressive taxes) flows into the government's coffers. All of its infrastructure is designed to serve the wealthy and facilitate trade. Not to mention providing a convenient and somewhat comfortable (except in August) way to circumvent those pesky trade restrictions that prevent multi-national corporations from trading with designated "enemy" or "terrorist" states.
In the final analysis, while Islamic law prevents the collection of interest on a debt, the Arabs and others in the region prefer to invest in other relatively stable regions with the promise of a payback instead of their eternal clan warfare and giant humanitarian needs.
What can YOU do?
Recognize that there may be no rational political settlement for religious feuds which stretch back thousands of years. These people are tribal and their loyalties are both practical, complext and ever-shifting.
Realize that the Palestinian problem seems to be mostly a political issue... a corrupt government fighting over the billions of dollars that have poured into the region. One need only witness the personal wealth of Yasser Arafat billed by some as a "man of the people."
Realize that it may only be a matter of time until our politicians latch on to the plight of these poor people and demand more humanitarian aid and a solution to the so-called "Palestinian Problem." Perhaps it is just my cynicism, but I can't help wondering why our stupid politicians believe that the Palestinian people can manage a dedicated country when they can't even provide peace and prosperity in their own region? Perhaps it because they stupidly insist on sending rockets over the Israeli border and are actually fighting what could be their most promising ally in the region.
Also realize, that there are no "true" Palestinians in the sense that they were all Jordanians, Egyptians and other nationalities before the 1948 partitioning plan. And the these are the very same people who were ejected from their original countries -- lest they foment revolution against the country's rulers.
Should you wish to see the fine hand of the United Nations in this partitioning activity, check out the United Nations partition plan on Wikipedia...
"On 29 November 1947 the United Nations voted to terminate the British Mandate of Palestine by 1 August 1948 and, to resolve the Arab-Israeli conflict in the British Mandate of Palestine, for a plan for the partition of the Mandate territory. The plan came to be called the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine or United Nations General Assembly Resolution 181. The plan was approved by the United Nations General Assembly by 33 votes to 13, with 10 abstentions."
Do not let emotion sway your common sense on this matter. For better or worse, the Middle East is engaged in a millennium-old clan war over power, property and money. It is not likely to change in the next hundred years unless there is a significant revolution in the region. Whether or not you like George Bush and the current Administration, he has done more to insinuate some democratic change into the region than any of our past presidents. It is an experiment in democracy and the results are not likely to be known for decades. Which chagrins those who demand instant gratification and confuse talking with action.
Keep an open mind on the subject and a closed pocketbook. Perhaps we can demand that our presidential candidates re-frame the issue of foreign and humanitarian aid to require matching funds from those countries in the region. Perhaps on a five-to-one basis. Make the region's oil revenues work for the people with a right to their land -- so there will be a little less for the war-mongering, corrupt rulers. Perhaps they would all do well to take a lesson from Dubai's Ruler: exploit your own natural resources or build an infrastructure that supports peaceful trade and commerce.
-- steve
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Reference Links:
Hamas "spent months cutting through Gaza wall in secret operation"|Times Online
Palestinians rush to buy goods|Los Angeles Times
As Gazans pour across, a region alters|Los Angeles Times
Palestinians continue streaming into Egypt|Los Angeles Times
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