Billo_Really
Litre of the Band
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- #161
Maintaining all that trade and commerce doesn't make sense when compared to what the majority world opinion of Israel as that of a pariah state. Country's are appauled by Israel's contempt and disdain for international law. And their treatment of the Palestinian's, is just inhuman and barbaric. Here's what Amnesty International has to say about that...You have given reasons why you think Israel should be losing public support, but not how. I personally don't see how they are losing it, but are in fact gaining in public support. The amount of money spent by church groups in the United States in support of Israel via tourism and product purchasing seems to actually be increasing. Until that changes, particularly that within the US military and government, where even whispers of being a non-Israeli supporter can bring wrath, I don't see support waining, regardless the administration at the helm.
To collectively punish an entire population of 1.5 million people, is just pure evil.Gaza blockade and humanitarian crisis
The blockade of the Gaza Strip, in force since June 2007, suffocated the economy and drove people there further into poverty. Amid continuing health and sanitation problems, poverty and malnutrition, some 80 per cent of Gazans were forced to depend on international humanitarian aid, the flow of which was impeded by the blockade. Severe shortages fuelled high prices. Most UN reconstruction projects to provide clinics and schools had to be delayed; as a result, some 40,000 Palestinian children eligible to enrol in UN schools in September had to be turned away.
Virtually all Gazans were effectively trapped in the small enclave, including seriously ill patients who needed treatment elsewhere and many students and workers wishing to study or take up jobs abroad. Only relatively few were allowed to exit Gaza.
In May, Israeli troops forcibly intercepted an international aid flotilla aiming to break the blockade. They killed nine of those aboard and injured more than 50, some seriously. Several Israeli soldiers were injured. Several inquiries were established into the attack, including two by the UN. In September, the investigative body appointed by the UN Human Rights Council concluded that lethal force was employed by the Israeli soldiers in a widespread and arbitrary manner which caused an unnecessarily large number of persons to be killed or seriously injured. An Israeli government-appointed commission of inquiry lacked independence and transparency.
Following international criticism of the attack, the government announced a partial easing of the blockade, although insufficient to markedly improve conditions in Gaza. Israel continued to ban all export of goods from Gaza until 8 December, and the announced easing of restrictions on exports had not been implemented by the end of the year. Amnesty International considered the blockade to constitute collective punishment in breach of international humanitarian law and called repeatedly for it to be lifted.