Skip to Content, Navigation, or Footer.

Israel's actions speak for themselves

To the Editor:

In his recent letter ("Israel's actions must be considered in context," Jan. 24), Harry Reis attempts to provide historical context for the crisis in Gaza. In my view, he fails to do so. Reis would benefit from looking at some of the many human rights reports that deal with the topic.

Reis characterizes Israel's siege of Gaza as a "defensive measure" in response to "Hamas' incessant barrage of rocket attacks." The truth is that Israel attacks the Palestinians with far more intensity and frequency than the Palestinians attack Israel. According to B'Tselem, Israel's leading human rights group, the Israeli army killed 668 Palestinians in Gaza between September 2005 and July 2007. During the same period, Palestinians killed eight Israelis. Readers should be reminded that this takes place in the context of Israel enforcing a 40 year-old colonial military occupation, repeatedly condemned by the UN.

Reis claims that "in August 2005, Israel withdrew completely from the Gaza Strip." No major human rights organization shares this view. Following the much-hyped 'disengagement,' Israel actually tightened its restrictions on Gaza's borders, airspace and coastline while continuing to carry out indiscriminate attacks against its people. As a result, Human Rights Watch flatly stated in 2006 that "under international humanitarian law, Gaza remains occupied, and Israel retains its responsibilities for the welfare of Gaza residents."

Reis follows this falsehood about the 'disengagement' with another: that Israel's 'withdrawal' provided the Palestinians with an opportunity to "raise up a state." Incidentally, the Israeli politicians who devised the policy would completely disagree with Reis. In October 2004, then-prime minister Ariel Sharon's most senior advisor, Dov Weisglass, told the major Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz that the unilateral 'disengagement' was intended to "freeze the peace process" and "prevent the establishment of a Palestinian state and prevent a discussion about the refugees, the borders and Jerusalem." He likened it to "the amount of formaldehyde that's necessary so that there will not be a political process with the Palestinians."

Keeping with Sharon's frequent, public pledges, massive settlement expansion in the West Bank coincided with and followed the 'disengagement' from Gaza, leading to further fragmentation of the territory.

Reis's letter conveys the misleading impression that Israel's border closures are somehow new, being implemented only in the last few days. They've actually been in place for years, much longer than Hamas has been in power, and with devastating consequences. According to the UN Conference on Trade and Development, Israeli restrictions on movement within and between the West Bank and Gaza resulted in $8.4 billion in lost Palestinian income between 2000 and 2005 - a sum more than twice as large as the entire Palestinian economy today.

Indeed, Mr. Reis, "Israel's actions need to be considered in context." That context is Washington and Tel Aviv's unrelenting war against a dispossessed, occupied and colonized people's ability to lead a half-decent existence. How much longer will we in the West be silent?

Jake Hess GSJan. 24


ADVERTISEMENT


Powered by SNworks Solutions by The State News
All Content © 2025 The Brown Daily Herald, Inc.