Palestine, Live from Palestine, 21 January 2008
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| A young Palestinian holds a candle during a protest in Gaza City against the power cuts following the closure of the Gaza Strip's only power plant on 20 January 2008. (Wissam Nassar/MaanImages) |
Since US President George W. Bush's visit to
this part of the world, at least 38 Gazans were killed
and another 1,500 were injured as a result of Israeli
military attacks. This escalation of violence came right
after Bush's trip to Israel and Ramallah, as Israel enjoyed
an obvious green light from the US as the Arab and Islamic
world sat by and watched.
For anyone who might believe that Bush's visit
would improve the lives of Palestinians in general
and of Gazans in particular, let me assure you that
the opposite has occurred.
Electricity cuts still plague Gaza. Ambulance sirens
wail one after the other; the smell of death is everywhere.
Gazans have no life anymore, and Bush and
Israel are to thank.
On Wednesday a 27-year-old father, his
nine-year-old son and his brother were all
killed in an Israeli air strike. Israel said that
the incident was an error. Such a mistake
ended the lives of three innocents civilians
from the same family.
I'm wondering, how can can I, or any father
in Gaza, guarantee his own family's safety?
We are all targets, no matter if we are civilians
or combatants. And who will be held accountable
for there crimes? The answer is as clear as ever:
no one.
A few days ago I came home from work tired, and then
I took a nap. I wake up at 6:00pm to find everything
dark, no electricity as usual, and my infant son was crying.
I took my wife and son for a drive around Gaza only to find
Gaza City in total darkness, a ghost town.
While driving, news broke regarding an Israeli air
strike that targeted a car on one of Gaza's main streets;
two Gazans were killed. Two minutes later, another
breaking news report stated that another air strike
targeted another car in a different area. The radio
report added that Israeli helicopters were still in the
air above Gaza. A third broadcast reported that Israel
fired land-to-land rockets targeting northern Gaza.
In less than five minutes I heard all of that as we
drove back home to darkness.
Two day ago, Israel announced a "complete closure"
against Gaza -- as if it was open before. Prior to this
decision of a complete closure everything was already
closed. Gazans' suffering continues.
The other day as I was playing with my son,
I heard a massive explosion that shook the house and
make my four-month-old start to cry. I turned on the
radio to hear that an Israeli F16 fired a half-ton missile
on the building of the former Interior Ministry in Gaza.
The building was crushed and a woman was killed and
another 45 persons were injured. All of them lived next
door to the struck building and were celebrating a
wedding that ended up being a funeral instead.
Yesterday I went to see the damage; the scene
resembled an earthquake. Why did it happen?
This is the state of insecurity, in which not one single
Gazan is secure or safe even in his or her own home.
Today I went to fill up my car with gas as I was running
down to the last few liters. The gas station attendant
told me that by the end of day the station would be
closed since they were nearing the end of their supply.
Now I can tell Bush that because of his unconditional support
of Israel, Gaza can no longer can provide its population with
daily necessities. There's no food, no water, no electricity,
no borders that we can cross, no medicine, nothing.
Now let's all imagine that this same siege
was imposed Israel. What would be the reaction
of Bush and the international community?
Mohammed Ali's blog is www.gazawy.blogspot.com.
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