Wednesday, March 11

Alice Walker holds US liable for Gaza war

Award-winning author Alice Walker says US administrations should be held accountable for Israeli aggression against the people of Gaza.

Walker, who along with a number of female activists is traveling to the Gaza Strip to highlight the devastation caused by the recent Israeli offensive on the Palestinian territory, said on Saturday that Americans should understand what their military aid to Israel is used for.

"It's very important that they understand what is happening, and that we hold our own administration accountable," she said.

Tel Aviv waged war on Gaza on December 27. Three weeks of ensuing airstrikes and a ground incursion left nearly 1,350 Palestinians -- at least 1100 of whom were civilians -- dead and around 5,450 people injured.

The war has also cost the impoverished residents of the sliver at least $1.4 billion in damages to the infrastructure.

"I feel that what is happening in the Middle East is very important because the situation is so volatile," Walker told Associated Press via telephone from the Rafah border crossing.

"I love people, and I love children and I feel that the Palestinian child is just as precious as the African-American child, as the Jewish child," added the author of The Color Purple.

About 60 women have decided to travel to the area to deliver aid, including baskets filled with personal items such as shampoo for women in Gaza.

The trip has been organized by US antiwar group Code Pink in a bid to force Israel and Egypt to open their borders into Gaza, said organization co-founder Medea Benjamin.

The members of the group intend to stay in Gaza until March 11.

Israel has enforced a 20-month blockade on Gaza and has thus prevented necessary humanitarian aid and assistance from reaching the 1.5 million people inside the strip -- nearly twice the size of Washington DC.

Egypt is seen throughout the Middle East as Israel's main accomplice in the imposition of the blockade and has been subject to severe criticism.
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