Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Collective punishment in Gaza
The U.N. reports on just one of the many consequences of the blockade of Gaza:
John Holmes, United Nations emergency relief coordinator, warned that humanitarian conditions had grown increasingly grim since Israel imposed a blockade on Gaza after Hamas seized power in June. Most industrial and agricultural activities in Gaza have collapsed, leaving more than 80 percent of the population dependent on food aid, he said. Rates of anemia and diarrhea among children, meanwhile, have skyrocketed by 40 percent and 20 percent over the past year.Hillary Clinton presents herself as a children's advocate. Think she'll speak up on behalf of these children? Yeah, me neither.
"The effective Israeli isolation of Gaza is not justified...It amounts to collective punishment and is contrary to international humanitarian law."
