NPR: Israel Starving Gaza of Its Resources

March 5, 2013 10:07 by

A blockade is only as strong as its weakest link.

Until recently, all kinds of goods passed through Egypt’s Rafah’s crossing, through smuggling tunnels, and even the Kerem Shalom crossing with Israel.

But for Hamas, the situation took a turn for the worse (more on that below) prompting it to kick out the PA-appointed business operating the Palestinian side of the crossing and replacing it with its own management (all described by YNet).

Which brings us to National Public Radio.

In a dispatch from Gaza (transcript and audio), NPR’s Larry Abramson talked to plenty of Palestinians claiming they’re besieged; he also quoted (and confirmed) what Israeli officials had to say. But he inexplicably overlooked the Hamas take-over of Kerem Shalom, and at the end of the report, Abramson had the gall to state in his own voice:

Two pounds of strawberries sells for under a dollar; they can cost three times that much in Israeli cities. And that, of course, is the point of the Israeli sanctions — to starve this Hamas-run territory of resources.

The blockade is unfortunately necessary for Israel because Hamas hasn’t abandoned its goal of destroying Israel. It’s not about grinding Gaza’s exports into the dust.

Egypt began flooding smuggling tunnels with sewage to halt the flow of weapons entering the Sinai. And Israel closed the Kerem Shalom crossing following last week’s rocket fire. But with money from smuggling taxes nosediving, Hamas tried to change the equation by simply taking over Kerem Shalom. As HonestReporting went to press, the Times of Israel reported that Hamas backed down and Kerem Shalom has re-opened.

Today’s Times of Israel also reports Hamas is forcing Gazans to obtain a “visa” to travel to the West Bank or Israel, though there’s no word yet on possible fees.

Israel won’t cooperate with Hamas-linked entities. If Hamas remained at Kerem Shalom, Israel would have had nobody on the Palestinian side to coordinate security issues at the sensitive crossing. On various occasions, Kerem Shalom has been directly attacked by suicide bombers, Sinai jihadis, and mortar fire.

The power struggle threatened to unravel . . .

Continued on Page 2

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44 Comments

44 Comments → “NPR: Israel Starving Gaza of Its Resources”

  1. lex

    8:11 pm

    Mar 11, 2013

    National Public Radio has many good shows and material. But its virulently anti-Israel. So I don’t send them money, and I listen for free to their good stuff.

    Don’t miss the opportunity to hear their good stuff. Just don’t send them money.

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  2. Augustus Silverton

    9:57 am

    Mar 12, 2013

    “…But for Hamas, the situation took a turn for the worse (more on that below) prompting it to kick out the PA-appointed business operating the Palestinian side of the crossing and replacing it with its own management…”
    ===

    The bad, evil side, is always so “successful”, als china’s evil massmurder government, in “dealing” with authority “problems”, while the weak “democratic” too many cooks spoil the soup-”democracies” are eroded in their own weakness, undecidedness or unability to act quickly, and in defense and stability and co-workmanship, overall. That is my assessment.

    The nazis ARE strong. On the streets, they beat up weak people. That is so. Do sumtn against it or die. Bumm.

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  3. Augustus Silverton

    10:11 am

    Mar 12, 2013

    Most of the “western” nations’ govs (unlike the here good US authorities – xept for Obama, he too!) SLAM Israel unrightfully …

    - by IGNORING this VERY continuous flow of weapons into GAZA, mostly, not even foremostly, as one could think because of territorial size, the Westbank, which is HUGE and almost half the field of all of Israel. The Westbank VISIBLY pushes Israel “into the sea” on the map when u look on it. But it’s GAZA, ruled by MESHUGGE MESHAL fella, like Achmadinedshad lost in NAZI hatred against JEWS.

    In Europe, the “Spiegel” reported, some 950 HIZBOLLA-coworkers are ROAMING FREE. This CAN’T BE !!! I AM for TOLERANCE – hizbolla ain’t quite any “tolerant”, but murderers.!

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  4. Augustus Silverton

    10:25 am

    Mar 12, 2013

    “Do sumtn gainst it or die” — BUT MOST “people” JUST STAND BY (in ANY country, SURELY NOT JUST Germany, but FOREMOSTLY RUSSIA AND CHINA!!!) and DO NOTHING !!!

    AFRAID are they FROM ANY VIOLENT TOTAL NAZIS, OPRESSORS !!!

    “THE METRO UBAHN TURNED INTO THE EVIL REALM OF VIOLENT OPRESSORS”

    so the SPIEGEL. I see one picture with four nazis or others beating up one single person.

    I have started out with a condonation of the death penalty here, which I do not “delete”, but I would say, that the democratic system often punishes the wrong people, but also often, it punishes MUCH too mildly OBVIOUS, TOTALLY PROVEN and REPEATED perpetrators of EXTREMEST violence. Then, we all die rightfully. :)

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  5. Ben

    1:28 pm

    Mar 12, 2013

    The Jewish journalist who slanders Israel is the usual American practice, but the commentators usual absent-mindness of the phenomenon is frightening. It means the usual: ” we have right to have our own serial killers” as the any nation.

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  6. [...] del 5 de Marzo del 2013  Artículo traducido por ReporteHonesto de HonestReporting, escrito por Pesach Benson  Un bloqueo sólo es tan fuerte como su eslabón [...]

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  7. LEON

    11:55 pm

    Mar 28, 2013

    THOSE SO CALLED JOURNALISTS WHO DON’T REPORT ACCURATE NEWS SHOULD NOT BE ALLOWED TO WORK IN ISREAL.THEY SHOULD BE LABELED AS THE TROUBLEMAKERS THAT THEY ARE . THE MUSLIMS DON’T ALLOW ANY BAD ARTICLES ABOUT THEM. IF THERE ARE THE JOURNALIST CAN BE BEATEN OR JAILED OR BOTH. ISREAL NEEDS TO GET TOUGH WITH THESE AGITATERS.

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