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Israel's Gaza offensive 'out of proportion'Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will hear no criticism of the conduct of his armed forces in the Gaza Strip, but both the United Nations and the European Union have recently highlighted the worsening humanitarian crisis in Gaza as a result of the Israeli military offensive. Radio Netherlands' reporter Hans Jaap Melissen has just visited the village of Beit Lahiya in the northern part of the Gaza Strip to see what the situation is like. Adnan and Nadah Al Attar are again standing in front of their home in Beit Lahiya; only this time they're doing so of their own free will, although they're still just as angry. "Israeli soldiers came and took over our house. To begin with, we and the whole family had to spend a couple of hours out here in the field, among the animals. Later, we were allowed to walk over to the neighbours."
In the meantime, the Israeli military had driven a gigantic hole into the wall with a tank. "Out of proportion," is how the UN has described the Israeli military offensive which is aimed at effecting the release of the soldier abducted by Palestinian militants and to prevent rocket attacks targeting Israel. The result so far has been not only a great deal of physical damage, but also the deaths of dozens of Palestinians. Show of solidarity While most of those killed have been militants, they have also included children, one of them a girl aged six. At the beginning of the funeral, hundreds of men went to collect her body from the mortuary at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, with the flags of the different Palestinian groupings and organisations waving amidst the crowd to show the solidarity of the Palestinians. The UN's most senior representative in Gaza, John Ging, isn't only concerned about the safety of the local population, "The quality of life is already unacceptable and it's rapidly getting worse. There isn't enough electricity, water or food." Running out of food The electricity shortage is the result of the Israeli bombardment of Gaza's electricity power station, and John Ging explains how the problem with food supplies is also being compounded by the Israelis: "725,000 Palestinians are dependent on UN food aid. The Israelis have been blocking the containers with food for ages. If that's still the case at the end of July, we'll have nothing more to distribute." The UN representative wants an immediate end to hostilities on both sides, but he's also clear about what should happen with the abducted soldier, "He must go home, immediately, without conditions." And if that happens, then he believes Israel's response should be more than just withdrawal from Gaza, "they should help with the repairs to the power station, which they themselves damaged." No withdrawal yet At the moment, however, Israel doesn't appear to be contemplating any withdrawal. Defence Minister Amir Peretz says all the diplomatic efforts haven't produced results and that Israel has no choice but to continue for, "A week, a month, two months." John Ging is slightly more optimistic: "This situation can't last. However, the Palestinians should be experiencing more international solidarity with their situation." Meanwhile, back in the village of Beit Lahiya, Adnan Al Attar stares at a large rectangular hole in the floor of his home. The Israeli snipers needed sand to fill their sandbags, and apparently didn't want to get it outside. Adnan and the rest of his family - young, old, pregnant - they all agree that the situation has got totally out of hand: "In God's name, let them release that Israeli soldier. He's not worth all our suffering." Hans Jaap Melissen
10-07-2006
See alsoGaza stalemate On Islamic Intolerance Israel loosing support Israel gambles Israeli army practices condemned What about Iran and Israel? An amazing or shitty little country? Israel The Muslim Brotherhood Project The Barrier Hamas |
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