Cost Of Gaza – History Lessons Ignored

EU “tired” of paying to rebuild Gaza over and over

A senior EU official has said that the Hamas movement bears an overwhelming responsibility for the war in Gaza. The AFP news agency reports that Louis Michel, the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid who is visiting  the town of Jabaliya in Gaza’s north, has said that the EU is tired of providing funds to rebuild infrastructure in Gaza that keeps being systematically destroyed. The EU has spent around three billion euros in Palestine in the past eight years. Michel labelled the Islamist Hamas group a terrorist movement and warned that if peace had any chance of succeeding, that Hamas must accept the right of Israel to exist and abandon its armed struggle.

Arab Summit in Kuwait Offers Funds to Rebuild Gaza

Saudi King Abdallah told fellow Arab leaders that he was declaring an end to “the recent period of quarrels” and “opening the door of unity.” He added that he was pledging $1 billion to help rebuild war-torn Gaza.

Syrian President Bashar al Assad, however, did not offer an olive branch to Israel, instead calling it a “terrorist state.”

He said the most important thing the Arab leaders can do for Gaza is to support its right to self-defense and resistance against Israeli aggression. That aggression, he added, may resume at any moment. Mr. Assad said that since he believes Israel will not change its policies, Arabs must defend the Palestinian cause.

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak also used strong language to criticize Israel, condemning what he called its “arrogant use of force.” But he also went on to urge Israeli leaders to accept the 2002 peace initiative.

I tell Israel, he said, that the arrogance of power will not subdue the Palestinian people and will not bring peace…not all the tanks and planes in the world will bring security to the Israeli people. He also warned the world’s great powers that the peace process, neglected for years, must be tackled responsibly. Peace in the Middle East, he insisted, is an urgent matter and cannot wait

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, insisted that what must be agreed to now is a national unity government to cope with the humanitarian catastrophe, lift the blockade, reopen border crossings, and begin rebuilding.

Aid to Gaza remains slow

The amount of aid reaching the Gaza Strip remains a mere fraction of the aid it received prior to the recent conflict and far less than the humanitarian emergency demands, the European Commission said today.

BBC still refuses to air British charities appeal for Gaza

[RAMALLAH, 26 January 2009] – DCI-Palestine is deeply disappointed by the recent decision of the BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) not to air a TV fundraising appeal for humanitarian assistance to the population of the Gaza Strip, and to maintain its unreasonable stance despite public protests and outrage expressed by government officials, charity workers, Church of England representatives, BBC staff and over 10,000 viewers.

Fayyad to EU Commissioner: “It is time to tackle the problem at its roots” Ramallah – Ma’an – “It is time to tackle the Israel-Palestinian issue at its roots” Palestinian Prime Minister for the caretaker government Salam Fayyad told the European Union’s Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid Louis Michel on Sunday.

“We must bind Israel and prevent settlement expansion, we must secure international protection for the Palestinian people, and we must end the occupation that started in 1967,”

The Israel/Palestine/Gaza epoch shows history repeated too many times.  Both sides of this conflict make the same mistakes over and over, with the same results.  These repeats of failed history would be amusing except for the collateral damage.  Each side continually provokes the other and gets the same outcome. Death, Destruction, Grief, Hatred and more Revenge.  These are the components that fuel this feud. Like bullies in the school yard who recruit their buddies for a bigger brawl, where is no adult to intervene.

The UN has been ignored.  Humanitarians have been ignored.  Countries, tired of donating to cleanup efforts, are ignored but exploited.  Adult intervention must come quickly.  The brawl already expands beyond borders.  It is time to stop the blood feud.  All  players must give something up.  All players must become individual humans again.  Mob mentality?  Yes.  Each side has a “self-righteous” flaw? Yes.
Put an adult in charge … with enforcement authority? Yes!