The Palestine thread

[Ball DeBeaver]

Sunset over Gaza: A story about Palestinian misogyny Harriet Sherwood won't report


The Guardian's obsessively critical coverage of Israel contrasts greatly with the paucity of substantive stories at the paper about Gaza and the Palestinian territories, other than reports which can characterize Palestinians as being acted upon by Israelis.  Rarely are there reports which frame the Palestinians as complex, imperfect political actors in full possession of moral agency – a good illustration of the liberal racism which inspires so much of their institutionally skewed coverage of the region.   

While every perceived violation of Palestinian human rights by the Israeli government is reported, the routine disregard for the basic human rights of Palestinian women, gays and minorities (and Palestinian journalists) by Palestinian leaders is rarely reported.

Additionally, when Palestinians aren't portrayed as victims, as such, they are idealized – their culture and land is idealized and romanticized.

The following picture was posted by Harriet Sherwood, the Guardian's Jerusalem correspondent, on Twitter in early February:

So, while it's clear that Sherwood spends time on the ground in Gaza, her journalistic myopia is often on display in the stories she chooses to report, and those she chooses not to.

A recent example of a story, about Palestinians who criticize Hamas or the Palestinian Authority often risking arrest or violence, which Harriet Sherwood ignored, was reported by Palestinian journalist Khaled Abu Toameh, at Gatestone Institute.

Toameh noted that "physical attacks on Palestinian journalists in Gaza are not uncommon", and that just last month "a Palestinian Authority court sentenced 26-year-old Anas Said Awwad to one year in prison for insulting President Mahmoud Abbas on Facebook."

Toameh went on to reveal that Palestinian journalists he spoke to wanted the "the world to know that the crackdown on freedom of expression in both the West Bank and Gaza Strip is designed to hide the fact that Palestinians are governed by two repressive regimes that have no respect for human rights and democracy." 

Regarding the rights of women, Sherwood was one of the contributors in a Guardian report about International Women's Day published on March 8, 2012, titled "International Women's Day highlights hurdles obstructing women".  Yet, she used her space not to report on the culture of misogyny within the Palestinian run territories, but, rather, to focus attention on Israel's detention of a female Palestinian Islamic Jihad terrorist named Hana Shalabi.  Meanwhile, as we noted at the time, across the green line, and well beyond Sherwood's moral sympathy, the Palestinian Authority, using a clause in the Jordanian penal code still in effect in the West Bank, often exempts men from being punished for killing a female relative if she has brought dishonor to the family.

Given Sherwood's track record, it is likely she will similarly ignore recent news that the UNRWA sponsored 2013 Gaza Marathon (a charity event to raise money for programs aiding the children of Gaza), which was due to be held on April 10, has been cancelled following a decision by Hamas not to allow women to participate.


UNRWA website


Hamas has been cracking down on women's rights (and all behavior it deems contrary to Islam) since taking over Gaza in 2007.

Finally, it's interesting to note that Sherwood reported on the 2012 Gaza Marathon in a piece titled "Palestinian runner uses Gaza marathon to prepare for 2012 Olympics', so she's clearly familiar with the annual competition. Her report in 2012 began thusly:


Bahaa al-Farra will rise early on Thursday morning, pull on his running shoes and Lycra, and join hundreds of others taking part in the second Gaza marathon, spanning the length of the tiny Palestinian enclave.

For many, including around 2,000 children expected to run the course in 1km relays, it is a day of fun, a break in the bleak daily routine of life in Gaza. Others, mainly visitors from abroad, will be making political statements about the continued blockade by Israel.

As UNRWA's decision to cancel this year's marathon, due to the egregious misogyny of Hamas leaders, can't be blamed on Israel or the blockade, you will likely never read about it on the pages of the Guardian. 


http://cifwatch.com/

[seafoid]

It shows that things are so bad that they have the ready cash to splash on iphones. But they claim to be starving.

How many calories are in an iphone?

They might have bought them second hand!

Maybe the people in Gaza should exist only to eat, maybe they do't deserve to know that the world's government, the UN Nato and their fellow members of their faith have failed them, God forbid they get the opportunity to know what's going on in the world!

If you had read the thread you would have remembered that the phones were being bought before their official release date (at an obviously increased price) and not at some car boot sale. When are those of you that support the palestinian cause going to realise that you are being lied to? Have you not seen the pictures fron independent sources that show brand new shopping complexes, 5* hotels, bars, restaurants and amusement parks springing up all over Gaza? How can any human being complain about being forcibly starved, and yet have enough to by luxuries? Trying to to compare their right to know what's going on in the world to their "starvation", is bizzare in the extreme.

The Warsaw Judenrat had more food than the poor regular guys.  In the Leningrad siege of 1941 the first people to die were the culchies who flooded into the city from the nearby villages.  That is how things often work within societies in terms of resource distribution.   

So what if a few people in Gaza have iphones- Israel runs the place and is obviously comfortable with the calorie programme.
The issue is the socipaths who run the Israeli system

[Ball DeBeaver]

PA Lockup on New Prisoner Death March 5, 2013 15:45by Pesach Benson

Had Ayman Samarah been found dead in an Israeli prison cell, he'd be just as famous as Arafat Jaradat, who was all over the news last week.

But Samarah died in a Palestinian Authority prison cell, not an Israeli one.

The PA wouldn't allow Palestinian journalists to cover the story. Imagine that.

According to the Jerusalem Post's Khaled Abu Toameh, Samarah was being held in Jericho jail, charged with assault. Family members said the 40-year-old Samarah had diabetes and high blood pressure.

The PA is investigating the death, but Toameh raises a lot of questions:

One journalist, Mustafa Khawaja, who worked for the local Al-Aksa TV station, was detained by PA security officers for several hours when he tried to report on a sit-in strike by families of Palestinians held in Jericho Prison . . .

Palestinians said over the weekend that some detainees had complained of torture while being held in the prison.

On Saturday, the mother of Karim Shaheen, who is being held in Jericho Prison, said that her son has been hospitalized after suffering from paralysis in in his left arm as a result of torture.

The family of another detainee, Baha Zahdeh, also accused the PA security forces of torturing their son, who is being held in the same prison on suspicion of membership in Hamas.
The PA was quick to make groundless vile claims that Jaradat was tortured during interrogation and then moved to a cell with Palestinian collaborators who promptly killed him. Israel will probe Jaradat's death. The inquiry will include an international observer.

Considering the PA's failed effort to cover up Samarah, don't expect Ramallah to hold itself to the same lofty standards of transparency it demands of Israel.

Which raises the issue of another double-standard at play.

Ironically, just one day before Samarah's death, Tim Marshall of Sky News observed that the torture and death of detainees in PA custody never gets the same media interest as anything that happens behind Israeli bars.

Contrast this with a subject which rarely gets headlines, and which fails to spark debate; the conditions of Palestinians in Palestinian jails. Few people speak for them, their fate does not generate demonstrations or agonised debate, nor righteous anger in the outside world . . .

Palestinians are well aware that few people will stand up for them if they are taken into the police stations and prisons run by the Palestinian authorities in either Gaza or the West Bank. They know that torture in these establishments is routine and that deaths in custody occur there as well.

Indeed, there was no shortage of Big Media interest in Jaradat.

His death, funeral, and the international reactions were duly noted by AP, Reuters, BBC, Washington Post, NY Times, LA Times, Wall St. Journal, The Independent, The Guardian, Daily Telegraph, Irish Times, Time, Sydney Morning Herald and CNN, among others.

Having set such a high bar on prisoner coverage, can these papers match their output for Samarah and his outraged family?

Or do dead detainees not make a sound when they fall in a Palestinian prison?


http://honestreporting.com/pa-lockup-on-new-prisoner-death/

[Ball DeBeaver]

It shows that things are so bad that they have the ready cash to splash on iphones. But they claim to be starving.

How many calories are in an iphone?

They might have bought them second hand!

Maybe the people in Gaza should exist only to eat, maybe they do't deserve to know that the world's government, the UN Nato and their fellow members of their faith have failed them, God forbid they get the opportunity to know what's going on in the world!

If you had read the thread you would have remembered that the phones were being bought before their official release date (at an obviously increased price) and not at some car boot sale. When are those of you that support the palestinian cause going to realise that you are being lied to? Have you not seen the pictures fron independent sources that show brand new shopping complexes, 5* hotels, bars, restaurants and amusement parks springing up all over Gaza? How can any human being complain about being forcibly starved, and yet have enough to by luxuries? Trying to to compare their right to know what's going on in the world to their "starvation", is bizzare in the extreme.

The Warsaw Judenrat had more food than the poor regular guys.  In the Leningrad siege of 1941 the first people to die were the culchies who flooded into the city from the nearby villages.  That is how things often work within societies in terms of resource distribution.   

So what if a few people in Gaza have iphones- Israel runs the place and is obviously comfortable with the calorie programme.
The issue is the socipaths who run the Israeli system

No. The issue is the genocidal scum of Hamas etc who use their own people as weapons against Israel.

[seafoid]

It shows that things are so bad that they have the ready cash to splash on iphones. But they claim to be starving.

How many calories are in an iphone?

They might have bought them second hand!

Maybe the people in Gaza should exist only to eat, maybe they do't deserve to know that the world's government, the UN Nato and their fellow members of their faith have failed them, God forbid they get the opportunity to know what's going on in the world!

If you had read the thread you would have remembered that the phones were being bought before their official release date (at an obviously increased price) and not at some car boot sale. When are those of you that support the palestinian cause going to realise that you are being lied to? Have you not seen the pictures fron independent sources that show brand new shopping complexes, 5* hotels, bars, restaurants and amusement parks springing up all over Gaza? How can any human being complain about being forcibly starved, and yet have enough to by luxuries? Trying to to compare their right to know what's going on in the world to their "starvation", is bizzare in the extreme.

The Warsaw Judenrat had more food than the poor regular guys.  In the Leningrad siege of 1941 the first people to die were the culchies who flooded into the city from the nearby villages.  That is how things often work within societies in terms of resource distribution.   

So what if a few people in Gaza have iphones- Israel runs the place and is obviously comfortable with the calorie programme.
The issue is the socipaths who run the Israeli system

No. The issue is the genocidal scum of Hamas etc who use their own people as weapons against Israel.

Genocide? FFs. How many Israelis have been killed in Hamas's "genocide"? what weapons would Gaza use to wipe out Israel? Donkey carts?  Israel has white phosphorous and  Nuclear weapons.

"using their own people as weapons"- Please do explain. 
Have you ever seen a comparison on the type of artillery available to the 2 sides? you really are for the birds. 
And who runs the controlled calories program in occupied Gaza?

[Ball DeBeaver]

Genocide? FFs. How many Israelis have been killed in Hamas's "genocide"? what weapons would Gaza use to wipe out Israel? Donkey carts?  Israel has white phosphorous and  Nuclear weapons.

Hamas is committed to jihad against the Jews until Allah's victory is implemented. The land of Palestine "must be cleansed from their impurity and viciousness". Muslims are obligated by order of the Prophet to fight and kill the Jews wherever they find them. This call to genocide is justified by a hadith which concludes article 7 of the Hamas charter.

"using their own people as weapons"- Please do explain.

Besides the obvious suicide bombers, they use their own men, women and especially children as human shields.

Have you ever seen a comparison on the type of artillery available to the 2 sides? you really are for the birds. 
And who runs the controlled calories program in occupied Gaza?

No one runs "the controlled calories program" in Gaza, because there is no controlled calories program. There was a plan formulated years ago to discover what the optimal calory intake would be needed for someone to survive. The figure they came up with was more than that required by a professional footballer. Hardly starvation rations.

[seafoid]

Genocide? FFs. How many Israelis have been killed in Hamas's "genocide"? what weapons would Gaza use to wipe out Israel? Donkey carts?  Israel has white phosphorous and  Nuclear weapons.

Hamas is committed to jihad against the Jews until Allah's victory is implemented. The land of Palestine "must be cleansed from their impurity and viciousness". Muslims are obligated by order of the Prophet to fight and kill the Jews wherever they find them. This call to genocide is justified by a hadith which concludes article 7 of the Hamas charter.

"using their own people as weapons"- Please do explain.

Besides the obvious suicide bombers, they use their own men, women and especially children as human shields.

Have you ever seen a comparison on the type of artillery available to the 2 sides? you really are for the birds. 
And who runs the controlled calories program in occupied Gaza?

No one runs "the controlled calories program" in Gaza, because there is no controlled calories program. There was a plan formulated years ago to discover what the optimal calory intake would be needed for someone to survive. The figure they came up with was more than that required by a professional footballer. Hardly starvation rations.

Using people as human shields. And who kills them? The Israelis. Why? Because Palestinians are Untermenschen under Zionism.
Same as Jews under the Nazis. Vermin, more or less

There is a calories program. I put the link up. Haaretz not good enough for you? Gisha antisemitic or something?

And 2200 calories per head (WTF ever happened to Judaism?) required 160 trucks per day into Gaza. Most days the bots let in less than 100.
So average calorie intake was  way down on 2200.

Gisha graph here for anyone who buys the bullshit that Gaza was no longer occupied after 2005. 
http://www.gisha.org/graph.asp?lang_id=en&p_id=901

And Hamas has signed up for the 2 state solution. Will recognise Israel in return for a Palestinian state. But Israel will never grant Palestinians independence. Because Zionism is run by sociopaths.

Nazi siege and calorie plan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcd88TOwx5o&feature=related

Zionist siege and calorie plan
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8YfA_DngUM

It's the same sickness.

[Ball DeBeaver]

The factual and logical failures behind accusations of 'racist' Israeli bus lines

There seems to be no evidence whatsoever to back up accusations, in the Guardian and throughout the media, that new bus lines in Israel, serving Palestinians who live in the West Bank but work in central Israel, serve 'Palestinians only'. 

Prior to the launch of the new lines Israeli buses did not stop in towns controlled by the PA, and Palestinians were dependent on transportation services by "pirate" (Arab) companies. (Alternately they could travel to an Israeli settlement, such as Ariel, and take a bus from there to Israeli cities across the green line.)



Conal Urquhart's Guardian report on the issue, which, in fairness, is no worse than others in the mainstream media, was titled "Israel to launch 'Palestinian only' bus service", March 4, and begins thusly:


The Israeli government will on Monday begin operating a "Palestinians-only" bus service to ferry Palestinian workers from the West Bank to Israel, encouraging them to use it instead of travelling with Israeli settlers on a similar route.

However, at no point does Urquhart attempt to buttress this sensational claim, nor indicate the source of the ("Palestinians only") quote.

In fact, he then notes the following:


Officially anyone can use them, but the ministry of transport said that the new lines are meant to improve services for Palestinians.

...

In a statement to the Israeli newspaper, Yedioth Ahronoth, the ministry said: "The new lines are not separate lines for Palestinians but rather two designated lines meant to improve the services offered to Palestinian workers who enter Israel through Eyal Crossing.

As Lori Lowenthal Marcus pointed out, the 'restrictions' pertain to 'only' stopping at Palestinian towns in the territories, where Jews don't live.

Urquhart continues:


Information on the new services, which are operated by the company Afikim, have reportedly only been advertised in Arabic and distributed only in Palestinian areas of the West Bank.

However, if the goal of the new bus line is to improve service for Palestinians living in the West Bank but working in Israel, it would certainly make sense to advertise the lines in Palestinian towns, and only in Arabic.

Again, Urquhart:


Palestinians used to use Palestinian minibuses and taxis to travel into Israel but Israel has increased the number of permits it gives to Palestinians which has led to more mixing on shared routes.

Indeed, Palestinians were dependent upon transportation services by unauthorized Arab companies which charged far more than the new Israeli lines do, and Urquhart, further in his report, quotes the Transportation Ministry official making a similar point. 

For example, the fare for Palestinians traveling to Raanana is reportedly 5.1 shekels (roughly $1.35), and to Tel Aviv will cost 10.6 shekels ($2.85). This is compared to roughly 40 shekels ($10.75) that passengers have been charged by the private transportation services.

Additionally, Transportation and Road Safety Minister Yisrael Katz was quoted in Israel HaYom as explaining that "Palestinians were permitted to use any public bus line they wished, including the ones used by settlers."

Lowenthal Marcus makes the following point:


The new bus lines are not, as the misleading headlines suggest, only for Arab Palestinians, the restriction they have is that they only stop at Arab towns in the territories, where – few would disagree – Jews with or without special identification would not dare go for fear – a legitimate one – of physical violence.  The fact remains that any Israeli citizens, Jewish, Christian or Zoroastrians, who live in the "Jewish" towns, were able to and did use the pre-existing bus lines.

As Seth Frantzman observed in the Jerusalem Post today:


The website of the bus company, Ofakim, shows that the No. 211 bus route begins near Kalkilya and travels to Tel Aviv with stops in Petah Tikvah, Bnei Brak and elsewhere. It doesn't indicate that it is a "Palestinian only" bus or that Jews may not ride it. Ofakim claimed "We are not allowed to refuse service and we will not order anyone to get off the bus."

Frantzman also argued that "nothing obvious prevents Arabs from commuting to a bus stop near a large Jewish community, to take a bus serving Ariel for instance." He added that "there is no 'segregation', no 'separate but equal'. No one is 'sitting at the back'."

But, one question remains: How would it be racist against 'Palestinians' if service on a bus line operating in the West Bank was for 'Palestinians only'?  That is, how could Palestinians be victims of racism if service on a public transportation system was  denied to Jews? 

Typically, the canards employed by those who assault Israel's legitimacy are framed in the opposite manner, with suggestions that public accommodations in Israel are restricted to prevent non-Jews from using them.  A great example of such a false claim, advanced by Haaretz and definitively refuted by CAMERA, was the myth of "Jews only" roads in Israel.

While there are no 'Jews only' roads in Israel, there are areas within the state for 'Palestinians only'.

Put another way, is this sign racist?




Sign warning Israelis not to enter a Palestinian town

First, it would obviously be extremely dangerous for an Israeli Jew to enter Palestinians cities in Area 'A'. It's also prohibited by the IDF.   When I went on a media tour of Ramallah in 2011 I was required to sign a document essentially stating that I understood the risk involved and that the Israeli government was not responsible for my safety.

Palestinian cities in the West Bank such as Ramallah are for 'Palestinians only'.

Whilst the future of the new bus lines which are the focus of the latest anti-Israel media storm may be in doubt, let's be clear about two things:

First, contrary to claims made in the media, there are no 'Palestinian only' bus lines.

If, completely hypothetically, there were such buses, it beggars the imagination how policies which excluded Jewish passengers could be characterized as racist against Palestinians.

The latest row demonstrates that when it comes to reporting on Israel, facts and moral logic are necessarily subservient to sensationalist anti-Zionist narratives.

http://cifwatch.com/

[seafoid]

Christ bdb that is a new low for you . Did your grandfather work for Jim Crow? Why do jews live in settlements devoid of locals in the West bank? Isn't that racist ?

[seafoid]

http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/424389/march-05-2013/obama-s-israel-trip



http://www.colbertnation.com/the-colbert-report-videos/424390/march-05-2013/obama-s-israel-trip---michael-oren

[Ball DeBeaver]

Gaza govt to reduce import of cars due to oversupply


Published yesterday (updated) 06/03/2013 20:42






GAZA CITY (Ma'an) -- The general administration at the Gaza government's transportation ministry announced Wednesday that in February the number of cars entering Gaza was reduced due to oversupply.

Head of imports at the ministry Basel Deeb told Ma'an that the number of cars transferred to the Gaza Strip was much less than the previous three months.

"We imported 63 cars from Egypt and 242 from Israel, and that's a small number," said Deeb.

He pointed out that people were not ordering more cars, meaning there were enough already in Gaza.

The sector needs more taxis and commercial cars, but the embargo imposed over the sector prevents the access of these needed cars, he pointed out.


http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=572088

Maybe they could start eating them, to supplement their meagre rations.

[seafoid]

Israeli deputy ambassador gets a very difficult job. Justify apartheid in less than 300 words. 

4/10 for effort.

http://www.irishtimes.com/letters/index.html#1224330868464

Sir, – It is deeply regrettable that a positive development for 30,000 or so Palestinians, who travel to Israel for work each day, has been reported in such a negative manner ("Israel to run separate buses for Palestinians", March 4th).

The facts are that new transport lines have been established, which will facilitate easier travel to and from Israel. Until now, Palestinians doing so had no direct line from their residences to the border crossing; therefore, they had to pay for expensive taxi transport or walk a long journey or travel to an Israeli community in the West Bank and take a bus, all of which was highly inconvenient.

The new transport lines allow Palestinians direct transport from their towns and villages to the border crossing. Under any circumstances, this would be seen as a positive development; regrettably it has been implied that these arrangements amount to segregation. – Yours etc,

NURIT TINARI-MODAI,

Deputy Ambassador of Israel,

Embassy of Israel,

Pembroke Road,

Ballsbridge, Dublin

[Ball DeBeaver]

Hamas blocks humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza



Thursday, March 07, 2013 |  Michael Selutin   


Dozens of heavy trucks transporting humanitarian aid have been sitting idly on the border of the Gaza Strip since Monday, unable to enter the coastal enclave after Hamas shut the gates from its side.

The perishable items among the aid carried by the 65 trucks are threatening to spoil if the situation isn't resolved quickly.

The problem is that earlier this week, Hamas decided to seize control of Gaza's border crossings from the Palestinian Authority. Israel has been working with the PA to ensure that regular supplies entered Gaza.

But Hamas and Israel have no cooperation, and the terror group seems uninterested in getting those trucks into the territory it rules.

Israeli Gen. Eitan Dangot, the officer in charge of coordinating aid transfers, stressed that Israel continues to facilitate the entry of goods to Gaza, and will gladly resume that practice if someone on the other side will let that happen.

Gen. Dangot noted that Hamas is inflicting great harm on its own people in a misguided attempt to score PR points with the international community.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23717/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

Maybe GHD could have a word with his mates in Hamas to let in some real humanitarian aid.

[seafoid]

Hamas blocks humanitarian aid from reaching Gaza



Thursday, March 07, 2013 |  Michael Selutin   


Dozens of heavy trucks transporting humanitarian aid have been sitting idly on the border of the Gaza Strip since Monday, unable to enter the coastal enclave after Hamas shut the gates from its side.

The perishable items among the aid carried by the 65 trucks are threatening to spoil if the situation isn't resolved quickly.

The problem is that earlier this week, Hamas decided to seize control of Gaza's border crossings from the Palestinian Authority. Israel has been working with the PA to ensure that regular supplies entered Gaza.

But Hamas and Israel have no cooperation, and the terror group seems uninterested in getting those trucks into the territory it rules.

Israeli Gen. Eitan Dangot, the officer in charge of coordinating aid transfers, stressed that Israel continues to facilitate the entry of goods to Gaza, and will gladly resume that practice if someone on the other side will let that happen.

Gen. Dangot noted that Hamas is inflicting great harm on its own people in a misguided attempt to score PR points with the international community.

http://www.israeltoday.co.il/NewsItem/tabid/178/nid/23717/Default.aspx?hp=readmore

Maybe GHD could have a word with his mates in Hamas to let in some real humanitarian aid.

Why does Gaza need humanitarian aid I wonder.
Would it have anything to do with Israeli policy? 

[Ball DeBeaver]

Egypt's tunnel closures hit Gaza builders

Published today (updated) 07/03/2013 16:53






By Nidal al-Mughrabi


GAZA CITY (Reuters) -- Business was booming for Gaza brick-maker Yasser Qreqea, until neighboring Egypt shut down smuggling tunnels across its border that were funneling arms to militants in the territory and cement and other basic goods to everyone else.

Overnight the price of building materials soared in the Gaza Strip, hitting Qreqea's key customers and, industry sources said, slowing the construction of apartments, roads and houses across the enclave run by Hamas.

"Business is dead and we are the ones losing out," the businessman told Reuters in his factory in the densely-populated Zeitoun neighborhood of Gaza City.

A handful of workers stacked bricks in his already bulging store room, but Qreqea sat idle, waiting for customers.

Egypt said it started flooding and sealing the network of tunnels in February to cut a two-way flow of smuggled weapons that was destabilizing its border area in the Sinai peninsula, where separate groups of militants operate.

Cairo's decision also cut a lifeline to around 1.7 million Palestinians in Gaza, hit by a blockade on a wide range of goods imposed by Israel in 2007 after Hamas took power.

The tunnels had been used to bypass the blockade and smuggle in all kinds of merchandise, including cars, livestock and fuel -- around 30 percent of all goods that reached the enclave, according to some estimates.

A month ago, a tonne of cement cost 350 shekels ($95) in the Gaza Strip. After the tunnel closures, the price rose to 650 shekels before Hamas pressured merchants to bring it down to its current 480 shekel mark.

"I have been speaking to contractors and I understood many of them have suspended building because of the unstable and higher prices of cement," said Ali al-Hayek, chairman of the Palestinian Businessmen's Association.

He forecast "disastrous results for the economy of Gaza and the building sector", unless Egypt reopened the routes.

Hayek said there was a lack of data on the exact size of the construction industry in the Gaza Strip, but estimated thousands of private and public projects were under way before the stoppage.

Gaza's tunnelers told Reuters nearly 60 percent of the estimated 1,000 smuggling routes under the border had been closed.

Tunnel owner Abu Jamal said the Hamas government's taxation of cement and the new price controls had made the smuggling of construction material through surviving routes unviable.

"The Egyptian campaign damaged our business gravely and conditions by Hamas here are forcing us to stop the work. Business is in sleep mode," he added.

Under international pressure, Israel began to ease the blockade in 2010 and allowed international aid agencies to import construction material. It further eased restrictions at the end of last year, but not enough to wean Gaza's businesses from their tunnel supply routes.

Majed Abu Shaaban, a developer building rental apartments, said mounting construction costs would ultimately be passed on to consumers, who would be charged higher rents.

"The solution is to reopen crossings either with Israel or with Egypt. My only concern is to get goods at market prices," Abu Shaaban said.

http://www.maannews.net/eng/ViewDetails.aspx?ID=572273

I think you'll find that their Egyptian "brothers" are the ones causing most hardship to the palestinians, and have it within their powers to open the border between the two, but won't. Why is that? It suits their "martyr" image to have Israel portrayed as the bad guy.
Israel has no moral or legal obligation to aid anywhere that has declared itself "at war" with Israel.