This morning I heard a set of extraordinary claims from an aid worker on CNN, The heart of the stories she presented was that Israel was responsible for the ‘starvation’ and suffering of Palestinians in Gaza who were not receiving the aid being sent to them. If you’ve been following my posts you will probably recognize those claims as fake news. But let me mention a couple of them here.
First, there is the claim that Israeli forces interfere with the operations of the unarmed Hamas police, who are trying to distribute the aid packages. You will notice the word “unarmed”. That claim is easily refute by looking at videos of the aid trucks after they arrive from Egypt. The Hamas terrorist police riding the trucks are clearly carrying AK-47 assault rifles, and more discerning observers may even spot pistols on the belts of other Hamas ‘police’ who use wooden clubs to beat off Palestinian refugees trying to get aid packages before the Hamas terror police take them to stores where the refugees must pay high prices or what was originally intended as free aid. The reporter blamed Israeli forces, when the only Israelis in the vicinity are the ones checking the aid shipments on the Egyptian side to ensure there are no munitions or weapon concealed in them.
There is a problem getting enough aid to the people in need. But it’s caused by the Hamas terror police, not Israel. Other countries are also aware of the real problem, and have tried to find alternative routes to supply aid. I recently mentioned attempts to air drop supplies (in order to avoid the Hamas operatives who take control of the trucks when they enter Gaza from Egypt). The Jordanian Air Force (and the French) managed to put their parachuted packages into the sea when they tried this. Air drops are relatively inefficient. A truck can carry much more (and at a much lower cost) than an airplane. But the problem isn’t cost. It’s that Hamas interdicts the supply line. An Israeli attempt to deliver aid to the northern part of the Gaza strip has been blocked by Israeli civilians who think it stupid to send aid of any kind to their enemies. Several Israeli police have been injured trying to get the Israeli trucks through. But once that is done, the problem of distribution occurs again. This time, the Hamas police really are unarmed (except for their wooden clubs) because the IDF has not established any kind of military/civilian authority. To do so would have the appearance of being an “occupier” and that is taboo to other outside observers, especially America.
Wetherhorn 