Birmingham Daily News (08/08/04) Worcester Telegram and Gazette (08/30/04)
To say that things are getting worse in Gaza, one of the poorest
places on Earth, is a bit like saying it is getting hotter in hell.
But over the past few years, things have gotten significantly worse
in this sliver of Palestinian territory along the Mediterranean
Sea - with alarming implications for the prospect of a comprehensive
Middle East peace.
Since September 2000, when the current Palestinian uprising against
Israeli occupation began, the Gazan economy has entered what the
World Bank calls "one of the deepest recessions in modern history."
The joblessness rate among males aged 15-24 is 43 percent and as
many as 70 percent of job market entrants are unemployed. These
conditions are creating a generation of isolated and disaffected
youth.
While Gaza's precipitous economic decline predates the intifada,
it has been greatly accelerated by Israel's policy of "closure,"
according to the World Bank and the United Nations. Closure prohibits
Palestinians and their goods not only from entering Israel, Egypt
and Jordan, but also from moving between Gaza and the West Bank
- and, often, from moving within Gaza itself. These "internal"
closures are imposed, in part, to protect the Jewish settlements
in Gaza and the settler bypass roads linking the settlements to
Israel proper. The growth rate of Gaza settlements has nearly tripled
to 4.3 percent since Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon announced
his plan to "disengage" from the strip in December 2003.
In addition to economic blight, Gaza has been buffeted by continuing
Israeli incursions and a newly intensified power struggle among
the competing security services of the Palestinian Authority and
various political factions. This conflict has climaxed in recent
weeks in a spasm of kidnappings, resignations and attacks on PA
officials and institutions.
Israel's stated plan to withdraw from the Gaza settlements in 2005
will do little to reverse the downward spiral in the territory.
Under Sharon's plan, Israel will retain control of Gaza's borders,
seas and natural resources. Given these conditions, World Bank officials
note the disengagement plan will have "no positive impact on
the economy at all." In fact, recent World Bank projections
show that the poverty rate in Gaza will increase from the current
64 percent to an even more shocking 72 percent - disengagement or
no disengagement.
The uncertainty created by the proposed unilateral Israeli withdrawal
has also unnecessarily fomented infighting among security services
and militant factions, with ordinary Gazans caught in the middle.
It is therefore unsurprising that according to a recent poll, 64
percent of Palestinians do not support Sharon's withdrawal plan.
Arafat's leadership has only compounded the crisis. He is a corrupt
leader who has concentrated power and abused human rights for his
own narrow political interests. The same could be said of some figures
challenging Arafat. Clearly, a new generation of Palestinian leadership
is required - and desired by the Palestinian people. However, reform
cannot emerge under conditions of occupation.
The Bush administration supports unilateral Israeli "disengagement"
from Gaza, going so far as to sanction Israeli settlements in the
West Bank and deny the right of return for Palestinian refugees
to encourage Israel to carry out the limited plan. For this ill-advised
position, the United States has paid an incredible price in international
public opinion, only to see the promised withdrawal made conditional
and delayed even further.
Bush's stated commitment to a Palestinian state should begin with
a demand that Israel withdraw completely, giving the Palestinians
control of their borders, resources and economy. An Israeli withdrawal
from Gaza - as well as the West Bank - is not only required under
international law, but is a necessary first step for peace and self-determination
for both peoples.
Maren Milligan
is senior analyst and media coordinator at the Middle East Research
and Information Project in Washington, D.C. MERIP was founded in
1971 in an effort to improve public analysis of Middle Eastern political
economy and U.S. policy toward the region. E-mail Milligan at merip.media@merip.org.
MERIP
OP-EDS
A Country at a Crossroads The Austin-American Statesman (Austin, Texas) November 9, 2007
Kamran Asdar Ali
"A
very frank discussion"— so President Bush described
his Nov. 7 telephone
conversation with Pervez Musharraf, four days after the Pakistani
general
imposed a state of emergency and dissolved the high court expected
to rule
his continued presidency unconstitutional. And frank the discussion
probably
was: In the face of spirited protest in Pakistan, and a querulous
press in
Washington, back-channel pressure succeeded in persuading Musharraf
to
promise parliamentary elections. Yet the generous U.S. aid earmarked
for
Pakistan — on top of nearly $10 billion since 2001 — is
quite evidently not
at risk.
What may be at risk is Musharraf's tenure as head
of the military government. Full
story>>
The
war debate in Washington is bogged down. Partisan rancor is one
reason why, and bipartisan desire for US hegemony in the oil-rich
Persian Gulf is
another. But many Americans are vexed by a nobler concern: that
a
“precipitous” US departure from Iraq would leave intensified
civil war,
ethnic-sectarian cleansing and massive refugee flows in its wake.
This
concern is legitimate. Unfortunately, the sad fact is that Iraq’s
civil war
and humanitarian emergency have grown steadily worse as the US
military
deployment there wears on. Full
Story>>
Should
the United States, seeking to recalibrate the balance between
security and liberty in the "war on terror," emulate
Israel in its treatment of Palestinian detainees? That is the position
that Guantanamo detainee lawyers Avi Stadler and John Chandler
of Atlanta, and some others, have advocated. That people in U.S.
custody could be held incommunicado for years without charges,
and could be prosecuted or indefinitely detained on the basis of
confessions extracted with torture is worse than a national disgrace.
It is an assault on the foundations of the rule of law. Full
Story>>
There
is an oft-told Palestinian allegory about a family who complained
their house was small and cramped. In response, the father brought
the farm
animals inside -- the goat, the sheep and the chickens all crowded
into the
house. Then, one by one, he moved the animals back outside. By
the time the
last chicken left, the family felt such relief they never complained
of the
lack of elbow room again. Full
Story>>
