Gaza By The Numbers

A snapshot of Gaza by the numbers:

Humanitarian Assistance

  • Movement in and out of Gaza is all but impossible and supplies of food, water, sewage treatment, basic health care have been drastically affected by the blockade of aid. Food prices are rising and wheat, flour, baby milk, and rose 34%, 30%, and 20.5% respectively during the period May-June 2007 alone.
  • Prior to the blockade (implemented after Hamas took over total adminstration over Gaza in June 2007), around 250 trucks carrying aid entered Gaza each day.
  • As of March 2008, that number was reduced to 45.
  • According to UN figures reported in the Guardian, that number dropped to just 5 in December.
  • Most recently, the Israeli government prevented a Libyan ship carrying 3000 tons of aid from entering Gaza.

Poverty and Dependency on Food Aid

  • Number of people living in absolute poverty in Gaza in 2008: 80%
  • Number of people living in absolute poverty in Gaza in 2006: 63%
  • In 2007, households were spending 62% of their income on food.
  • In 2004, households were spending 37% of their income on food.
  • As of March 2008, there were over 1.1 million people—three quarters of Gaza—who are dependent on food aid. In less than ten years, the numbers of families who depending on UNRWA food aid has increased ten-fold

Unemployment

  • In June 2005, there were 3,900 factories in Gaza employing 35,000 people.
  • In December 2007, there were just 195, employing only 1,700.
  • Unemployment is close to 40%.
  • 40,000 agriculture works who depend on cash crops now have no income.
  • In September 2000, 24,000 Gazans crossed into Israel to seek cheap labor. Now that number is zero.

Schools, Electricity, Medical Supplies

  • In January 2008, UNICEF reported that schools in Gaza had been cancelling classes that required high energy consumption like IT, science lab, and extra-curricular classes.
  • Hospitals cannot generate electricity to keep lifesaving equipment working or to generate oxygen, while 40-50 million liters of sewage continues to pour into the sea daily.
  • Hospitals are currently experiencing power cuts lasting for 8-12 hours a day.
  • There is currently a 60-70 percent shortage reported in the diesel required for hospital power generators.
  • According to the World Health Organization, the proportion of patients given permits to exit Gaza for medical care dropped from 89.3% in January 2007 to 64.3% in December 2007.
  • Many of those who are given permits are blocked at the crossing itself. In October 2007 alone, the WHO confirmed that 20 patients died because they were denied access to refereal services. Five of these deaths were children.

In speaking about the current wave of violence, Israel’s ambassador to the United Nations, Gabriela Shalev pledged that Israel will “destroy completely” the “terrorist gang.”

But the facts show that much more than a “terrorist gang” is being destroyed in Gaza.

(Unless otherwise indicated, all facts in this post are from the report “The Gaza Strip: A Humanitarian implosion” co-authored by Amnesty International, Oxfam, Medcins de Monde UK, CAFOD, Save the Children UK, TroCAIRE, CARE, and Christian Aid).

AIUSA welcomes a lively and courteous discussion that follow our Community Guidelines. Comments are not pre-screened before they post but AIUSA reserves the right to remove any comments violating our guidelines.

34 thoughts on “Gaza By The Numbers

  1. In October-November 1940, Germans under Hitler established the Warsaw Ghetto, into which some 500,000 Jews were crowded. Of these, an average of 5,000 to 6,000 died each month from starvation, disease, exposure to cold, and shootings. This was the location of the STRONGEST Jewish resistance movement of WWII…unfortunately the Germans were stronger

    Fast Forward to June 2007, ISRAEL, the nation of JEWS established shortly after the end of WWII, set up a blockade establishing a "GHETTO" of Gaza. Unemployment is 40% with 80% of the people living in absolute poverty – starvation, disease and death awaits those living in that walled off strip of land….

    I don't care how the people of Israel try to justify this action, how can they allow this action when their history is the holocaust; their lives are genetically imprinted with the deaths of hundreds of thousands of souls that stood in the Warsaw Ghetto?

    The inhumanity, the terror, the hate….HOW can anyone do this to another human being?

  2. Zahir is absolutely right.

    The inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have been living in a growing humanitarian crisis for months. A dire situation got worse when Israel completely closed all crossings in and out of the strip.

    Amnesty had been working on behalf of around a half dozen infants and children requiring life-saving heart surgery. Although the babies/kids were given permission to leave; their chaperones were not so the kids – the last we've heard – are still awaiting surgery.

    Then there's the case of Kairma Abu Dalal that Amnesty took up in March '08. She had a curable cancer and Physicians for HR – Israel even said she had an excellent chance if given proper treatment. 9 out of 10 survive with this kind of cancer. AI issued a medical action on Nov. 17th giving following link to a media interview with her in June '08. We noted that she was no longer walking as shown in video.
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdwTsnx95g (interview starts at minute 3.28 of the video).

    Five days after the report went out, she died.

    The immediate unlawful killings must end, but we cannot go back to the same situation before the attacks; Israel must open up the crossings and allow all imports/exports, humanitarian aid and flow of people to resume unhindered.

  3. In October-November 1940, Germans under Hitler established the Warsaw Ghetto, into which some 500,000 Jews were crowded. Of these, an average of 5,000 to 6,000 died each month from starvation, disease, exposure to cold, and shootings. This was the location of the STRONGEST Jewish resistance movement of WWII…unfortunately the Germans were stronger

    Fast Forward to June 2007, ISRAEL, the nation of JEWS established shortly after the end of WWII, set up a blockade establishing a “GHETTO” of Gaza. Unemployment is 40% with 80% of the people living in absolute poverty – starvation, disease and death awaits those living in that walled off strip of land….

    I don’t care how the people of Israel try to justify this action, how can they allow this action when their history is the holocaust; their lives are genetically imprinted with the deaths of hundreds of thousands of souls that stood in the Warsaw Ghetto?

    The inhumanity, the terror, the hate….HOW can anyone do this to another human being?

  4. Zahir is absolutely right.

    The inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have been living in a growing humanitarian crisis for months. A dire situation got worse when Israel completely closed all crossings in and out of the strip.

    Amnesty had been working on behalf of around a half dozen infants and children requiring life-saving heart surgery. Although the babies/kids were given permission to leave; their chaperones were not so the kids – the last we've heard – are still awaiting surgery.

    Then there's the case of Kairma Abu Dalal that Amnesty took up in March '08. She had a curable cancer and Physicians for HR – Israel even said she had an excellent chance if given proper treatment. 9 out of 10 survive with this kind of cancer. AI issued a medical action on Nov. 17th giving following link to a media interview with her in June '08. We noted that she was no longer walking as shown in video.
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdwTsnx95g (interview starts at minute 3.28 of the video).

    Five days after the report went out, she died.

    The immediate unlawful killings must end, but we cannot go back to the same situation before the attacks; Israel must open up the crossings and allow all imports/exports, humanitarian aid and flow of people to resume unhindered.

  5. Zahir is absolutely right.

    The inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have been living in a growing humanitarian crisis for months. A dire situation got worse when Israel completely closed all crossings in and out of the strip.

    Amnesty had been working on behalf of around a half dozen infants and children requiring life-saving heart surgery. Although the babies/kids were given permission to leave; their chaperones were not so the kids – the last we've heard – are still awaiting surgery.

    Then there's the case of Kairma Abu Dalal that Amnesty took up in March '08. She had a curable cancer and Physicians for HR – Israel even said she had an excellent chance if given proper treatment. 9 out of 10 survive with this kind of cancer. AI issued a medical action on Nov. 17th giving following link to a media interview with her in June '08. We noted that she was no longer walking as shown in video.
    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdwTsnx95g (interview starts at minute 3.28 of the video).

    Five days after the report went out, she died.

    The immediate unlawful killings must end, but we cannot go back to the same situation before the attacks; Israel must open up the crossings and allow all imports/exports, humanitarian aid and flow of people to resume unhindered.

  6. Zahir is absolutely right.

    The inhabitants of the Gaza Strip have been living in a growing humanitarian crisis for months. A dire situation got worse when Israel completely closed all crossings in and out of the strip.

    Amnesty had been working on behalf of around a half dozen infants and children requiring life-saving heart surgery. Although the babies/kids were given permission to leave; their chaperones were not so the kids – the last we’ve heard – are still awaiting surgery.

    Then there’s the case of Kairma Abu Dalal that Amnesty took up in March ’08. She had a curable cancer and Physicians for HR – Israel even said she had an excellent chance if given proper treatment. 9 out of 10 survive with this kind of cancer. AI issued a medical action on Nov. 17th giving following link to a media interview with her in June ’08. We noted that she was no longer walking as shown in video.

    http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=HCdwTsnx95g (interview starts at minute 3.28 of the video).

    Five days after the report went out, she died.

    The immediate unlawful killings must end, but we cannot go back to the same situation before the attacks; Israel must open up the crossings and allow all imports/exports, humanitarian aid and flow of people to resume unhindered.

  7. The Warsaw ghetto wasn't being financed and supplied with armaments by Germany's enemies. If Iran can provide rockets and unlimited money to Gaza why can't they supply food and medicine?

  8. The Warsaw ghetto wasn’t being financed and supplied with armaments by Germany’s enemies. If Iran can provide rockets and unlimited money to Gaza why can’t they supply food and medicine?

  9. They now have Katyushas which are an extremely effective political weapon as we have already seen in Lebanon!

    Iran has defeated the Israeli colonizers in Lebanon and is doing so again. May Iran continue to stand up for the oppressed !

  10. They now have Katyushas which are an extremely effective political weapon as we have already seen in Lebanon!

    Iran has defeated the Israeli colonizers in Lebanon and is doing so again. May Iran continue to stand up for the oppressed !

  11. Dotan is correct – the rockets being fired into southern Israel by armed Palestinian groups are unlawful; they are indiscriminate and have injured dozens and killed 4 Israelis since Israel started this latest offensive. Not diminishing that fact and understanding that Israel has the right and duty to protect their citizens, Israel MUST still carry out this duty within certain limits of necessity, proportionality and discrimination. Israel has failed to do this on many counts in their response to these rockets in Gaza. They must use the least intrusive means at their disposal to deal with threats.

    Barnum – Israel's responsibilities to the people in the Gaza Strip did not end when they removed Jewish settlers in 2005. Israel retained control of land crossings and air and sea space. They control all imports/exports and flow of people into and out of the Gaza Strip. The welfare of the inhabitants of the strip remain Israel's responsibility.

    Exports were stopped in 2007 when Hamas took over complete control of the strip and imports were stopped (including humanitarian aid – food, water, fuel, medicine) in early November when the ceasefire started to fall apart.

    * note: the small amounts of humanitarian aid let in periodically is a fraction of what is required for a population of 1.5 million, especially with stores already exhausted.

    The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, even before this latest series of airstrikes, was completely man-made by Israeli policies. The inhabitants were basically being held captive for the acts of renegade, armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas. This is called collective punishment and is unlawful.

  12. Rockets? Really? You actually think Israel is attacking Gaza because of rockets. That is the propaganda of the media that has given you that information. Wake up. In the past 7 years 17 Israelis have died from rockets fire, but thousands of Palestinians, including many children have been killed by Israeli rockets and bombs. The reality is Israel with full support of the united states wants to completely wipe out the Palestinians, and take over all the land. America supports them because Israel is a force in the middle east for America to keep and gain more power,influence, and control. Israel is an extension of American imperialism. Simple as that. There is no negotiation to be met. They want to eliminate anybody against their interest and dominate the middle east. That is why the united states keeps giving billions of dollars of free money to Israel. American tax payer money, and they keep providing them with tons of weapons. Israel is the only country in the middle east with nuclear weapons. They would wipe out Iran if they could get away with it. The mass media propaganda has justified mass murder and genocide. You hear nothing of the thousands of Israeli citizens protesting what the government is doing. You hear nothing about the dozens of jewish organizations that want this occupation to end now. You hear nothing about the many Israeli soldiers who refuse to goto the occupied colonies because they believe what the Israeli government is doing is wrong. You don't hear anything about all the pregnant women force to deliver their babies on the side of the road by Israeli road blocks. Many die as a result. The constant humiliation,torture,blockages,bull dozing,destruction of crops,bombing mosques,bombing schools, the thousands injured and killed by israel military.

  13. Dotan is correct – the rockets being fired into southern Israel by armed Palestinian groups are unlawful; they are indiscriminate and have injured dozens and killed 4 Israelis since Israel started this latest offensive. Not diminishing that fact and understanding that Israel has the right and duty to protect their citizens, Israel MUST still carry out this duty within certain limits of necessity, proportionality and discrimination. Israel has failed to do this on many counts in their response to these rockets in Gaza. They must use the least intrusive means at their disposal to deal with threats.

    Barnum – Israel’s responsibilities to the people in the Gaza Strip did not end when they removed Jewish settlers in 2005. Israel retained control of land crossings and air and sea space. They control all imports/exports and flow of people into and out of the Gaza Strip. The welfare of the inhabitants of the strip remain Israel’s responsibility.

    Exports were stopped in 2007 when Hamas took over complete control of the strip and imports were stopped (including humanitarian aid – food, water, fuel, medicine) in early November when the ceasefire started to fall apart.

    * note: the small amounts of humanitarian aid let in periodically is a fraction of what is required for a population of 1.5 million, especially with stores already exhausted.

    The humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip, even before this latest series of airstrikes, was completely man-made by Israeli policies. The inhabitants were basically being held captive for the acts of renegade, armed Palestinian groups, including Hamas. This is called collective punishment and is unlawful.

  14. Rockets? Really? You actually think Israel is attacking Gaza because of rockets. That is the propaganda of the media that has given you that information. Wake up. In the past 7 years 17 Israelis have died from rockets fire, but thousands of Palestinians, including many children have been killed by Israeli rockets and bombs. The reality is Israel with full support of the united states wants to completely wipe out the Palestinians, and take over all the land. America supports them because Israel is a force in the middle east for America to keep and gain more power,influence, and control. Israel is an extension of American imperialism. Simple as that. There is no negotiation to be met. They want to eliminate anybody against their interest and dominate the middle east. That is why the united states keeps giving billions of dollars of free money to Israel. American tax payer money, and they keep providing them with tons of weapons. Israel is the only country in the middle east with nuclear weapons. They would wipe out Iran if they could get away with it. The mass media propaganda has justified mass murder and genocide. You hear nothing of the thousands of Israeli citizens protesting what the government is doing. You hear nothing about the dozens of jewish organizations that want this occupation to end now. You hear nothing about the many Israeli soldiers who refuse to goto the occupied colonies because they believe what the Israeli government is doing is wrong. You don’t hear anything about all the pregnant women force to deliver their babies on the side of the road by Israeli road blocks. Many die as a result. The constant humiliation,torture,blockages,bull dozing,destruction of crops,bombing mosques,bombing schools, the thousands injured and killed by israel military.

  15. ll the remarks are very smart, you only forget one crucial element: the Hamas leaders don't give a damn about their people, they use them as human shields! where are the fanatic leaders that want to die as "shahids" but do not leave the bunkers? why every house that the Israeli soldiers reach if full of weapons and explosives, trap puppets and the like? Of course I do not say that this situation was created motu propio by the civilians, THEY ARE THE VICTIMS OF THER OWN LEADERS WHO USE THEM CYNICALLY , the more Palestinian civilian casualties THE BETTER FOR THEIR LEADERS , they can go on playing the underdog and direct the pointing finger towards Israel. The "truce" with Hamas was the saddest farce ever, they went on shelling Israeli cities and even now, that a 3 hour truce was established for humanitarian purposes, THEY broke it and fired rockets into Israel.

    It is time to stop the double standard towards Israel, it smells of something beyond purity of ideology/purpose/action. HAMAS HAS REPEATEDLY SAID THAT IT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF ISRAEL TO EXIST, HAS MASSIVELY SHELLED CIVILIANS, HAS CREATED A WELL ARMED ARMY WITH IRANIAN HELP AND YET, ONLY ISRAEL IS TO BLAME…SURREALISTIC! and if it would not be so tragic and crucially vital , it would be one of the best jokes ever…

    IT IS NOT ISRAEL THE ONE THA CREATED "UNLIVABLE CONDITIONS" IN GAZA , BUT THE HAMAS LEADERS WHO WORK MORE FOR THE DEATH OF ISRAELIS THAN FOR THE LIVES OF THEIR PEOPLE.

  16. I don't understand the term, "disproportionate response." I read it a lot but never have seen what anyone considers a proportionate response. Exactly what would be appropriate for Israel to do given that Hamas will not stop the rocket barrage? I've read a fair amount of the fact that Israel does this in response to the continuing Hamas rocket attack but where has anyone suggested that Hamas stop this "disproportionate rocket barrage"?

  17. I strongly agree with AL who thinks the Hamas rockets are not the real reason Israel has so brutally attacked the Gaza strip. I think it is because Hamas – (a"terrorist" organization – who's calling the kettle red here?) was actually successfully managing to keep the strip together. And they were honest whereas Fatah has a reputation for political corruption. The Israeli's were needlessly brutal to Lebanon in '06 and seemed to strike targets that were far removed from military purposes. They seemed to want to destroy a commercial rival in that they were targeting factories and the highway system.

    Israel probably looses more lives to traffic accidents than Hamas rockets ever took. Those rockets were also notoriously inaccurate or purposely sent for their nuisance value. It seems more like a psychological ploy than a physical threat. The people of the southern Israeli towns were not so upset by them that they considered evacuation those towns. The fact that now that the area is in open war and the rockets are getting more accurate and have a longer range seems to prove that point.

    If the claim the Israelis make that Hamas is shielding itself with the civilian population why aren't both Egypt and Israel and for that matter boatlifts from other Mediterranean countries trying to remove that shield as quickly as possible? The UN has stated that the Gazan civilians have the right to leave the area and it is the neighboring countries obligation to take them in.

    What I cannot accept about the Israelis is their claim that the Palestinians are so dangerous to them. If they really were, why were so many hundreds of thousands of settlers so eager to rush in to confiscated Palestinian territory to construct settlements? Israel is using civilians as military outposts if you accept their point of view. You could use the argument that Israel is also using civilians to further military aims itself.

    One more comment- For the Israelis to condemn a Catholic Cardinal as a holocaust denier because he called Gaza a concentration camp – isn't it? is only doing what so many people really suspect about "Shoa Business"; that the Holocaust is being pushed as a trumping argument against any criticism of Israeli behavior. The Israelis are doing to the Gaza Strip what the Nazis did to the Warsaw Ghetto. Isn't there an adage – "you become what you hate"

  18. Some thoughts:

    1) The so-called rockets are little more than lethal versions of the rockets we used to play with as kids. They look like toys. True, Hamas should not target civilians. There is a remote chance someone will get hurt or killed.

    2) Israel's response is, as usual, disproportionate.

    3) The Palestinians' plight seems similar to the American Indians in the 19th century. We kept forcing them into smaller pockets of their land because we demanded (stole) the rest of their land for our use. We basically wiped out the Indians for own gain, much as the Israelies are doing to the Palestinians.

    4) Someone needs to take both sides' weapons away and put them on equal footing. It will be bloody, but they could find peace as a united, secular Palestinian-Israeli nation. Sounds like something Captain Kirk would do.

  19. ll the remarks are very smart, you only forget one crucial element: the Hamas leaders don’t give a damn about their people, they use them as human shields! where are the fanatic leaders that want to die as “shahids” but do not leave the bunkers? why every house that the Israeli soldiers reach if full of weapons and explosives, trap puppets and the like? Of course I do not say that this situation was created motu propio by the civilians, THEY ARE THE VICTIMS OF THER OWN LEADERS WHO USE THEM CYNICALLY , the more Palestinian civilian casualties THE BETTER FOR THEIR LEADERS , they can go on playing the underdog and direct the pointing finger towards Israel. The “truce” with Hamas was the saddest farce ever, they went on shelling Israeli cities and even now, that a 3 hour truce was established for humanitarian purposes, THEY broke it and fired rockets into Israel.

    It is time to stop the double standard towards Israel, it smells of something beyond purity of ideology/purpose/action. HAMAS HAS REPEATEDLY SAID THAT IT DOES NOT RECOGNIZE THE RIGHT OF ISRAEL TO EXIST, HAS MASSIVELY SHELLED CIVILIANS, HAS CREATED A WELL ARMED ARMY WITH IRANIAN HELP AND YET, ONLY ISRAEL IS TO BLAME…SURREALISTIC! and if it would not be so tragic and crucially vital , it would be one of the best jokes ever…

    IT IS NOT ISRAEL THE ONE THA CREATED “UNLIVABLE CONDITIONS” IN GAZA , BUT THE HAMAS LEADERS WHO WORK MORE FOR THE DEATH OF ISRAELIS THAN FOR THE LIVES OF THEIR PEOPLE.

  20. I don’t understand the term, “disproportionate response.” I read it a lot but never have seen what anyone considers a proportionate response. Exactly what would be appropriate for Israel to do given that Hamas will not stop the rocket barrage? I’ve read a fair amount of the fact that Israel does this in response to the continuing Hamas rocket attack but where has anyone suggested that Hamas stop this “disproportionate rocket barrage”?

  21. I strongly agree with AL who thinks the Hamas rockets are not the real reason Israel has so brutally attacked the Gaza strip. I think it is because Hamas – (a”terrorist” organization – who’s calling the kettle red here?) was actually successfully managing to keep the strip together. And they were honest whereas Fatah has a reputation for political corruption. The Israeli’s were needlessly brutal to Lebanon in ’06 and seemed to strike targets that were far removed from military purposes. They seemed to want to destroy a commercial rival in that they were targeting factories and the highway system.

    Israel probably looses more lives to traffic accidents than Hamas rockets ever took. Those rockets were also notoriously inaccurate or purposely sent for their nuisance value. It seems more like a psychological ploy than a physical threat. The people of the southern Israeli towns were not so upset by them that they considered evacuation those towns. The fact that now that the area is in open war and the rockets are getting more accurate and have a longer range seems to prove that point.

    If the claim the Israelis make that Hamas is shielding itself with the civilian population why aren’t both Egypt and Israel and for that matter boatlifts from other Mediterranean countries trying to remove that shield as quickly as possible? The UN has stated that the Gazan civilians have the right to leave the area and it is the neighboring countries obligation to take them in.

    What I cannot accept about the Israelis is their claim that the Palestinians are so dangerous to them. If they really were, why were so many hundreds of thousands of settlers so eager to rush in to confiscated Palestinian territory to construct settlements? Israel is using civilians as military outposts if you accept their point of view. You could use the argument that Israel is also using civilians to further military aims itself.

    One more comment- For the Israelis to condemn a Catholic Cardinal as a holocaust denier because he called Gaza a concentration camp – isn’t it? is only doing what so many people really suspect about “Shoa Business”; that the Holocaust is being pushed as a trumping argument against any criticism of Israeli behavior. The Israelis are doing to the Gaza Strip what the Nazis did to the Warsaw Ghetto. Isn’t there an adage – “you become what you hate”

  22. Some thoughts:

    1) The so-called rockets are little more than lethal versions of the rockets we used to play with as kids. They look like toys. True, Hamas should not target civilians. There is a remote chance someone will get hurt or killed.

    2) Israel’s response is, as usual, disproportionate.

    3) The Palestinians’ plight seems similar to the American Indians in the 19th century. We kept forcing them into smaller pockets of their land because we demanded (stole) the rest of their land for our use. We basically wiped out the Indians for own gain, much as the Israelies are doing to the Palestinians.

    4) Someone needs to take both sides’ weapons away and put them on equal footing. It will be bloody, but they could find peace as a united, secular Palestinian-Israeli nation. Sounds like something Captain Kirk would do.

  23. I do not understand why the American people do not ask that our government demand an emergency meeting of the UN in order to get UN Peacekeeping troops to halt the violence between the Palestinians and Israeli army. Troops should be stationed along the border to see that no Israeli troops be allowed to enter Palestinian land. Troops should seek out the sites which are launching Hamas rockets and end that activity.
    Finally, the U.S. Secretary of State should bring all parties to the table to forge a just and lasting peace. The U.S. should END all financial and military aid to Israel until it agrees to participate in the process.

    Why is the UN sitting on the sidelines?? I do not understand why it does not see that it should intervene when genocide is being committed in Gaza and Darfur? It should investigate its own non-action also in the case of Rawanda.

  24. I do not understand why the American people do not ask that our government demand an emergency meeting of the UN in order to get UN Peacekeeping troops to halt the violence between the Palestinians and Israeli army. Troops should be stationed along the border to see that no Israeli troops be allowed to enter Palestinian land. Troops should seek out the sites which are launching Hamas rockets and end that activity.
    Finally, the U.S. Secretary of State should bring all parties to the table to forge a just and lasting peace. The U.S. should END all financial and military aid to Israel until it agrees to participate in the process.

    Why is the UN sitting on the sidelines?? I do not understand why it does not see that it should intervene when genocide is being committed in Gaza and Darfur? It should investigate its own non-action also in the case of Rawanda.

  25. It is absolutely ridiculous for everyone to critise israel,as iran,hezbollah, etc
    calls for the destruction for israel,99% percent of middleast belongs to the
    arabs and probably 1% of land belongs to israel dont expect the jews to move to the sea it is their historical land including gaza,bethelem,juruselam etc.
    Honestly i feel bad for the people of GAZA but in order to start the peace process the people of palestine need to be realistic for whom they vote for if there is another election. The holocoust is always compared to the plight of
    the palestinians, there is not killing fields in palestine infact there are palestinians who are citizens of israel.The reason why israel defend itself
    in the manner it did in gaza is of self defence in nature.Iran and hezbollah are the biggest culpirits by supplying arms and manipulating palestinians which leads to the suffering of the palestinian people who are used as human shield by hamas.For iran who are persians it is just a proxy game waged against
    America and israel.For those who march around the world do not March on issues you dont understand why not march for rhwanda,Sudan,Congo,
    somalia,zimbabwe etc,millions have perished in those countries.Whether people are ignorant or not but the palestinian cause is a popular conflict unlike those in africa where even UN does not comment much except for donations which mostly comes from AMERICA.For instance one example when TSUNAMI accured in ASIA more then 200,000 people died ,the victims mostly from INDONESIA -the biggest muslim populated country in the world,SAUDI ARABIA was busy collecting donation and handing out the donations to sucide bomber who kill other civilians.There is too many flaws on how UN functions,political ideology,greedy politicians,proxy war waged and religious fanatics who sacrife their own people which nobody can comprehend.It is every person's right to have their own opinion but look at the facts rather then the Rhetoric Propaganda and ifluenced by the victims religous beliefs.

  26. It is absolutely ridiculous for everyone to critise israel,as iran,hezbollah, etc
    calls for the destruction for israel,99% percent of middleast belongs to the
    arabs and probably 1% of land belongs to israel dont expect the jews to move to the sea it is their historical land including gaza,bethelem,juruselam etc.
    Honestly i feel bad for the people of GAZA but in order to start the peace process the people of palestine need to be realistic for whom they vote for if there is another election. The holocoust is always compared to the plight of
    the palestinians, there is not killing fields in palestine infact there are palestinians who are citizens of israel.The reason why israel defend itself
    in the manner it did in gaza is of self defence in nature.Iran and hezbollah are the biggest culpirits by supplying arms and manipulating palestinians which leads to the suffering of the palestinian people who are used as human shield by hamas.For iran who are persians it is just a proxy game waged against
    America and israel.For those who march around the world do not March on issues you dont understand why not march for rhwanda,Sudan,Congo,
    somalia,zimbabwe etc,millions have perished in those countries.Whether people are ignorant or not but the palestinian cause is a popular conflict unlike those in africa where even UN does not comment much except for donations which mostly comes from AMERICA.For instance one example when TSUNAMI accured in ASIA more then 200,000 people died ,the victims mostly from INDONESIA -the biggest muslim populated country in the world,SAUDI ARABIA was busy collecting donation and handing out the donations to sucide bomber who kill other civilians.There is too many flaws on how UN functions,political ideology,greedy politicians,proxy war waged and religious fanatics who sacrife their own people which nobody can comprehend.It is every person’s right to have their own opinion but look at the facts rather then the Rhetoric Propaganda and ifluenced by the victims religous beliefs.