New York Times's Fairy Tale About Gaza
By Shaik Zakeer Hussain
01 July, 2011
Countercurrents.org
Instead of telling the truth about the situation in the Gaza strip, New York Times' Ethan Bronner has brewed a fairy tale that only exists in his comatose world.
In my earlier blog post I had written how Health conditions in Gaza has deteriorated , and had reminded how with the control of medicine and food in the hands of the Israelis, people in the Gaza strip find themselves squeezed without relief.
Eva Bartlett who recently visited Gaza writes about the conditions there:
The water is still contaminated from untreated sewage pumped into the sea for want of treatment facilities. By World Health Organization standards, roughly 95 per cent of Gaza's water is not safe to drink.
Diesel-fueled generators sputter into action, polluting the air and silence, when the power cuts out, day or night. Unemployment has reached 45 per cent, one of the highest rates in the world. Fishermen are still shot at, shelled and arrested by the Israeli navy inside Palestine's waters – even as close as three miles from the coast. And farmers continue to be pushed off their land near the border by Israeli shootings and shelling.
International Investigations, like the one conducted by the Norwegian Government shows that:
”The Gaza Strip still has a persistent drug shortage, despite some recent Israeli and Egyptian talks about easing the strict blockade that has left this crowded enclave isolated since July, 2007. A political rift between the Hamas-run Government of Gaza and Fatah officials in the West Bank hinders communication and coordination between the Palestinian health ministries—adding to the hardships already faced by patients in Gaza.”
It also added that Norwegian physicians Tone Hegna and Åse Vikanes followed the delivery of 200 pallets of medical supplies from Ramallah to Gaza in early February 2011. They confirmed that many drugs and basic disposables remain in short supply, and that a bad situation is made worse by inadequate storage, transport and incineration facilities.
But Bronner seems to be oblivious of these facts, and draws attention of his readers to the make believe world of “Hundreds of BMWs, pickup trucks and other vehicles have arrived in recent months from Libya, driven through Egypt and sold via the unmonitored tunnels.” He goes on that, “It turns out that unlike three or four years ago, when people speak about shortage, they don't mean herbs, but rather four-wheel vehicles – one of the few items Israel does not allow into the Strip.”
This Article comes at a time, when Freedom Flotilla 2, is about to reach Gaza in a few days, Ethan Bronner and the agents of Israel at New York Times want to draw a folly impression that the situation in Gaza is absolutely fine, and there is no necessity of any Humanitarian aid for the besieged population.
Israel with the help of people like Ethan Bronner, wants to tell the world that any attempt to help the Palestinians will lead to provocation and impeachment of Israel's borders, and in such a case, Israel will have justifiable reasons to use any kind of force to safeguard its safety and security.
Shaik Zakeer Hussain ia an Independent Writer and Blogger based in India.
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