Open the gates immediately

[bemildred]

Many Israelis are watching the television news these days with feelings of powerlessness and shame. They see hundreds of haunted and frightened women and children crowding into the corridor of the Erez crossing and asking to be allowed to flee Gaza through Israel to the West Bank in order to save their lives.

But the defense establishment sees something else: It sees wanted terrorists about to blow themselves up and Iranian agents. The defense establishment apparently has its own vision, which does not let emotional or humanitarian considerations confuse it or cause it to change its rigidly made-up mind.

The pictures at the Erez crossing remind any person who still tries not to forget harsh scenes of locked, sealed gates from the previous century.

It is also difficult not to recall the embarrassing scenes that accompanied the Israel Defense Forces' withdrawal from southern Lebanon: the South Lebanon Army refugees waiting by the fence, pushed, crushed and wailing, until finally, some were shoved inside, but many others were left behind, abandoned to work things out with the new lords of the south.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/872876.html

[bemildred]

1. Hundreds of tons of fruit grown for Gaza destroyed

Fruit growers destroyed 120 tons of bananas and 40 tons of apricots earmarked for sale in the Gaza Strip, as the border crossings remained closed.

Another 93 large trucks filled with plums, apricots and bananas turned back to Israel after waiting unsuccessfully for the crossings to open. This produce was sold in Israel and the West Bank, though some had to be destroyed.

The head of the Israel Fruit Growers association, Ilan Eshel, said the closure of Gaza to Israeli fruit has led to a severe drop in prices within Israel. Growers have suffered NIS 20 million in direct damages so far, said Eshel, and this amount is growing daily by millions.

Eshel called on the cabinet to allow fruits and vegetables, like fuel, water and electricity, to enter Gaza. Otherwise, without a quick solution, fruit growers are likely to collapse financially, he said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/872884.html

[Eugene]

2. Scared Gazans clamoring to enter Israel

Source: Associated Press

Scared Gazans clamoring to enter Israel

By SARAH EL DEEB, Associated Press Writer
Tue Jun 19, 7:33 PM ET

EREZ CROSSING, Gaza Strip - Trapped by Israeli tanks and
Hamas gunmen, hundreds of terrified Palestinians holed up
in a stench-filled concrete tunnel at a border crossing
Tuesday, desperate to flee the Islamic militants now ruling
the Gaza Strip.

Israel took in two people hit by Hamas gunfire, 24 hours
after they were wounded in an assault on the tunnel, but
officials remained steadfast in rejecting pleas to throw
open the border. Three people wounded in the Gaza fighting
last week also were allowed into Israel.

Israeli officials permitted a food shipment into Gaza for the
first time since Hamas seized control in five days of fighting
with the Fatah movement of Palestinian President Mahmoud
Abbas. That eased concerns about a humanitarian crisis in
the impoverished coastal territory.

The crowd at the Erez crossing included dozens of Fatah
fighters, who Israeli officials feared could destabilize the
West Bank, which is separated from Gaza by about 30
miles of Israeli territory. Officials said most of those
seeking to cross were not in danger.

As the standoff stretched on, the scene inside the 900-
foot-long tunnel grew increasingly desperate.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070619/ap_on_re_mi_ea/israel_palestinians

[bemildred]

3. Israel opens Erez Crossing for foreigners, sick Palestinians

Israel on Wednesday opened its border with the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, allowing passage for foreigners trapped in coastal territory and eight Palestinians needing medical treatment.

The eight included a 40-year-old woman in serious condition, a youth with leukemia, a nine-year-old girl who had been shot and two men with chronic illnesses. Several of those needing immediate medical attention were taken to Ichilov Hospital in Tel Aviv.

Defense Minister Ehud Barak on Wednesday ordered the Israel Defense Forces to allow Palestinians in need of urgent treatment to leave Gaza in order to receive the necessary medical attention.

Saeb Erekat, a confidant of Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas of Fatah, said Israel had agreed to transfer 55 people in critical condition to its hospitals. There was no confirmation from Israeli authorities on this number.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/873064.html

[bemildred]

4. Ten trucks of Jordan-provided foodstuffs enter Gaza through Israel

Ten truckloads of full of basic foodstuffs, provided by King Abdullah II of Jordan, entered the Gaza Strip on Thursday through the Kerem Shalom crossing.

The shipment, which was coordinated with the Israel Defense Forces, included 30 tons of margarine, 33 tons of lentils, 34 tons of noodles, 20 tons of beans, and 15 tons of garbanzo beans.

The IDF said over 400 tons of food and 200,000 liters of fuel were brought into the Gaza Strip from Israel on Thursday. In addition, the IDF said, eight Palestinians in need of medical treatment were transferred to hospitals in Israel, and some 100 dual citizens were evacuated from the Strip.

According to a security source, despite warnings of starvation among the Palestinian population, a shortage of foodstuffs is not expected in the near future, due to the fact that until Hamas' takeover large quantities of food were brought into the Strip through the Karni crossing.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/873731.html

[AviBaruch]

5. It's hard to blame people for such worries

and you have to recognize they are completely valid.

[rayofreason]

6. How many are counting the hours...

...before Hamas slips a suicide bomber into Israel among these poor people? But then Hamas does not give a shit about the Palestinian people as long as it can kill more Jews.

Israel should try to alleviate the situation in Gaza as much as possible, but the first duty of government is to secure the safety of its citizens.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[sellitman]

8. Well said.

Many here unfortunately don't give a hoot about the survival of Israel though. They are more worried their mad bombers won't have access to innocent Israeli civilians to blow up.

[leftynyc]

9. Some people will never

admit to the reality of those words.

[ohio2007]

10. reality rears its ugly head

an open door with a lack of security is an opportunity to strike
eom.