Collective Punishment - No water, no food, no medicines

[Lieblingsessen]

I do not condone whatsoever what the Hamas attacks on civilians in Israel or their ideology

But surely, Israel laying siege to Gaza, preventing innocent civilians from accessing water, food, medicines, electricity for hospital equipment, is not justifiable. To collectively punish civilians who have no control over what Hamas or their government does. This is medieval.

Where is the outcry on the mainstream media about this? Surely it is not being anti-semitic to call out Israel, that retaliation is not unexpected, but collective punishment is horrendous.

Egypt could open the corridor but presumably don’t want to and it isn’t hard to understand why.

@Truthisbetterthanlies its not anti Semitic to suspect orchestration behind war. All war. Any war. The leaders know what they are doing. Hamas didn’t attack thinking there would be zero retaliation, and Israel has said today that Gaza is under siege, it’s not a conspiracy.

Biden didn’t hand 6 billion dollars to a terrorist funding, nuclear arms holding, unstable country out of naïvety either.

you think it is responsible for feeding and medicating the entire population of a place it is at war with

The Gaza Strip is a giant prison camp guarded by Israel. From Wikipedia: 'Gaza has been under a full Israeli-led land, sea and air blockade. This prevents people and goods from freely entering or leaving the territory, leading to the territory being often called an "open-air prison".' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gaza_Strip

I sponsor a child in the Gaza Strip with Action Aid. This is Action Aid's page: https://www.actionaid.org.uk/about-us/where-we-work/occupied-palestinian-territory

Since 2007, Gaza has been living under a blockade, meaning people and goods are prevented from freely entering and leaving Gaza by land, sea, or air. This severely limits basic necessities like food, medicine, and building materials from getting into Gaza.

The blockade makes life near impossible for the 1.8 million people who live there – 1.2 million of whom are refugees. Most people have little or no access to essential resources such as electricity, water, and sewage removal.

Half the population of Gaza is children. Many have experienced conflict for a large part of their life and are battling with severe trauma and emotional distress. And their education has been affected too: over 250 schools were damaged or destroyed in 2014 alone.

The blockade, repeated conflict, and increasing poverty has had a devastating impact on Gaza’s economy. Three out of seven people are unemployed, giving Gaza the highest unemployment rate in the world.

This is the society that Israel is now going to cut off entirely from the outside world. Netanyahu says: 'We will exact a price that will be remembered by them and Israel’s other enemies for decades to come.'

On Monday Israel declared a "complete siege" on the territory - saying electricity, food, fuel and water would be cut off.
According to residents, aid has not reached the enclave since Saturday.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-67051292

There's some truly awful antisemitism in this thread.

We have seen it many times before on MN though, so sadly shouldn't be surprised. It goes with the left-wing territory all too often.

Why aren't people putting pressure on Egypt to open the border and let food/water/medicines in, and women/children out?

Theres an interesting attitude that only the Israeli’s are allowed to feel pain/horror/loss and yet the Palestinians have been suffering this for over 75 years with no realistic way forward or resolution

@TakeMe2Insanity i think that’s a good example of what happens when people are dehumanised though isn’t it? That language of ‘animals’ and ‘exterminated’ has been used on here this evening. Dehumanise the Palestinian people and then no one gives a fuck.

Its so horrific and exactly what happened in the holocaust which makes it even worse.

This.

I'm not sure if Egypt may open a humanitarian corridor. I don't think Israel will allow them to, because it will spoil the effect of their siege. Maybe Egypt will take a chance and do it, but probably have the US breathing down their neck as well if they do. Then, if Gazans leave they will probably never be allowed back if Israel goes in and takes over completely. That seems like what they might want to do.

Israel are not allowing a corridor and have bombed it.

https://www.madamasr.com/en/2023/10/09/news/u/israeli-air-strike-hits-rafah-border-crossing-between-gaza-egypt-closing-only-exit-from-gaza-not-controlled-by-israel/

They want to destroy Gaza. Sadly, many world leaders seem to support their barbaric actions. Utterly vile.

@Haffiana because they don’t want to let terror in or house a population of refugees. Hamas have carried out terror attacks in Egypt - there border is strongly fortified to keep Palestinians out.

Geneva convention

What has happened is horrible, but I blame the international community. Whenever Israel kills kids in a school, or buldozes peoples homes and "settles" , noone criticises.

So resentment builds,
I know there are forces behind all thus but treating the gazans the way Israel has for years has made recruitment so much easier.

No winners here.

@BBno4 Thanks. That answers that question re: Egypt.

There is ZERO anti semitism on this thread. Quite the opposite in face. Stop trying to shut down conversation with that strawman argument.

It is very similar to what the trans activists do when people are trying to discuss the facts around sex and gender.

On here the Palestians have been called animals and they have been blamed for their own suffering and punishment, call that out!

I agree - I completely condemn the attack by Hamas, but I also condemn the response. It’s just horrendous. Those poor people - on both sides.

@AllyCart theres some fucking awful language being used on here tonight describing people as ‘animals who should be exterminated’. Challenging that is not antisemitic.

Yes

I also really hope Egypt can open a humanitarian corridor

Both sides are just disgusting in their behaviour.

The poor children caught in the middle of this.

But no one really gives a shit because they're far more interested in proving their side is the right side and the other side is completely wrong - and they won't hear anything else.

You are being deliberately downright obtuse.

At no point has ANYONE said the Palestinian people are animals or that they should be exterminated, and well you know it.

Are you for real? You know presumably that the Palestinians supported the Nazis and vice-versa? That the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem in the war was in cahoots with Hitler and actual German Nazis were active in the area in the war trying to wipe out Jews in the area alongside the Palestinians?? See The Mufti and the Führer (jewishvirtuallibrary.org)

You also presumably know that the Palestinians regularly teach their children antisemitic propaganda, exactly like the Nazis did - funding is periodically removed by the EU etc as a punishment for this. EU Parliament slams 'hateful' Palestinian textbooks, threatens funding freeze | The Times of Israel

And you must surely have seen the recent uproar after Abbas' recent comments on the Holocaust and his longstanding Holocaust denial? Parliamentary question | Antisemitic remarks by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas | E-002606/2023 | European Parliament (europa.eu)

And that's without considering the fact that Hamas' founding charter explicitly calls for the genocide of all Jews globally? Which they have repeated many times, and attempted to do in true Nazi style, going door to door murdering whole Jewish families? See: This is not about ‘liberating’ Palestine - spiked (spiked-online.com)

I'll leave you with a picture - clearly those who support the Palestinians DO see the parallels with the Nazis, even if you don't. This of a Palestinian supporter with a swastika from a pro-Palestinian rally yesterday, in New York: StopAntisemitism on X: "Times Square - a swastika was spotted on the phone of a pro Palestinian supporter earlier today at a rally supporting Hamas in NYC. As history has shown us, the hatred that engulfs Jews never stops with Jews but rather, engulfs everything in its path. t.co/Aw9aimoPgg" / X (twitter.com)

I agree.

There was the an Israeli politician recently (forgive me I forget the name) giving an interview recently and his rhetoric was that his life was worth more than a Palestinian’s as they were animals.

Controlling crossing points/check points to the extent that people have to wait hours for entry/exit is not normal. Every society that has constructed walls to keep a population in has had them broken down. Similarly societies that practiced apartheid have had it broken so why construct it now?