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Thursday, June 10, 2010

Which Gazans get first choice on aid? One guess.

The JC publishes an article by a Gazan journalist about what life is like for him in Gaza, with sporadic electricity and unsafe tap water, among other problems.

Of course, no one is arguing that Gaza is a paradise, just that the inability for journalists to to surf the web more than eight hours a day is hardly a humanitarian crisis.

Most interesting was this one section:

I drive to work in my used car. I have a Fiat from 1984, which cost me $5,000, and not a day goes by without a visit to the mechanic. But although my car is so old, every day people stop me to ask whether I am selling. For the past three years, importing cars has been forbidden. The only exception is the cars brought into Gaza by George Galloway, which are used by members of the Hamas government.
Did Galloway's Viva Palestina organization tell their volunteers that the hundreds of vehicles they were bringing to Gaza were going straight to Hamas?

Of course not:

What are we taking with us into Gaza?

VEHICLES:
Vehicles are in great demand in Gaza after the devastating attack that destroyed machinery, ambulances, fire engines and other such civil service vehicles. The crippling siege does not allow for the entry of materials and equipment that could potentially repair these vehicles. In addition, the staggering number of casualties created an overwhelming need for vehicles to transport injured and maimed civilians to and from medical treatment.
So while Viva Palestina said that these vehicles would be used for medical and other critical needs, it appears from the JC article that Hamas members are enjoying the privileges of these cars for their own personal use.