Friday, February 23, 2018
Elder of Ziyon
A tweet from Amnesty USA's pro-Palestinian account:
Gaza should never be forgotten. Shame on world leaders for allowing this man made horror to continue - the blockade AND the lack of accountability for war crimes committed during the armed conflicts over the years.— AIUSA Israel/OPT/PA (@IOTPA) February 17, 2018
Over the past year, all of the problems in Gaza came from the infighting between the PA and Hamas. And Amnesty knows it. In the "Palestine" section of its latest annual report, it dispassionately mentions some of what has happened in 2017:
The Palestinian government based in Ramallah imposed several punitive measures against Gaza in a bid to pressure the Hamas administration to give up control of Gaza. These measures impeded the civilian population’s access to medical care, essential services including water and electricity, and education. This contributed to violations of the rights to health, an adequate standard of living, and education.
In May, the West Bank authorities informed Israel that they would cover only 70% of the monthly cost of Israeli electricity supplies to Gaza due to Hamas’ failure to reimburse them. As a result, access to electricity in Gaza was reduced from an average of eight hours per day to between two to four hours per day.
According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, in March the West Bank authorities suspended the payments for transfers of people in need of medical treatment outside Gaza, delaying the referrals of some 1,400 patients. NGOs reported that procedural delays resulted in the deaths of several patients, including babies. The UN reported delays in the transfer of essential medicines and medical supplies to hospitals in Gaza, affecting patients’ long-term health.
But when Amnesty's report discusses Israel and Gaza, the language is much stronger in placing blame:
Israel’s illegal air, land and sea blockade of the Gaza Strip entered its 11th year, continuing the long-standing restrictions on the movement of people and goods into and from the area, collectively punishing Gaza’s entire population. Combined with Egypt’s almost total closure of the Rafah border crossing, and the West Bank authorities’ punitive measures, Israel’s blockade triggered a humanitarian crisis with electricity cuts reducing access to electricity from an average of eight hours per day down to as little as two to four hours, affecting clean water and sanitation and diminishing health service access, and rendering Gaza increasingly “unlivable” according to the UN. ... Many patients with life-threatening illnesses were unable to access treatment outside Gaza due to Israeli restrictions and delays by West Bank authorities in processing referrals.
Israel doesn't restrict fuel shipments. The PA does.
Israel doesn't restrict medicines in Gaza. The PA does.
Israel doesn't restrict electricity. The PA does.
Israel doesn't restrict patients getting medical care without specific security reasons. The PA does.
But Amnesty doesn't use any language against the PA that indicates any moral issues with its actions. Only Israel.
Which is what the tweet shows quite convincingly.
Amnesty isn't attacking and singling out Israel out of ignorance. It is doing it out of deep seated hate.
Incidentally, its Israel section of its report is longer than its entry on Syria. Because Amnesty's priorities are quite obvious.
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