This was posted elsewhere less than 24 hours before the wall between Gaza and Egypt was destroyed. It's more applicable than ever.
One hour before it's dark
Israeli military establishment decided to stop power supply and fuel to Gaza. Since Thursday, food and huminitarian aid are not allowed in. Very soon life will come to a standstill. Water will not be pumped for a even drink. My step son is on ventilator for asthma every night. What will happen to him when our generator is not running any more? What will happen to hospitals, vaccines and blood banks? What will happen to patients on dialysis machines, and to babies in incubators?
Before it is dark and when there is no communication with the world, I want to tell you that current Israeli policy of squeezing on has the aim of pushing Egypt to open its borders with Gaza and bring the situation to prior 1967. Israel will then close its borders with Gaza, separates the Strip from the West bank and destroys the peace proposals of one state or two states. In short Israel is fulfilling the Sharon unilateral withdrawal strategy. If Egypt fails to open its borders with Gaza, Israel will push us through Rafah towards the Sinai desert. Wait for the exodus.
Eyad El Sarraj
Medical Director
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
Dr. Sarraj has unlocked Israel's agenda. It is not to stop the Qassam rockets. If Israel were serious about that, it would have agreed to the ceasefire that Hamas has always offered. Rather, it is to rid itself once and for all of the Palestinians in Gaza. The preferred method would be, as he says, to push them through Rafah towards the Sinai desert.
However, an acceptable alternative has always been to place them under a repressive quisling regime that could take responsibility for ending Palestinian resistance. Having failed at installing the Fayyad administration in Gaza, Israel sees Egypt as inheritor of the mantle. The Jan. 22 Jerusalem Post quotes a senior Israeli defense official as saying, "We will not allow a humanitarian crisis to develop [in Gaza]. In the meantime, if the Palestinians want food or medicine, they can turn to Egypt and start to take care of themselves."
Despite its prowess at repression, Egypt will not accept this role willingly. There is near universal sympathy for Palestinians in Egypt, and becoming their policeman will make Egypt's internal politics even more volatile than it is now. Furthermore, it is bound to strain relations with Israel, whenever Egypt fails to restrain Palestinians to Israeli satisfaction. Egypt's decision to allow thousands of stranded Palestinian pilgrims through the Rafah crossing without Israeli concurrence was a taste of the potential disputes that could arise.
However, Egypt may find itself with few choices, given the pressures to provide Gaza with basic humanitarian needs that Israel is withholding. In that case, Egypt will find itself as the executor of the principle that underlies all Israeli policy from immigration, land use, building permits and humanitarian measures:
Reduce Palestinian existence to the minimum possible in areas coveted by Israel.
There is no better definition of genocide.
Paul Larudee