The Real “Siege” of the Gaza Strip (Hint: NOT by Israel!)

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, January 2009. (Source: International Transport Workers' Federation)

The Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza, January 2009. (Source: International Transport Workers’ Federation)

Once again Khaled Abu Toameh has the courage and wits to expose the world to facts, from the other side of the fence. Khaled Abu Toameh is an award winning journalist who also happens to be an Arab Muslim.

In this latest article he writes: “Recent calls for lifting the “siege” on the Gaza Strip have ignored that Hamas’s main demand, even more than for an airport or seaport, is that Egypt reopen the Rafah border crossing, the Palestinians’ only gateway to the Arab world.

You see, Gaza may indeed by under siege, but it is not by Israel. It is from the other side, by their own brothers and neighbors – Egypt. And the Egyptians have good reasons for keeping it that way.  Another quote from the article: “Egypt’s Rafah terminal with Gaza, however, has been closed most of the time since Hamas seized control over the Gaza Strip in July 2007, while border crossings with Israel, such as Kerem Shalom and Erez, have remained open.”

So next time you identify with the poor “besieged” Gazans, take a map first, before you blame Israel.

For the full article by Khaled Abu Toameh and the facts (as in numbers and dates) – read Abu Toameh’s full article: The Real “Siege” of the Gaza Strip