Gaza Explodes

By Soumaya Ghannoushi, Comment Is Free. Posted January 26, 2008.

Gaza has exploded. After months of crushing siege, thousands marched to the Rafah border and, defying police bullets, batons, dogs, and water canons, tore the fences behind which they have been caged for months, crossing into Egypt out of the Gazan abyss.

Gaza is a big prison. A wall, electric fences and watchtowers manned by hundreds of armed soldiers make escape almost impossible. Israel's much vaunted disengagement is a fallacy. Gaza is still very much occupied. Even before Hamas was elected into power, the Israeli government not only severely restricted entry from the strip into Israel, but also controlled passage through the border crossing into Egypt and refused to allow the Palestinians to open their airport or seaport.

Two months ago, the Annapolis summit was convened in the US to "kick start the peace process" and "lay the foundation for the establishment of a democratic Palestinian state." A week ago, Bush toured the region from Jerusalem to Riyadh and Sharm el Sheikh loaded with smiles, promises of peace and prosperity, and pledges of "staying engaged."

But for Palestinians, life has grown more unbearable since Bush decided to get "engaged." Since Annapolis, the death toll of Palestinians killed by Israelis has soared by 100 percent. The ratio of Palestinians to Israelis killed last year was the most unbalanced ever, at 40:1, up from 30:1 in 2006 and 4:1 from 2000-2005. The total death toll for 2007 stands at 322 Palestinians and eight Israelis. Of the eight, five were soldiers who died while carrying out military operations inside the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. The pretext for these endless killings is the Qassam rockets. But the truth is that the daily incursions, assassinations, and embargo, have proceeded without fail before and after the rockets. The excuses change all the time, but the reality of occupation remains the same.

Since the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, Israel has sealed off all its crossings with Gaza with Washington's full backing. It has also exerted enormous pressure on the Egyptians to close the Rafah border, blocking the only point of passage from the beleaguered strip to the outside world.

Gaza is at Israel's mercy. It depends almost totally on it for electricity and fuel, a result of the 38 years of Israel's direct control over of the Strip. This dependence has grown since June 2006, when Israel bombed Gaza's only power station. This was forced to close on Sunday when Israel blocked fuel shipment to the Strip. And, of course, no electricity does not mean dark candlelit nights only; it means no heating in the cold Gazan winter, and, more crucially, no water, with no fuel to pump, treat, or deliver the vital liquid to homes, schools, medical clinics or hospitals.

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Soumaya Ghannoushi is an academic and freelance writer. She is a researcher at the University of London.