Bookmark this post. Because the next time you read yet another horror story in the AP or Reuters about how the Gazans are starving, here’s proof from the head of the UN Development Program that the UN is lying, and that Gazans are not starving.
Prior to Israel’s complete closing of border crossings on Nov. 4, the tunnels accounted for an estimated 35 per cent of Gaza’s goods. Today they are responsible for a much higher percentage and are a big reason why Gazans aren’t starving.
In fact, coupled with a large surplus of fruit and vegetables intended for markets in Israel, the vast majority of people here aren’t wanting for food.
Reports that as many as 50 per cent of children are suffering from malnutrition are exaggerations, says Khaled Abdel Shaafi, director the United Nations Development Program.
“This is not a humanitarian crisis,” he said. “It’s an economic crisis, a political crisis, but it’s not a humanitarian crisis. People aren’t starving.”
The real problem in Gaza? Shaafi says it’s not a nice place to live. Really. Well, that’s what happens when you elect a terrorist government, fire rockets into Israel, destroy the greenhouses that were left when Israel withdrew in 2005, constantly attack Israeli soldiers and civilians, and utterly refuse to make peace with your neighbors. And I’m pretty sure that the UN charter doesn’t include, “Must supply a nice place to live” as one of its rights.
That doesn’t mean it’s pleasant, he said. “It’s like a prison: You have shelter and food, but it’s not a nice place to live.”
Solution: Stop trying to destroy Israel, and you’ll see how pleasant Gaza can become. The West Bank economy has improved in the past year, though you wouldn’t know it from Abbas’ insistence that all that’s stopping the Palestinians of the West Bank from having successful lives are the checkpoints. (And yes, they’re still trying to smuggle arms and explosives through the checkpoints, as well as throwing molotov cocktails at passing Israelis.)
Remember this post the next time you read about the “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza. There isn’t one.