Drumbeats of War - Gaza Blockade Dismantled from Within
In just a few hours, Wednesday Israel time, a new plan to change the Gaza blockade, hammered out between Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and Tony Blair, the West’s ‘envoy to the Middle East’, should come before the Israeli cabinet of ministers for approval. This is reported in main stream Israeli media and worldwide, so it has a high likelihood of actually happening.
What is not so clear is whether the cabinet will approve the measures set before it, which essentially puts the examination of goods coming into Gaza in international hands. The terms are not crystal clear. Apparently, ships can be inspected by… someone… either on the high seas or at other ports. The inspectors are said to be ‘from the European Union’ and/or the Palestinian Authority.
Shin Bet (Israeli internal security; roughly like our FBI) chief Yuval Diskin went ballistic during a session of the Knesset (Israeli congress) Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee. He stated clearly that if foreign monitors were put in charge of Israel’s security… there would no longer be any security.
I’m not a fan of the Gaza blockade. It is inhumane, even if it is legal, which I doubt.
But I have to say that the proposal on the table is very dangerous to Israel. It would basically give those who hate Israel a tremendous opportunity to bring in vast amounts of war material.
Again… is the Israeli government just letting pretty much anything happen, because they are planning something that will render the current situation moot? Or are they insanely frightened (with good reason) and running around the room with their arms up going “eee! eee! eee!”?
Surely, they are between a rock and a hard place, with few good options.
It may be instructive to watch what Defense Minister Barak does during the cabinet meeting. He’s the one who groveled to the US to get the bunker busters shipped to Israel. If he just quietly sits there, that may speak louder than words.
