Check your facts and sources before wading in on Gaza
I have never been to Gaza. Few non-gaza residents have been able to enter — except armed Israeli military. The land border is impenetrable and the illegal sea blockade prevents anyone, including aid or medical supplies, from entering. Nor can Gaza residents escape – even to obtain vital medical treatment (http://mondoweiss. net/2018/05/israeli-woundedpalestinians/). I suspect Bernice Abbey of Carbonear has no first-hand experience on which to base her truly extraordinary attack on Gwynne Dyer’s column. (http://www.thetelegram. com/opinion/gwynne-dyerboth-sides-capitalize-on-palestinian-despair-211438/).
In fact, there has been worldwide concern expressed in numerous mainstream media and political reports. The outrage at the recent violent events is percolating to the top levels of international politics. Even leaders such as Justin Trudeau — who has been ambivalent, if not shifty — are expressing support for a UN inquiry into the violence in Gaza. The U.S. found itself in a minority of one in that vote, during which Nikki Haley (The U.S. ambassador to the UN) continued to use aggressive language in pursuit of the most hard-line positions. The U.S. also found itself in the embarrassing position of being the only Security Council member to vote against a resolution calling for the withdrawal of Donald Trump’s unilateral and provocative recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel.
Like Bernice, I have found that I am overwhelmed with the amount of material that is coming out of Gaza, and especially about conflict on the “border” between Gaza and Israel. It is, therefore, incumbent on us as responsible citizens to check both our facts and our sources before bursting into print. In her long paean of rage Bernice takes for granted that what is happening around the Gaza strip is conflict between two militarily equal foes rather than an outpouring of frustration and pain of a people long denied the essentials of life.
The Great March of Return marks 70 years since 711,000 Palestinians (of a total of 900,000) were forcibly uprooted from their homes and farms to make way for the new State of Israel. That is nearly twice the entire population of Newfoundland and Labrador.
While some remained on their remnants of land in Gaza and the West Bank, the vast majority fled in every direction. They now constitute the largest refugee population in the world, far outnumbering the desperate hordes seeking shelter on the borders of Somalia.
While much media reports on Gaza, including those read or watched by Bernice and others, can be questioned, it is harder to doubt the testimony of neutral observers such as Medicins Sans Frontiers, the Red Cross/ Crescent and the United Nations. One of those valuable sources is the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (Occupied Palestinian Territory, https://www.ochaopt.org/location/gaza-strip). This entity provides frequent and accurate data and evaluations of the situation on the ground. Bernice would be well advised to consult these kinds of reputable sources before sounding off so ignorantly.
It is this situation, and not the machinations of Hamas, that has led to the outbursts of frustration and rage that the world’s media has witnessed. The victims of the recent, and continuing, violence are, overwhelmingly, unarmed Palestinian protesters. One does not have to take sides to insist on the rights of peaceful political demonstration. It is a fundamental human right and one that is practised in all rightful democratic states. Even when demonstrations turn violent — as they sometimes do, even in Canada, it is incumbent on the local forces of law and order to act with restraint and a scrupulous attention to using the least amount of force. This was clearly not done during the recent protests in Gaza. Protestors armed with stones were met with deadly force and live ammunition.
I would ask Bernice Abbey, or whoever is writing in her name, to consider these matters carefully, do her research, and wonder, if this was all happening on the Bonavista Peninsula, whether she would so cavalierly dismiss the ongoing agony of the Palestinian population.