Israel Matzav

UNRWA suspends aid to Gaza after Hamas steals it again

Shavua tov - a good week to everyone.

Hamas stole another 200 tons of aid supplies on Thursday night, and as a result, UNRWA announced that it is suspending aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip until further notice.

The supplies confiscated included flour and other basic commodities.

The transfer of 40 truckloads of humanitarian supplies - some 800 tons - planned for Sunday has already been canceled.

But unfortunately, I'm afraid that the Israeli reaction to the suspension constitutes wishful thinking.

Officials in Jerusalem said the announcement by UNRWA constituted a UN approval and confirmation of Israel's position, that Hamas is using the Palestinian population in gaza "cruelly and cynically" and is solely responsible for hardship there.

Welfare and Social Services Minister Isaac Herzog, who was appointed by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the end of Operation Cast Lead to coordinate Israel's humanitarian effort in Gaza, told Israel Radio that theft of humanitarian aid exposes the true face of Hamas and of its supporters in Iran.

It was the second time this week that Hamas stole UN supplies transferred to the Gaza Strip for impoverished Palestinians.

Admittedly, the aid suspension and the announcement that the UN will now 'investigate' whether Hamas was using the civilians population as 'human shields' are both steps forward, but they hardly show any acceptance by the UN of Israel's narrative of how Hamas is controlling its own civilians.

“It is still very difficult for us to say that it was actually happening and we still need to conduct a full investigation into what exactly took place... but we are not denying that it happened; it is absolutely possible that Hamas was using its civilians as human shields,” [UN Special Representative for Children Radhika Coomaraswamy]said.

Maybe she hasn't seen the video yet?

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:05 PM