Sick patients who have been cooped up inside hospitals with no power and limited medical supplies on the Gaza Strip were relieved upon finding out that the week and a half long Israeli imposed blockade had been lifted.
After 12 days of being denied fuel and gas shipments from other countries in the Middle East and in Europe, the Israeli government has eased their blockade on the Gaza Strip and enabled these imports to reach businesses and residents.
Israel imposed the blockade in response to rockets fired by Hamas on Sderot, Israel, a town less than two miles from Gaza.
“Most Israelis view Hamas (one of Palestine’s two main political groups and leaders of the Islamic Resistance Movement) as a terrorist organization,” said Ken Gilmore, associate professor of political science. “The people of Gaza elected Hamas, thus in the eyes of the Israelis, everyday citizens are just as guilty of these rocket attacks as Hamas.”
While Israelis view Hamas as a terrorist organization, many Palestinians feel that the structural violence imposed on Gaza by the Israeli government is cruel and unwarranted.
“Sadly, unjustifiable sieges, bombings, and killings have become a common practice for the Israeli army,” said senior Yacoub Saad, former resident of Ramallah, Palestine.
The actions of both countries are symptoms of the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict over control of the Gaza Strip.
Rasha Ali, a junior from AbuQuash, Palestine, has done her best to remain objective about the blockade despite the history of the Israel-Palestine conflict.
“Separating my feelings from any political bias, (the blockade) was still a crime against humanity and violates human rights,” Ali said.
The violence that has erupted between Israel and Gaza has affected Egyptian citizens as much as it has affected both Israeli and Palestinian citizens.
Since Gaza shares a border with Egypt, thousands of its residents fiercely trampled over to Cairo to buy food, batteries, and other goods after Islamic militants blew a hole in the border wall.
Palestinian consumer activity in Egypt is problematic for both Egypt and Israel since Egypt is committed to a peace treaty and security operation with Israel.
“Egypt doesn’t want Hamas on its borders any more than Israel does,” Gilmore said. “Shoppers are good, political insurgents are not.”
According to The New York Times, Hamas has been somewhat successful in ITS efforts on the Gaza Strip.
Hamas’ creation of a border crisis after Israel extended its import restrictions to Gaza in another failed effort to stop rocket and mortar fire into Israel, managed to divert criticism of its management of Gaza.
According to foreign policy experts, with Hamas momentarily out of the limelight in regards to this conflict, and Egypt under pressure to secure its borders, chances of Israel’s Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and Palestine President Mahmoud Abbas reaching a peace treaty seem even less likely.
Without any sign of resolution in sight for these rival countries, both Israel and Palestine have other problems on their hands.
First, Israel has been blamed for the border crises that erupted between Gaza and Egypt. This criticism may compromise Olmert’s position and lead to new elections for prime minister to be held as early as spring 2009.
Second, according to The New York Times, the Egyptian government said that it preferred that Mahmoud Abbas take control of the breached border between Gaza and Egypt. Since Hamas took control of Gaza from Abbas and his government in June, there will most likely be resistance on Hamas’ part when Abbas attempts to control the border.
Still, in the midst of these multitudes of conflicts, many Israelis and Palestinians have managed to put their political and religious differences aside and unite for peace.
Eyad Sarraj, founder of the Gaza Community Mental Health Program, told Al-Jazeera news that the death of an Israeli citizen is no better or worse than the death of a Palestinian citizen.
Sarraj said, “Every drop of blood shed in Israel or Palestine is a crime against humanity that has to be prevented.