Bowen diary: The days before war

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Another very god read IMO

Bowen diary: The days before war

BBC Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen is writing a diary of the conflict between Hamas and Israel.

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What about the future? "We'd accept a state in the West Bank and Gaza, without recognising Israel."

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The last appointment, a quick one as I had to get back to the Erez crossing before it closed, was with John Ging. He runs the Gaza operations of Unrwa, the UN agency that looks after Palestinian refugees.

John is a dedicated and intense Irishman. He was bleak about the prospects for Gaza, and seething with frustration about Israel's behaviour during the five-month ceasefire. It didn't let Unrwa fill up its warehouses.

"We were not allowed to reconstitute our stocks during the ceasefire... That belies the Israeli argument about security. They didn't allow stocks in when the ceasefire was on."

"The Israelis were fully informed of the situation. For five months we were not allowed to reconstitute our reserves. So when the ceasefire broke down we ran out of food for the 750,000 who depend on us. Access for food and medicine is problematic "
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Read more @ BBC News

Forum

Dawud — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 - 23:05

Excerpt from the above link. (Talking to Hamas political advisor Ahmed Yousef)

Would Israel invade? "We don't care. We have nothing to lose. People are dying already because of a lack of supplies. It's not just military action that kills."

and again:

What sort of ceasefire is it if you're still under siege? "If Israel had good intentions about the ceasefire it would have been serious about easing the tension

The political advisor's view of Israeli military philosophy:

Their generals show toughness by keeping the killing cycle going. The guy with more Palestinian blood on his hands has a better chance to win.

Dawud — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 - 23:10

I think this sums it up well:

(John Ging, the UN guy incharge of Palestinian refugees in Gaza)

"We tell the Palestinians that rockets are illegal and bad. Then we have five months without rockets and things don't improve. It plays into the hands of extremists."