...in Egypt.

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5imkZbrSo-zjR60jNUq5NlGCGi4vwD8UHMN880

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip (AP) — A little travel has gone a long way toward changing perceptions in Gaza.

After excursions to Egypt across a border breached by Hamas militants, some Palestinians pepper their local Arabic dialect with Egyptian expressions while others say they are shocked by the poverty there.

Quite an eye-opening article.

Two things struck me from this article.....

The first was that no one rioted when the reporter wrote Mohammed was a truck driver....

And the other was that the "occupation" of Gaza seems to have improved the standard of living there, as opposed to Egypt.

And the other was that the "occupation" of Gaza seems to have improved the standard of living there, as opposed to Egypt.
What was the standard of living in Gaza prior to the occupation -- adjusting for the difference in time periods? "Less than $2 a day" isn't a standard of living to celebrate, really. There's also no indication from the article that those making the trip to Egypt and are drawing comparisons of poverty are among the <$2/day Gazans. Examples given are Jaradeh, who owns a furniture store, and Muammar, who could afford cancer treatment. Also, the article notes the spending of Gazans in Egypt, which probably isn't from the poverty-stricken. On the plus side, that spending will no doubt help infuse cash into the poor economies visited.

What stood out to me was Muammar was "fresh off a round of cancer treatment." I wonder about the nature of the treatment, whether it was covered personally, by the government (and which governing body). or some kind of insurance system.

It is sad that people who border Egypt feel cultured having picked up Egyptian slang. And what is even more sad then that, is that there are people that think a furniture shop owner represents even 1/10th of those living in Gaza.

Regardless of what some of the richest Gazan's may have noticed in Egypt, the fact remains that people in Egypt can come and go as they please, and people in Gaza are in a perpetual prison, walled off from the world, and solely dependent on their prison guards for power, water, and food.

http://www.thepeoplesvoice.org/cgi-bin/blogs/media/landloss.gif

Let's keep the "welcome back" replies to a minimum of 0 please. =)

Let's keep the "welcome back" replies to a minimum of 0 please. =)

FYI i meant I'm out of that thread :)

Thats an interesting map really shows how bad the Palestinians got the shaft in the whole deal and that thier anger is justified. thier reactions and actions in the face of that anger are however not.

Thats an interesting map really shows how bad the Palestinians got the shaft in the whole deal and that thier anger is justified. thier reactions and actions in the face of that anger are however not.

Maybe if we send Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton over there they could protest the right way :)

I'm sure the Palestianians would be thrilled with that, then on day 2 they'd go WTF? and shoot them.

Ya know, it would be kind of hard for Palestinians to attack Israel if there weren't any in Israel....
Perhaps the results of that map are the rewards of not cooperating?

Just a thought.

Ya know, it would be kind of hard for Palestinians to attack Israel if there weren't any in Israel....
Perhaps the results of that map are the rewards of not cooperating?

Just a thought.

What is there to cooperate about? The world gave them the shaft, took their land and gave it to someone else. The UN gave the land to Israel and everyone is supposed to accept that, yet Israel doesn't even have to listen to the UN when they bring up resolution after resolution condemning their actions.

No my friends(John McCain Moment) The Palestinians got the shaft, and thats why/when they started attacking Israel.

Gaza protesters form human chain

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44450000/jpg/_44450179_women2_203ap.jpg
Schools across the Gaza Strip have given pupils the day off
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/video_text.gifProtests in Gaza (http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7260000/newsid_7263400?redirect=7263454.stm&news=1&bbwm=1&nbwm=1&nbram=1&bbram=1&asb=1)

Thousands of Palestinians have formed a "human chain" in Gaza in protest at Israel's blockade of the territory. Organisers had hoped up to 50,000 people would make a 40km (25-mile) chain from Rafah to Beit Hanoun, but turnout was well below expectations.

The Israeli army said it had detained about 50 people after a group of youths approached the Erez crossing point and began throwing stones.

Israel tightened the blockade when Hamas seized control of Gaza in June.

Thousands of women and children from all around the Gaza Strip travelled to the main north-south road for Monday's peaceful demonstration.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44450000/jpg/_44450220_babybottle_203bgetty.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif This is a peaceful and civilised act to let the people express their rejection of the siege and of collective punishment http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif


Jamal Khudari,
Popular Anti-Siege Committee

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif

Gazans on the human chain (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7263142.stm)



Schools were closed for the day, and thousands of pupils were taken in buses to participate. Many could be seen with banners stating: "The siege of Gaza will only strengthen us" and "The world has condemned Gaza to death".

The protest's organisers, the pro-Hamas Popular Anti-Siege Committee, had planned to place a person every metre along the 40km-long road from the Rafah crossing on the southern border to the Erez crossing near the northern town of Beit Hanoun.

But with heavy rain in parts of the Strip, reports say only around 5,000 took part.

"This is a peaceful and civilised act to let the people express their rejection of the siege and of collective punishment," the group's leader, Jamal al-Khudari said.

"We are raising a cry to the world for it to act."

'Everything necessary'

The Israeli authorities had feared a repetition of scenes last month when Palestinian militants demolished the fence separating Gaza from Egypt in several places, allowing hundreds of thousands of people to cross the border and obtain much-needed supplies.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44450000/gif/_44450100_gaza_karni_crossing_map203.gif
Organisers hoped the chain would stretch along the border
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif

Crisis key to Gaza future (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7210024.stm)
Israel torn over Gaza role (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7206881.stm)

Earlier, a joint statement by Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defence Minister Ehud Barak had said Israel "would ensure the defence of its territory and prevent any violation of its sovereign borders".

An Israeli military spokesman, Col Zeev Sharoni, had said the army would "do everything necessary to prevent people from crossing into Israeli territory".

As the protest began to break up in the early afternoon, a group of youths approached the Erez crossing and started throwing stones and burning tyres, prompting the arrests.

Israeli soldiers at the checkpoint are said to have fired into the air to deter the stone-throwers.

BBC Arab affairs analyst Magdi Abdelhadi says the Palestinians in Gaza appear to have realised that mass action is their best chance of getting the attention of the world and generating more pressure on Israel to ease the blockade.

With Israel refusing, and Hamas and Fatah locked in a power struggle, they want to send a clear message to the outside world that ordinary civilians are paying the price, he says.

Rocket attacks

In a separate incident, an Israeli child was injured by a rocket fired from Gaza by militants.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44450000/jpg/_44450173_burntyres_203getty.jpg Some youths threw stones and burned tyres

Israel says the siege, which has prevented the flow of everything but essential humanitarian supplies, is in response to such attacks.

The blockade of Gaza was imposed after Hamas routed Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas last June and seized control of the Gaza Strip.

On Sunday, two Hamas fighters were killed in Israeli airstrikes near the border in Khan Younis, while another died in northern Gaza, the group said.

Israeli forces also detained 40 Palestinians and said they had discovered five smuggling tunnels along the territory's frontier.


Gazans discuss human chain protest

Three Palestinians discuss their involvement in the "human chain" demonstration against the Israeli blockade of Gaza and how the siege is affecting them.

RAMY ABDU, 29, GAZA CITY
Ramy is a spokesman for the Popular Committee Against the Siege, which organised the human chain in Gaza.

http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44449000/jpg/_44449767_ramyy203.jpg Ramy says the action highlighted humanitarian concerns



http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/66a.gif Our human chain stretched from Beit Hanoun in the north of Gaza down to Rafa in the south. There was wide participation - thousands of people turned up.

We urge the international community to put more pressure on the Israelis to end the siege of Gaza.

Life here is getting worse. People are suffering and we are asking Israel and the international community not to push us to breaking point.

If the Israelis are really so afraid, why are they pushing us into a worse place? Let the medicine and the food into Gaza.

We want people to take part in our actions and to do it in a civilised, peaceful way. If they stay at home, no-one will see them.

We are an independent committee, we did not organise this with Hamas.

Of course, Hamas would be one of the beneficiaries of the lifting of the siege - and they were among the many people in the chain. We welcomed them and everyone else.

The siege does not target specific people, everyone suffers.

If you jail a prisoner you at least give him food. We are not talking about the politics of it all, just the violation of our basic humanitarian needs.

And if people outside keep silent about it, they are taking part in it too. http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/99a.gif




SAMEH HABEED, 22, GAZA CITY
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/66a.gif I joined the chain for about 15 minutes. I work full time so could not stay longer. It was peaceful and there was no violence.



http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44450000/jpg/_44450071_samehhabeed203.jpg
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/start_quote_rb.gif I got a scholarship to study in Italy last year, but I couldn't leave because the borders were closed http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/end_quote_rb.gif




It was very crowded and there were lots of journalists and film crews too.

Groups of children were hurrying with their teachers to head north, to start the chain in Beit Hanoun.

People are very angry about the siege and how it's affecting us.

I saw people from Fatah, from Hamas, from the Popular Front, people forgot their different groups for a time.

The organisers are not hardline Hamas - they talk to Israeli groups and media.

The siege has affected me enormously. I got a scholarship to study in Italy last year, but I couldn't leave because the borders were closed.

I now have an invitation to represent Palestine in Canada later this year, at a forum for young journalists in Quebec.

I have to go to Egypt for my interview, but I'm worried I will lose it, as I lost my chance in Italy. http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/99a.gif




IBTASAM, GAZA CITY
http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/66a.gif I didn't go to the demonstration. I cannot afford to be political, because my work [in a multinational NGO] means I must be impartial.

The people who called for this human chain are actually neutral, but of course Hamas support them because they want the IDF (Israel Defence Forces) and the Israelis to lift the siege too.

The current political agenda is not helping the situation.

It cannot work with just Fatah, or just Hamas. We need unity. Our leaders should start leading all of us.

Closing the Rafah border has affected people badly. Students cannot go to university, patients cannot travel for treatment. There's very little petrol.

We rely on all sorts of goods coming from Israel - which no longer arrive. The Israelis decide what can and cannot come through.

I work in health care. Clinics lack basic medicine for core diseases and conditions - like high blood pressure.

People have to store medicines in the fridge - and then the electricity cuts out.

Patients are dying because they cannot leave Gaza for treatment.

There is a shortage of stationery. There is no printing paper available in the markets, so schools are using old textbooks and notebooks.

My son is nine years old, he has to do his homework on a blackboard. http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/99a.gif

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7262089.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/talking_point/7263142.stm