No, they aren't interested in freedom at all. The recent suicide bombing came in response to Israel allowing some Palestinians from Gaza to go back to work in Israel. They suicide bombing was explicitly aimed at putting a stop to this.
Israel closes Gaza crossing in response to suicide bombing
Compiled by Daily Star staff
Israel reimposed an economically crippling blockade on the Gaza Strip Thursday and threatened renewed military strikes on Palestinian militants a day after a suicide bombing killed four Israeli border guards.
The closure prevented thousands of Palestinian workers from getting to their jobs in Israel and also in a nearby industrial zone.
The army said that only those with humanitarian needs would be allowed to cross.
Hamas’ first woman suicide bomber Reem al-Reyashi, 22, detonated her explosives belt on Wednesday inside the Erez crossing terminal.
Thousands marched through Gaza City during her funeral.
A political leader from Hamas told mourners at the mosque that there would be more like Reyashi.
“The martyr Reem is a heroine since she gave up everything. This was a young married woman who left behind a husband and children to go to paradise,” Mahmoud Zahar said.
Amid heightened tensions, Israel’s High Court decided to hold a hearing within a month on the legality of the vast barrier Israel is building in the West Bank.
Israeli Premier Ariel Sharon’s deputy signalled that Palestinians faced military action to deter militant factions from suicide attacks.
“We must do whatever we can to prevent the terrible thing that happened yesterday. If it requires striking at those planning or setting in motion acts of murder, then we haven’t refrained from doing so in the past and shall not refrain now,” Deputy Premier Ehud Olmert said on Israel Radio.
Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qorei has accused Israel of stoking violence with its military crackdown and blockades.
Before the intifada erupted in 2000, about 100,000 Palestinians from Gaza worked in Israel, providing the main source of income for the poverty-stricken territory. Now only 15,000 workers and another 4,000 merchants - in addition to the workers at the industrial park - have permits to cross into Israel.
Some workers worried that the already extensive checks at the crossing would become even more stringent after the attack.
Currently, they have to walk down a narrow path to wait in long lines to be searched, workers said. They then have to walk a considerable distance to vehicles waiting to take them to work, they said.
“I think we will face more humiliation and inhuman treatment, and I think the coming days will be black ones for us,” Radwan said, adding that crossing usually takes over an hour.
Others said the situation could not get much worse.
“What’s a drop of water going to do if you add it to a big lake of humiliation?” asked Salim Ali, 37, who works at a clothing factory near Tel Aviv.
Also Thursday, the Palestinian Parliament approved a $1.69 billion budget for the year - over twice projected revenues - in hopes foreign aid will make up the difference.
Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad said he hopes to get $650 million from donor countries to pay the salaries of 125,000 government employees, a large chunk of the dwindling labor force.
Palestinian officials have said that after borrowing from banks to meet the December and January payrolls, they don’t know if they will be able to pay salaries in February.
Projected revenues for 2004 are only $804 million.
Palestinians cite Israeli travel bans and closures as a key reason for the deficit.
Donor countries, who have propped up the Palestinian budget during over three years of unrest, are demanding financial reform in the Palestinian Authority.
Lebanese Daily Star
www.dailystar.com.lb/16_01_04/art23.asp |
