World Bank: Israel Causing “Irreversible Collapse” Of Gaza Economy
(IsraelNN.com) The World Bank is accusing Jerusalem of creating the conditions for an “irreversible” economic collapse in Hamas-controlled Gaza, blaming Israel for closures of the border crossings with the region.
“The pillars of Gaza’s economy have weakened over the years. Now, with a sustained closure on this current scale, they would be at risk of virtually irreversible collapse,” said Faris Hadad-Zervos, the acting director for the World Bank in the Palestinian Authority territories.
Hadad-Zervos told participants at a closed-door meeting of private-sector organizations and aid groups that “A solution must be reached very soon, if not immediately…Otherwise, Gaza’s dependence on humanitarian assistance could become a long-term and comprehensive situation.”
He added that unemployment levels, marked at 30 percent in January 2007, could reach 37 percent or higher if businesses remain closed in Gaza. Hadad-Zervos placed the responsibility for the dismal situation directly on Israel’s doorstep, claiming the closure of border crossings was responsible.
He did not mention the bloody civil war between the Fatah and Hamas factions, which lasted well over a year and resulted in hundreds of deaths and even more wounded from constant gunfights in the street. Gaza was taken over by Hamas in mid-June, effectively ending the brutal militia war but leaving the area in ruins.
Reality Check at Rafiah
The facts on the ground belie the claims at the conference table in other ways as well.
Hamas has refused to guarantee security at the border crossings, while demanding the right to bring merchandise into Gaza through the Rafiah crossing with Egypt.
Entrances to Gaza from Egypt have been closed since the Hamas takeover several weeks ago. Palestinian Authority officials expressed sympathy, but said that the crossings could not be reopened due to Hamas’s presence.
According to security officials in Cairo, Egypt has significantly increased its troop levels on the border between Sinai and Gaza due to concerns that there will be a mass exodus from Gaza into Egypt.
Hamas has threatened to attack any non-Hamas members who attempt to take control of the Rafiah terminal.
The European Union has taken the warning to heart and is officially abandoning its role of monitoring the Gaza-Egypt border, pulling all but 15 of its international observers from the area. The EU’s presence was one of the conditions for Israel leaving the strategic Philadelphi Route, which runs along the Israeli side of the border.
Hamas Sealed Off Gaza, Rejected Israeli Aid
Hamas has rejected Israeli offers to open alternatives to the Rafiah crossing, saying its terrorists will attack anyone who tries.
One of those crossings is Kerem Shalom, which was one of the points through which food products, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid were transferred from Israel into Gaza.
For example, Hamas Finance Minister Omar Abdel Razek closed the Kerem Shalom crossing to Israeli produce last Monday, despite an earlier announcement by the PA Agriculture Minister, who agreed to allow the produce into Gaza.
Razek closed the crossing to all goods except for humanitarian aid. Food such as fruit and vegetables apparently did not meet the criteria. Roughly sixty truck drivers were forced to abandon their efforts to enter Gaza, and returned to Israeli cities.
Kerem Shalom has in any case been the scene of numerous mortar attacks by PA terrorists recently, and a deadly attack by Hamas terrorists last year that resulted in the kidnapping of IDF Cpl. Gilad Shalit. The 20-year-old soldier is still in enemy hands, and his location and whereabouts are unknown.
Aid Transfers through Every Crossing but Rafiah
All of the crossings except Rafiah have been used to transfer food, medicine, equipment and other necessities donated by Israel, Jordan and international aid organizations.
Less than two weeks ago, hundreds of tons of humanitarian and other aid flowed through the terminals to help keep Gaza residents fed and its business owners operating.
At the Erez crossing, also a favorite site for PA terrorist attacks on Israel, some 8,433 vaccines were sent into Gaza.
At the Kerem Shalom crossing, 191 tons of fruit, 71 tons of milk, 33 tons of meat, 4 tons of chicken eggs for breeding, five tons of medical supplies for babies and 10 tons of disposable diapers were transferred.
At the Sufa crossing, 676 tons of sugar, 159 tons of salt, 20 tons of coffee, 20 tons of cocoa, 36 tons of rice, 14 tons of milk powder, 36 tons of tea, 25 tons of silicon, 116 tons of oil, 375 tons of livestock feed, 79 tons of bananas, 637 tons of straw and 21 tons of hypochlorite were sent in.
At the Karni crossing as well, despite numerous terrorist attacks, Israel transferred basic foodstuffs. The Karni crossing was opened June 28 to allow the passage of 500 tons of wheat, the first time it had been opened since the Hamas military takeover of Gaza two weeks earlier. The wheat was transferred by conveyor belt.
Jerusalem said at the time that the opening was a “trial” to test cooperation on the side of Gaza officials to curtail terror. Israel has since been forced to operate the Karni crossing in between mortar shelling by Arab terrorists.
International media coverage has reflected the dilemma: Reuters News Agency reported Israel has kept the crossing closed in an effort to isolate Hamas, but the International Herald Tribune stated that Israel has tried to keep the crossing open.
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i personaly think they should let them all starve
July 13th, 2007 at 3:44 amGreat! Maybe they will turn to cannibalism. I hear their friends al queeeda has some nice recipes for cooking children.
Fuck them.
July 13th, 2007 at 3:47 amWhy on earth is everyone blaming it on Israel? Just cause Hamas “rescued” a BBC reporter doesn’t mean they’re legitimate.
July 13th, 2007 at 3:58 amLet me see if I have this right. If Canada decided to send in 24 suicide bombers into Detroit that killed 50 Americans and then they started lobbing missiles into Lansing that killed 15 Americans, the World Bank would scold the U.S. if we closed the border at Windsor?
Do these these pieces of shit in the U.N., World Bank, NYT and BBC think we are sheep out here? Last time I checked, without the financial support of the U.S., the “World” bank wouldn’t be able to front a piggy bank. And they have the balls or the stupidity to slam one of our closest allies for protecting themselves?
July 13th, 2007 at 4:12 amThe time honored rule was to level anyone who behaved in such non cilived behavior. Show no remorse. Israel has been forced into a continuous state of war, it citizens are murdered on all to frequent basis. If anything, they have practiced a level of contrstraint all out of proportion to what other nations have had to practice. Especially so considering they have the capability, but have kept it in check more often than not.
July 13th, 2007 at 4:34 amAh, yes. Hey World Body, lets just blame all our troubles on the Jews? You bunch of facist Nazi-dick-suckers !!
Let Gaza starve. Or turn it into a bombing range. You don’t coddle or feed terrorists, you kill them. Fuck you World Bank, usless UN.
Just goes to show that Israel is the real humanitarian here, and the World Body of organizations is just a bunch of Islamist Facist crackpots smoking weed.
July 13th, 2007 at 4:45 amStarving them isn’t good enough. I offer this plan as a civlized nation. We allow the boarders to be completely sealed. Then we give them a choice. 1) Starve to death
July 13th, 2007 at 5:35 am2) have a nice pork chop.
Ah, a democracy protects itself from terrorists, and it’s their fault. I was really cofused!
July 13th, 2007 at 5:36 amHmmmm. Pork chops? How about an old fashion southern style pig pickin!
July 13th, 2007 at 5:41 amI have heard some bullshit in my life but this one pretty much takes the cake. Blaming Israel for the collapse of an economy that is run and taken care of by a damn terror organization..Boo freakin hoo! Im tired of the leftist movement in this world, blame Israel and USA for everything! guess that will teach the Palestinian people not to vote for people like this. when your government happens to be a terror group, when does it sink in that your pretty screwed already?
July 13th, 2007 at 5:42 amWould somebody please ask me if I give two shits? Anyone??
Israel has their sworn enemy as their neighbors and Israel is supposed to care if they starve to death? Hamas would kill every Jew they ever saw on sight and the Israeli’s are the bad guys because the Hamas/Gaza economy might collapse?
Egypt is worried there might be a mass exodus from Gaza? How about “materials” getting into Gaza for Hamas…ya know, like Katyusha’s, 7.62×39, anti-tank mines, RPG’s, etc??
The World Bank can kiss my grits and fondle my sack. Geeesh!
July 13th, 2007 at 5:55 amShouldn’t the article have started “The George Soros-controlled World Bank…”?
July 13th, 2007 at 6:02 amI’d say a few thousand crop dusters full of gasoline and a stray match is all Gaza needs. Fuck them
July 13th, 2007 at 6:06 amGaza would makea nice parking lot!
July 13th, 2007 at 6:45 amTJ…. Great idea, a parking lot for a jewish mega mall..
July 13th, 2007 at 6:57 amGaza is a mental institution. Build the walls higher and at least twenty feet into the ground and throw a steel mesh net over the thing. The world bank can open a branch office there. Continue using the conveyor belt, can’t be too careful, they bite.
July 13th, 2007 at 8:06 amWorld Bank is as corrupt as the U.N is it not Avishay Braverman?
July 13th, 2007 at 12:03 pmin aussie we have a great saying about things like this:
July 13th, 2007 at 4:12 pmdilligaf
dilligaf!
translation
do.i.look.like.i.give.a.fuck
so for the hamas terrorists getting hungry?
dilligaf
Yasir died of Aids, crammed it up te ass of little boys, what a turd!
July 13th, 2007 at 4:59 pmTerry Smyth.
Dude we’re going to have to make you an honorary American. No not a fucking lib. A real American like all of us.
I like that word: dilligaf. That’s too funny. Cheers mate.
July 13th, 2007 at 5:07 pmHave another Fosters…on me….
Gee, those poor Arabs sure cd use now those millions of dollars worth of greenhouses the Israelis left in Gaza for them 2 years ago…But noooooooo, they had to demolish them.
And now no food…Whatta surprise, everyone knows how to wildly fire an AK or throw a cuffed prisoner off a roof, but no-one knows how to grow a tomato.
Veddy, veddy civilized.
July 13th, 2007 at 7:58 pmPersonally, I don’t care what Israel does to the whole group of countries around it.
I am sick and tired of hearing how the Israelis stole the land that they now “occupy”. I am sick and tired of hearing how they are the oppressors and are the ones who are trying to exterminate the Palestinians. I am sick and tired of the Israelis being typecast as money grubbing tyrants and the Palestinians being portrayed as the victims.
I have been amazed at how restrained Israel has been. I would have opened an industrial sized can of whoop ass a long time ago.
Who knows, I may still might. Since I know the worthless UN won’t do anything to Iran, and countries like China are kissing Iran’s butt for oil, no one will probably try and stop the enrichment program. And if the day should happen when it is learned that they are on the verge of putting a nuke together, expect the second best air force in the world begin a massive military strike on Iran.
It is also funny that the World Bank is saying this, when they have a nasty history of screwing poor countries over so they can turn a profit. The proof of this is Wolfowitz’s dethronement from the World Bank. So, basically, you have a Bengal Tiger chastising a Siamese cat for eating birds, while the Bengal is still engorging itself on pheasant.
July 13th, 2007 at 9:20 pmThe fact that the wolf was thrown out of the world bank is symptomatic of the malaise of that group.Now that they have noone to pull them into gear they relapse into the usual anti US and anti Israel stuff.What else could they do being filled with EU and third world b/crats where justifying a huge salary is conditional in appeasing the anti freedom seat warmers in the useless nonsensical.
July 13th, 2007 at 11:04 pmDan:
Thanks, Im an honoury American already, my daughter married a US Marine and now lives in TX.Coming over soon.
Feel free to use the aussie expression, often.It applies to a myriad of sceniaros often seen here!!
I get all bunched up with this stuff! The more i share my insight (i.e. Pats Excellent Reporting) the more I get people scoffing at what I say. I came back to this topic after sharing my my opposing perspective to post this.
The typical “citizen” does not want to hear the truth. They would rather accept what the MSM puts out and not question it. Its beyond me! I just don’t get it. Seemingly rational people can be so irrational!!
What the heck is happening to America?
July 14th, 2007 at 4:04 amDunno about it’s actual origins, but “dilligaf” was a common expression in US subs at least as far back as the mid-late ’70’s, and was pretty common on t-shirts, along with the famous “last act of defiance” mouse. (If you haven’t seen _that_, it’s a little mouse flipping off a huge eagle swooping down on him, talons extended.)
On the original topic: What an idiotic thing to say.
July 14th, 2007 at 4:07 amRoger that terry Smyth. And good for her. Hey bartender another Fosters for me mate:
July 14th, 2007 at 7:49 am