Arabs Harm Palestinians, World Yawns. By Walter Russell Mead.

Arabs Harm Palestinians, World Yawns. By Walter Russell Mead. Via Meadia, July 24, 2013.

The EU Shows Its True Colors on Israel. By Peter Martino. Real Clear World, July 24, 2013. Also at Gatestone Institute.


Mead:

Ever since the ouster of Mohammed Morsi, Egypt’s military has been wreaking havoc on the lives of Palestinians in Gaza. The 1.7 million residents of the Gaza Strip rely heavily on trade through a network of tunnels on the Egyptian border for their livelihood. But with the Muslim Brotherhood out of power, the Egyptian military has been happy to crack down on the tunnel trade and smother Gaza’s economy, depriving the Palestinians there of jobs and income. The WSJ reports:

In the days after Egypt’s military pushed President Mohammed Morsi from power, the army led what local residents described as an unprecedented assault on the tunnel trade, strangling a lifeline for construction materials and fuel into the blockaded strip. […]

 

“The impact is very clear in Gaza: There is no fuel, there is no cement,” said Omar Shabaan, an economist who directs the Gaza-based economic think tank Pal Think. “Things are getting worse in terms of economic activity, which makes the social situation more difficult.”

Many Palestinians in Gaza make a living by transporting goods like fuel, cement, and steel through the tunnels, a trade the Egyptian military is destroying. The closure of the tunnels has made goods less affordable, halted construction projects worth millions, and deprived the government of tax revenue. In a word, Egypt has the power to make life in Gaza unlivable, and they’re using it.

 

We can’t help but think that if Israel made life miserable for Palestinians—intentionally and without compunction, as in Egypt’s case—the world would be up in arms. But when, as is frequently the case (see here, here, here, and here), Arabs are the direct cause of Palestinian suffering, no one seems to care.

 

One thing some people in Europe might want to think about: If something fills you with rage when Jews do it, but doesn’t bother you at all when others do it, you might consider asking yourself why that is. 

Just a thought.