Is the blockade of Gaza necessary for Israel’s security?
While I take issue with several of Ari Parritz’s points in his article entitled “One Qassam Too Many”, I will limit the focus of this article to a comment he made in passing when he referred to Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza as a “painful but unfortunately necessary means of defense”. Israel currently has a complete blockade on Gaza’s coast, airspace, and borders. What that means is that nothing can enter or leave Gaza including food, medical supplies, and fuel. Larry Derfner of the Jerusalem post called this blockade “flat-out immoral” and referred to the struggle between the Israelis and the Palestinians as “the most one-sided war on earth”. Mr. Parritz, is it necessary for Israel’s defense to systematically starve a population by refusing to allow food aid through checkpoints?2 Is it necessary for Israel’s defense to turn away trucks carrying medical supplies destined for the Gaza Strip? Does Israel’s security necessitate stopping a women in labor at the checkpoint and denying her medical attention? Is Israel safer by not allowing diplomats into Gaza? If the answer to any of those questions truly is “yes”, I would seriously question the state’s morality and legitimacy. The fact that thousands of Israeli soldiers are now refusing to serve in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank for moral reasons testifies to the injustice that is currently being perpetrated against the Palestinians. As a human being, I strongly condemn the firing of rockets into Sderot. At the same time I find it hard to differentiate between targeting civilians with rockets and targeting civilians by withholding food and medicine. Both seem equally barbaric to me.