Gaza aid convoy led by George Galloway declares hunger strike

Ghandi did not starved himself only. Ghandi called for peaceful resistance also ! I can't see Galloway doing the same with so much hate in his blood & the blood of those Galloway claim to help !

...the mouths of the 1000 protestors. These people are going to need a heck of a lot of food, and most lefty hunger strikes last until lunch. So I can imagine a plump and frumpy Galloway, eating up the aid with his many fat friends.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007/07/15/the_challenge_of_imperialism/

Yaakov sullivan , I want to thank you for moral voice on Haaretz. It is so easy to be turned off by the apologists I feel it take real endurance to stay on course with the moral alternative. I recall from my own experience upon hearing from a 16yr old Swedish teen who wrote to me following a comment I made about two elderly sisters featured in the New York Times piece (some years ago) who were going to be divided by Israel's evil wall. I mentioned how cruel it was for a wall to do this to them at this late stage in their lives and to rob Palestinian merchants and Jewish shoppers from their daily exchange and indeed their interdependent relationship. Well, she wrote back and said she never heard an American express sympathy or sadness for the Palestinian people and of course she was right after 8 yrs of Bush & his apologists in the US Congress bashing them "as terrosists" and never once mentioning their equal right as a people to peace and security also--the results were to be expected. I realized then issues of peace and justice cannot be left solely to lead- ers but must have the moral voice and leadership of the people. Thus I want to thank you for providing such a voice and leadership over the years as it has helped me along the way also. Cheers, my noble friend! From your admirer, Dutch P.S. I am enclosing for you a special profile in courage for you and I hope you will enjoy every minute of JFK's moral stand on the senate floor in 1957 protesting his country?s criminal complicity with France which kept native Algerians involved in an endless cycle of violence with government forces in their struggle for freedom. http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2007 /07/15/the_challenge_of_imperialism/

A hunger strike means you are not eating OR drinking. This is a phony hunger strike! When the prisoners in the penitentiary that I run went on a hunger strike, I ignored them. Eventually they ate. They all do. These Gaza clowns will do the same.

Dutch: So you think Gorgeous George is a hero. Well in Scotland he is nothing much more than a mouth. He is an MP for a London constitency in the UK parliament. However anyone who watches the BBC parliament channel would know that he hardly ever puts in an appearance in the chamber it'self and even then he gets torn to bits in debate. George has such courage that when he does venture in to the Middle East, it is always after the gunfire has stopped. Dutch why don't you volunteer to serve under him when he forms an international brigade and takes to the field in the next war against Israel, he would certainly be your hero. Later of course you might look upon him as a useless martyr.

good one, u think aipac will persecute you ? guess not

bucket. What a shame. At least Egypt can provide them with another bucket for women. How can men and women use the same bucket? Is it redicoulous or what?

There must be another way.

God Bless their humanitarian mission and their hungry strike in response to the evil that is taking place on the israeli side of the border and now the complicit partnership on the Egyptians side today. I heard others around the world are joining in their cause. Including a few Holocaust survivors such as Hedy Epstein. (see her story http://imemc.org/) Other Jews should follow her example also. Dutch

The photo of a fried baby with ripped off lower limbs off its extremities, a video of a bulldozer rolling TWICE over a young girl?s body, bullet holes in the back of schoolchildren?s heads, uprooted ancient olive trees, the army shooting at Palestinian farmers at work, and much more - are the pictures of modern day Israel.

If Israel has not committed any war crimes, if the IDF has a perfectly good conscience, then what do you have to fear? The more rage you demonstrate fighting the report, the more guilty you appear. Make an inquiry into the charges and prove to the international community that they are wrong. This is the only way you will convince the world. Not by lobbying against Goldstone

Israel pulled its soldiers out of Gaza. But what it then did to the Gazans is worse than the soldiers could do. Israel is committing a crime against humanity. If Israel wants to see the rockets stop, it might consider stopping the effort to starve the Gazans to death. Israel says an average of 80 truckloads a day of international aid enters Gaza: almost an admission of genocide. According to the UN World Food Programme, Gaza with a population of 1.4million requires daily 400 trucks of food just to meet basic nutritional needs. Israel also forbids entry of building materials, electrical appliances, spare parts for cars and machines. If you had a wife and children in Gaza you also might want to fire a few rockets

to destroy Israël

The poor pals biggest problem is that they want to steal the land right underneath the Jews feet. LOL, got news for ya, aint gonna happen. Breeding like rats has no 'prize' for breeding rats. There's always a rat exterminator there. They have what they wanted, Gaza, enjoy it. Just keep your filth in your own backyard. Rats aren't welcomed elsewhere.

What a courageous army, armed with CANONS, MERKEVAS, F16S AND CHIMICAL WEAPONS for mass destruction as controversial flesh-eating WHITE PHOSPHOROUS, against those who have just MICKEY MOUSE FIREWORKS called kassam. What a brave army composed of the descendants of the SHOAH victims against the native Palestinians who are occupied! shame on you, heroes of the 21st century!!!.

They are the conscience of the free and moral world on this man- made humanitarian crisis by the bullies and land thieves in Israel and now their complicity partners in Egyptian government. It's all an ongoing reminder of the evil US and Israeli officials have been propping up in the Middle East today and indeed over the decades on the backs of the Palestinian people and it must end for the safety & well being of all involved. Dutch

"Did Galloway insult Mubarak in any way? Arab honor, heard about it?" Mubarak is not an honorable man, so he can't be insulted on that basis! Mubarak is nothing but a dictator who's been sitting on his thrown for over 30 years while holding fake elections where he is the only candidate! The good news is that no one lives forever, and Mubarak will soon meet his creator. May that day come sooner than later.

Israel does not occupy Gaza, She completely vacated Gaza in 2005. Neither is she responsible by any international Law for their wellbeing and security. Just so you understand.-Gaza is completely Judenrein (German for cleansed of Jews). Kapisch!!! Egypt has her own border with Gaza and is not dependent on Israel om whether she opens that border for trade or aid as she sees fit as an independent state. it would have been good if the people of Gaza did not rain thousands rockets into Israel and rather tried to establish a prosperous economy using the excellent agricultural infrastructure that Israel left for them. Before the Israeli action Hamas spoke like lions promising many surprises for Israel's army in the event of an Israeli military operation. They claimed that Gaza would be the grave of the IDF, but when the IDF acted they ran away like lambs. Thats what needs to be remembered on the anniversary of Cast Lead!

Did Israel not make peace with Jordan? Then why not go through Israel if they have nothing to hide? Leave the Egyptian alone. The Negev boarder needs to be protected. Egypt does not want any more problem. And in any case the shortest rout is through Israel so come on let them through Israel on humanitarian ground and aeli government show that they are scared of Hamas and in same time show a light of hope to the Gazians who in turn might defeat these hamas thugs on their own Israel be strong and wise

Were there a scintilla of truth to your fears, hundreds of posters on Haaretz would be dying monthly. Grow up and realize that Israel, unlike its Arab enemies, takes democracy and free speech seriously and expects and respects dissent. That doesn't mean it agrees with the content of all dissent, especially when that view denies the history of the Jewish people and their right to defend themselves.

One cannot be an occupying power without de facto control of the territory it allegedly is the occupying of. Hamas controls that territory. Any entity not welcomed by Hamas will be met with force. Israel used to be an occupying power but no longer is. Now it is simply a victim of Hamas's hatred, religious hegenomy and hubris. The other victim are the people of Gaza. But that doesn't mean that Israel has any legal or moral obligation to lift a single finger to help the people of Gaza, the very people who attack Israeli citizens or who voted for a government knowing that its major plank was the destruction of Israel. Israel's obligation is to defend its people and its territory. The only unfortunate thing is that Israel does assist Gazans by supplying them with water, food, medicine and medical services. There is no justification for that.

there is no fear that galloway will starve to death. he loves himself way too much. galloway thought that he could could violate egyptian sovereignty and interfere in egyptian foreign policy. like all narcissists, galloway thought that he had powers reserved to sovereign states. just to clearify, the people of gaza are not starving. humanitarian aid has been allowed into gaza without interruption. for those who do not know what starvation really is, they should read accounts about north korea, burma, darfur and others.

Israel does not Occupy Gaza. Neither is Israel responsible for their security and welfare under any international law. Israel left Gaza completely in 2005. Your assertion is ridiculous. Once again in case you don't understand-Gaza is completely Judenrein (German for 'cleansed of Jews).There is nothing stopping Egypt from allowing the aid into Gaza and Egypt does not need Israels's permission to do so. Kapisch!!!

Go on a real hunger strike George, please stop drinking water too. going on a hunger strike, but allowing water is a farce, just like saying that the gazans are in need of any help. they have more food, drinking water, gas, resources then they can use.

So its Egypt! Not Israel causing starvation!!! WHY NO UN RESOLUTION And worl outcry???

It's hard to believe that people as unprofessional and unethical as Hamas have the smarts to bewitch anyone, but Galloway must be extra special in that regard. These naive interventionists would be better off channeling their energies into protesting that Hamas leadership cut out violence from their Charter and paste in some common sense and nation building instead. Let's see how welcome they'll be in Gaza then!

"More than 400 members of an international aid convoy to Gaza declared a hunger strike" "to protest Egypt's refusal to allow them entry into the Hamas-ruled territory". If Hamas continues to support terrorism and Egyptian government continues to not allow the convoy through, what will happen to all this aid? As Egypt has 20-30% of it's population under the poverty line (see http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Percent_poverty_world_map.png) why not give this aid to Egypt's poor? I guess that George Galloway might see this as a missed opportunity to offend Israel. Unlike Galloway, there are other people in Egypt on non voluntary hunger strikes.

Yours was a well-written post, and very much to the point. There is a great deal of Arab propaganda being churned out, especially by UK-based Palestinians and their English dupes - and as an ex-pat Brit, the lot of them make me want to retch. I'm voting UKIP in the upcoming UK election. I can't do much about the English patsies, but a strong showing by UKIP might encourage the next government to check whether all the whingeing Palestinians in London actually have a right to be there. I urge my fellow Britons to vote UKIP in 2010! Thank you again. MV

Many Thanks to Haaretz for at least reporting on the tragic situation at the Egyptian border.....Here in UK... No News Channels seem to touch this story... Geoerge Galloway is Indeed a Hero for his efforts to bring Aid to the Gaza Gulag.

Beans, rice and cooking oil are let in but not much more and Israel targeted most gardens, greenhouses, fruit trees and flour plant in the last days of Cast Lead operation. With Hamas in power it is a danger to both Israel and Egypt, Israel tried taking out their leaders and infrastructure but while most the people back Hamas it didn't work. 52% of Gaza are refugees or their children from Israel shortly after it became a state and their main goal is to return home while much of the PA lived in the W. Bank so their goal is a state there. The refugee problem maybe the biggest to reach peace since it is not an option for Israel to remain Jewish. It is easier to split the Palestinians and offer peace to half even if that means giving up land than let refugees return. The dream of a greater Israel and with so many foreign Jews coming it will be hard to even make a deal with PA now and Hamas is not an option for Israel since the refugees issue is their main goal. War maybe only option now.

OH was the offensive against hamas? what a lie, it was against the Gaza strip population of 1.5 million to inflict losses in human lives and damage so people turn against Hamas!

the siege began as soon as sharon withdrew from gaza, and has grown progressively more harsh since then. hamas DOES have a share in it's intensifying; but bottom line is that israel's "actions against hamas", more often than not, are aimed directly at increasing the hardship imposed on the civilians of gaza...NOT on hamas. and THAT is made obvious by what's on the list of "banned" goods(which israel refuses to devulge in writing), and by israel's targetting of food production(ie, orchards, chicken farms, etc). as for previous agreements, hamas has had very few with israel...but it HAS pretty much kept them...to the extent of its control anyway. but israel creates the perception that it hasn't by holding it directly responsible for every act by every group operating in gaza... and if you take THAT into consideration...then it's been israel who's broken those agreements.

I regret, Mark, that I doubt whether your information is first hand. I further doubt that, were the civilian inhabitants in fact starving, that it would overly bother you. But, as my kibbutz is less then two miles from the Gaza border, I suspect that I will witness, if a great deal more supplies are not allowed into Gaza, more sorrow and pain than should be visited on any civilian population, anytime, anywhere, for any reason. Hamas must bear a great deal of blame for the current situation and I hold no brief for their actions and stupidity. But, your confusion between the responsibility of the Hamas leadership,and the incapacity of the ordinary citizen of Gaza to influence events, reveals a willed blindness and singular bigotry. The universal rage which will accompany the death of any of the hunger strikers will cost more than urging the Egyptians to allow the entry into Gaza of the non-military supplies.

I don't know where that myth comes from...well actually I do...there has NEVER been a single death in Gaza attributed to starvation. You do NOT see anybody with swollen bellies like in Darfur. This is just another publicity stunt to elicit undeserved world sympathy for the Pals. I remember when the Pals blew up the wall between Gaza and Egypt dozens of pictures came out. People running all over the place. Did you notice the Palestinians. They were well dressed looked just like American kids and adults. Nobody looked hungry or like they were starving. This is a classic Pallywood stunt, is life hard in Gaza, absolutely. It is a self inflicted condition though and can remedied anytime. Hamas needs to keep its people struggling you get more martyrs that way, and money from Iran.

I, Sir like you am praying for Justice , sanity and TRUE PEace for the region.

Are you talking about Afghans killed by Canadians?

It still stuns me that anyone - anyone at all - takes that clown George Galloway seriously. He's on a hunger strike? Excellent, keep it up till the bitter end George.

George Galloway is a publicity seeking controversialist. He is infamous in going to Iraq and praising Saddam Hussain, in person, on his 'indefatigablity'. What about the Marsh Arabs Galloway, what about the gassing in Hallajba Galloway? He's preference is for all things Arab - which is fine if you can distinguish against tyrant V fine leaders. He can't. his present gig is for Iran on Press TV - his praise for the current Iranian regime is tireless. Some humanist eh!

"If food is not allowed in how do they get these rockets you are talking about." Hello John. There is good reason to assume rockets get in, or at the very least, components for rockets get into Gaza and are then assembled. After all, they fired 13,000 of them at Israel these past few years. Smuggling tunnels are well documented. They could bring in food, rocket parts, fuel, whatever. Since Gazans make nothing of value to trade, purchases have to be for cash. If food comes in "free," then there is consumer excess that can be captured. That excess is cash, and it buys all sorts of things - uniforms, weapons, protection - the things despots need to rule. Get it.

Wait until George Galloway is actually dead, then, moved by his sacrifice, let the convoy in.

Let Galloway starve. That's one way to save the planet from excessive CO2 emmissions!

the Palestinian sacrifices made in the hope of a Palestinian homeland. The old and young, the men, women and children slain by the occupier are in my heart and mind. I weep for the lambs.

"They buy rockets with the money, letting the people die" I am wondering do they buy them from Israel? If food is not allowed in how do they get these rockets you are talking about. Amazing how you are blinded by these media

Sending people to get education is good. Just make sure it is good and truthful education. Educating for hate is not the right thing to do and will not lead to any resolution. Israel is not occupying force in Gaza and if the people of Gaza lived in peace there would not be any problem for them to begin with. Perheps 9000 rockets (and still going) are not enough for you, I just wondered how many rockets your government would allowed to land on it soil before trying to stop them. Pray for justice, pray for the land of Israel being freed from foreign invadors. Learn and teach the truth. Jews are prohibit from occupying other lands beside Israel, that is not the case with Islam.

"Clearly the world can not idly watch the Gazans waste away and die. " A shame that the Gazans prefer to "waste away and die," instead of accepting the very reasonable parameters placed upon them by the world community: 1) Recognize Israel 2) Terminate hostilities against Israel 3) Abide by previous Palestinian Authority agreements with Israel. Too much for them to handle in order to alleviate their situation?

Hamas deserves zip until they return Gilad Shalit and start acting like human beings.

where do Pakistan's weapons come from ?

u should feel shame joining in with those who seek to delegitimise jews, jewish history, culture, religion. dont be surprised that the vast majority of jews think that a jew bashing israel is a traitor...by all means criticise policy by dont single israel out for abuse like the haters do and make sure you also report fairly on the other side's violations.

Gaza is not occupied. To be occupied, a location had to have been previously recognized as belonging to group A and then group B came in and took over. The former condition was never met, so there is no occupation. The situation is un-defined in terms of international law.

i dont know what route Mr dan found to reach black market for purchasing rockets when gaza is beseiged by brutal Israel to PUNISH innocent and firm Gazans, An efforst Israel is constantly making since 2006 but failed yet.

"Educate yourself on the history of the conflict. Bring your concerns to your Prime Minister and your Member of Parliament. Write letters to talk backs and newspapers." [Reader] Excellent start. You should then say, "Encourage your leaders to persuade Hamas to Release Shalit, renounce violence, and observe previous agreements." And for good measure, "Rewrite your charter to drop the bit about the destruction of Israel." When all that happens, you will see the life of Gazans improve remarkably. By the way, I love the photo on this article. They DO have uniforms after all.

Palestinians in Gaza are not wasting away. Just look at all the pictures issued over the weeks and months and even years. Lots of nice plump men, women, and children. Do not worry. There is lots of food and medicine allowed in legally as well as illegally.

Israel has agreements with bordering states to only allow certain people through it is also monitored by israel via cctv I do not put my name on here because of reprisals by zionist and aapac loyalist to ruin the lives of people who speaks against israel in the us.

why people like this are taken seriously. After all, even though Egypt has a border with Gaza, they generally level the accusation of blockading Gaza only at Israel. Could that be because they care more about harming Israel than about helping Gazans?

Israel is the occupying power in Gaza. Israel is responsible under international law for their security and welfare. Egypt, with American approval, does not intend to relieve Israel of that responsibility. Clearly the world can not idly watch the Gazans waste away and die. But what can you do? Educate yourself on the history of the conflict. Bring your concerns to your Prime Minister and your Member of Parliament. Write letters to talk backs and newspapers. Find and join Palestinian support groups. And pray for justice, sanity, and peace.

Why did they wait till the anniversary of Cast Lead to make this convoy ? All a big show. 2ndly. Egypt controlled Gaza prior to 1967. When the peace agreement was made with Israel and Egypt, Israel offered back the Sinai as well as Gaza. Imagine ...the Egyptians preferred a desert over the Gazans. Even Egypt was fed up with them.

Arab honor, heard about it?

Here's the detailed process: -They get the food -They sell it at very high prices on the black market only -They buy rockets with the money, letting the people die -Guess what happens next

The answer is simple. The Egyptians have so much sympathy for the the Pals that they are ready to help by not letting the aid organization to enter. Well done!

why are they not letting an Aid group into Gaza? I am sure they only have food and there is no doubt that they will be greatly searched. so why be asholes about it?