Red Cross: Israel worsening Palestinian humanitarian crisis

Lets not forget that Israel is a state begun by the use of terrorist tactics.....and give me a break that Israel "owned" the land because of some puny tribes who lived there thousands of years ago!! By that token, many thousands of americans and cities would give up their land to the Americans Indians (native americans to be politically correct)....what are the odds of that happening? there were be blood!!

What's the big deal? If they can't get the needed support from Israel, why don't the leaders in the West Bank turn east? Why can't the UN and other agencies stop using Israel as a delivery point? Just curious. Doesn't make sense to receive aid from your sworn enemy???

And all the good things the red cross does do not matter at all?

They allow their ambulances to travel with impunity while carrying terrorists and their weapons--The RED color of the cross denotes the blood spilled--

It's Demented Dutch's job, she gets paid for it-- Silvienne, by this time and long ago, you should have learned that I never, ever post something that I have made up--You at least admit to fear of going to the area, and I can understand that--YOU never ever undertook the obligation of becoming a Human Shield, that Cowardly Dutch DID!!!--She's one of those that goes to church, makes a pledge to hear her name announced then never pays up--

G: "Where is the fact that the PLO is committing war-crimes by shelling Israeli cities? That doesn`t seem to be an issue for them." It seems that it is indeed an issue for them: http://www.icrc.org/web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/html/gaza-news-160507 "The ICRC is dismayed by the ongoing rocket attacks on the town of Sderot and neighbouring areas in Israel. It stresses once again that both indiscriminate attacks ? i.e. those not directed against specific military objectives ? and the deliberate targeting of civilians are serious violations of international law that cannot be justified in any circumstance." Sounds like a pretty serious repudiation to me, Gee. But not good enough for you tho, apparently.

Now, Ben, whatever you think of Dutch, I think you must credit her with one thing; she keeps on posting her message and does not give up in the face of much abuse. Mind you, I may think that I get enough insults hurled at my head, but when one considers what Dutch receives, I shouldn't be complaining...at least, Dutch has a message, and she carries on in the face of all difficulties with it, posting it whenever she can. At least, can't you admit that much...? The "human shield" issue...Dutch, if you read this, do you still have the post in which you referred to the human shields? Ben is totally convinced that you offered to become one...could you have posted something that would appear this way to a reader?

I am enclosing a link, start with #15 Eric to me--And finish with my detailed responses to Eric faery tale--As you can see, he went into hiding after my last post--He's loads of nonsense, without facts or sense-- http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/934698.html

Eric is a hit & run artist--Makes statements and runs away when confronted--I believe that by now you know, that when I say something, I can back it up--Eric is all hot air--

It isn't your decision--Even when you make them, you don't follow through--The HUMAN SHIELD that pretended you wanted to be-- As for you next batch of hot air, name the groups and just whom they represent--Who took the polls, etc--I'll bet you can't-- "Your feeling is wide spread in the US today, especially among activist groups."

Hello...I haven't got your links yet... Regards

washington, paul revere, franklin, et al; they were ALL "terrorists"! they utilized unorthodox guerrilla tactics, ambush, whatever it took. "boston tea party"? terrorism!... the french resistance in wwII? were terrorists! mandela and his bunch; were terrorists! ANY group that resists oppression is labeled as "terrorist" or "rebels" by their oppressors. i hope you got my links if you didn't have them already.

"If it were my decision America wouldn`t send another dime to Israel. They are a disgrace." Silvienne, Your feeling is wide spread in the US today, especially among activist groups. US foreign policy towards Israel has been so uneven handed it no longer reflects core values of freedom and liberty for all. Israel will pay a heavy price for violating the human rights of the Palestinian people and its settlements, plus dodging international law. Dutch

Thanks for your post regarding the "settler only" roads in the Palestinian West Bank. Of course, it makes a very useful excuse for Israel to claim that "Palestinian violence" is the reason for "Jews only" roads. On the surface, it may be true, but does Israel and its supporters honestly think that everyone else doesn't realise just why there is "Palestinian violence" in the West Bank? Any other country on earth, occupied and colonised by a foreign enemy, would react in the same way, I am sure.

you need to delve a little deeper into the reasons behind it all, adrian. how convenient that you mention acts of aggression carried out by a few militant palestinians; yet you go no further. have you considered looking into what prompts those acts? have you taken a look at any maps that show the extent of israel's illegal holdings inside the west bank and just how severe the negative impact is on the lives of the palestinians? would you like to? do you dare? the "settler only" roads are a direct consequence of the settlements; as is the palestinian violence there, as well as the daily persecution, humiliation, and the routine disruption of the lives and livelihoods of the palestinians. "aint no man righteous; no, not one" bob dylan~1981

The reason that there are settler only raods is because the pals have a habbit of shooting cars with Jewish number plates, infact tey still do. Only early today 6 explosive devices were thrown at Isreali cars. If the pals didn't have this bent for targeting Isreali cars then this phenomon would never have happened

Thanks for your post. On "youtube" you can see videos filmed by human rights workers showing these "Jew only" roads...can you imagine if there were signs indicating "Palestinian only" roads? The screaming would be heard all the way to Washington, then the Palestinians responsible for the sign would be killed. The videos show settlers attacking human rights workers..some are teenage boys dressed orthodox..shouting "we killed Jesus", and "Jesus stinks", "Mary is a whore", "we'll kill you" to foreigners trying to defend the Palestinians on their farmland while the IDF stands watching doing nothing. Then settler men appear, armed with M16s and more threats. And Israelis wonder why so much of the world dislikes them. If it were my decision America wouldn't send another dime to Israel. They are a disgrace.

You claim that there are no Jewish only roads, and then go on to confirm their existence: "I don`t know of any jewish only rds, there are Arab only rds, that the IDF doesn`t want jewish travel - to protect the jews." What kind of doctor are you exactly? What happens during olive harvest time? Do you seriously expect people to believe that the multitude of reported shootings and other incidents on the part off illegal settlers is all just made up? Are you claiming that the pesky UN Fragmentation map that shows how Palestinians are cut-off from their own land is also just made up? Maybe some readers will fall for your misinformation but the informed ones will not. Israeli apartheid is a fact of life in the West Bank, denying it does not help you make any kind of point except that it is you who is spreading misinformation.

or you're a liar! even the israeli media talks about these roads; where settlers(and others), can travel to and from destinations in the west bank without ever having to see a palestinian or their persecution, close up. would you like to take a gander at a map of israel's cancerous growth inside the west bank?...with all its barriers, fences, roadblocks, and stolen land? http://www.ochaopt.org/documents/InsertMap_Fragmentation_May07-withCheckpoint.pdf NOTE: the gray veins crisscrossing the territory? those are some of the major "no pals allowed" roads. notice how wide they appear? the additional land they envelop as a "safe zone"? other more DETAILED maps are available: http://www.ochaopt.org/?module=displaysection§ion_id=96&static=0&format=html

Jewish only Roads - Don't Exist!! settlements on the most arable lands is another fabrication!! I don't know what your source of information is but there is absolutely no truth to it. I work as a medical person helping palestinians all the time and I can tell you that the settlers are very very kind to the Palestinians for the most part. There are very few incidents of Jews attacking Palestinians, perhaps a ratio of 1 to 1,000 vs Arabs attacking Jews! Prior to the intifada jews and palestinians maintained reasonably good relationships, they interacted on many different levels, work, buisiness, social. Some of this still exists but kept on a lower profile to protect the Palestinians from their own arab brothren. I don't know of any jewish only rds, there are Arab only rds, that the IDF doesn't want jewish travel - to protect the jews. The Most blatant Rascist law on the west bank is against the Jews, the law that makes it capital offence for arabs to sell land to JEWS!

It's too bad you view my criticism of Israel's failure to compy with International Law & Human Rights Laws as haters of Israel I have a great love and respect for the law as I believe it makes us a just and fair people and indeed a civil people and I find Israel's contempt for the law completely and utterly unacceptable. After all, the Israelites were given the law and if you claim to be apart of that heritage you should not be violating the law by coveting your neighbor's land and house and using violence against him. In addition, the oppression of the Palestinian people violates the natural law of man as born free and equal in dignity and rights This is the first article of the Declaration of Human Rights and in- deed the American Bill of Rights, the US Constitution & the Magna Carta http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magna_Carta I can't see what my name has to do with this as it is not my base of reference but the law most certainly is & that should be the focus, I feel.

What's with all the capitals you use when you post to Lakshmi? Does it make you feel as if you are as intelligent as she is? If so, drop it quick. It isn't working.

"johnboy..his knowlege of international law is sound." Sure. If YOU say so (snigger, snigger). "So is mine" Sure. Especially if YOU say so (more sniggers). But I repeat - "Unfortunately for lakshmi, EVERY of her ALTERNATE piece of history is SO filmsy, SO hare-brained, even the most rabid of Israel bashers in these talksbacks AVOID her like the PLAGUE." Even johnboy. "Respect International Law,unless you want some big guy to come along and whack you." Oh yes, I agree. Remember - it IS your beloved hamas terrorists, GREEDY for power, staged an ILLEGAL coup. And yes, THEY are being WHACKED by the international community. That's why they are now WHINING and DEMANDING (but not gonna get) attention except what they deserved. Cowards, bullies (of the weak) and whiners - they are the "masters" of the false Clean Green Gaza now dressed in BLOODY-RED bullets in kids and BLUE-BLACK injuries.

"Where is the fact that the PLO is committing war-crimes by shelling Israeli cities? That doesn`t seem to be an issue for them. I wonder why is that. Couldn`t be racism could it?" Nope. From the ICRC report press release: "The ICRC also calls on the Palestinian factions to stop targeting civilian areas and endangering the lives of civilians." By the way, are you really sure it's the PLO doing the firing of wildly inaccurate rockets? Two wrong claims in one message that is devoid of any other content. Do you actually have a legitimate grievance against the ICRC or you just wanted to make inane conversation about made up facts?

Do you mean to tell me that if the situation was reversed, that you would not be crying anti-semitism? Yet you can justify a whole population of people being put under restriction, MOST of who I might add couldn't care less if Israel lived or died, but merely want to live their lives. You have a small minority of morans on both sides creating conflict, and a majority of racist ignorance continuing it. Please, stop with the pathetic display of trying to justify collective punishment. That's exactly what it is.

Where is the fact that the PLO is committing war-crimes by shelling Israeli cities? That doesn't seem to be an issue for them. I wonder why is that. Couldn't be racism could it?

Choices have consequences even for "Palestinians". It is condesendingly racist , in a "White Man's Burden" sort of way to absolve "Palestinians" of any responsibility for the consequends of their own actions "because the Arab street is inflamed" or any of these other sily phrases that really mean that Leftists apply a lower standard of civilized behavior to the "Palestinians" and don't believe that they can control their baser emotions like other, more civilzed peoples. It is racist and needs to be addresed not justified.

First,I am at a loss to understand what the 'Jewish only' settlements, roads and barrier on the most arable and water rich lands of the Palestinians has to do with defending yourself? I am equally puzzled by those of you who invoke the horror and history of the Holocaust as political justification for Israel's acts today. One of the great influences in my life was a holocaust survivor from Poland. If she were alive today she would go ballistic over the use of what she called the 'Sho'ah' to justify Israel's conduct. She spared no one when it came to the abandonment of the Jews under German occupation, including my own country of which she was a citizen AND the Zionist leadership and various agencies of the day! I am grateful to her for forcing me to learn about Canada's role and own it. Don't you think its time you owned yours, instead of using the dead for political gain? Are the True Torah Jews the only ones left telling the whole story?

"We won`t let the other people brutalize us again--That`s what "Never Again" means--Understand??" Of course everyone understands. There is a double standard at work. "Never again" applies only to one race. Israeli's are quite happily applying many of the same things that were never supposed to happen again, now against the Palestinians. Jimmy Carter explained Israeli apartheid in the occupied territories when he wrote, "The driving purpose for the forced separation of the two peoples is unlike that in South Africa - not racism but the acquisition of land. There has been a determined and remarkably effective effort to isolate settlers from Palestinians, so that a Jewish family can commute from Jerusalem to their highly subsidized home deep in the West Bank on roads from which others are excluded, without ever coming in contact with any facet of Arab life." THAT's apartheid Israeli style. Look at the UN fragmentation map of the West Bank... The world is, and time's up.

We won't let the other people brutalize us again--That's what "Never Again" means--Understand??

The same Red Cross that for nearly 60 years refused to let Magen David Adom join ( an organistion that was up and runnng years before Israel got indipendence ) when they did finnaly admit membership to MDA it wasn allowed to use its symbol of a magen david the way the muslims have Red Crecsent and an islamic symbol and outside the islamic world its a cross MDA got a stupd red box. The Red Cross is and allways has been biased agaist Israel ,, 100 Israelis could be killed everyday because of palestian terror but if at the same time a single palestian was killed they would condem Israel and igniore palestian actions.

p: "The ICRC being pressured by the Red Crescent to not recognize Mahen David Adom is but one example." Of what, peter, your complete lack of knowledge? The ICRC approved two symbols back in the late 1920's; the Red Cross and the Red Crescent. Both were international symbols. In all the long years since then they have rejected attempts by national group who insisted on maintaining their NATIONAL symbols. There is nothing anti-semitic about this; they rejected all other similar applications e.g. the Russians. In 2006 they adopted the Red Crystal specifically to allow national symbols to be incorporated within that new international symbol. Once that was done they were happy to allow groups like the Magen David Adom to join; the MDA simply place their national symbol inside the Red Crystal and viola! it is done. The ICRC had a brand to maintain, peter, which hardly makes them unique.

bash the US for Iraq and not understanding the trouble there that it amazes me Israel actually thought the Pals would just buckle in and bow down and say yessuh master and no sir massuh.......Are you guys insane??? Your delsuions of divine right are troubling, as troubling as any radical Muslims, or evangelicals......it is all extremist crap with NO place in modern civilized society.You CANNOT relive the Biblical days! There was some nasty stuff going on then. Divine Right doesn't supercede human rights law or international law......so just gte past that now. Until my country cuts off the welfare checks and Israel is held accountable to the same laws as everyone else....your 'crises' and death tolls, and bombings and chaos and destruction will continue.don't you wnat it to stop? Don't you want to support SANE voices, voices that speak for all...treats humans equally? Anyone who believs there is a G-d that chooses and favors a chosen race is tyrannical and nuts.

Hey, Haaretz, put the Red Crystal symbol over your article, it's supposed to be used where national or religious symbols would give offense outside their country(and not just by the MDA).Part of the agreement, remember?

Greetings Lakshmi, The groups I know in the US and in the international community are very deliberate in their actions and Israeli officials won't be able to run and hide from them anymore. They have already deemed the occupation "evil" & said the settlements "must go" and Israel's assassination policiy is " a blatant violation of International Law and Human Rights" and individuals need to be held accountabie for their "war crimes". Hence you see the language is already very deliberate and the process is already in place if Israeli officials continue to remain unaccountable. So have no fear they will not continue to get away. Peace and thanks. Dutch

another pathetic attempt by videogameboy to erect a false construct.....and sit back in a petulant pout when he gets no buyers. videogameboy cannot face the truth and admit that the overwhelming numbers of muslim states, backed up by petro-dollars has and has been usung the power to manipulate international organizations to be less than fair to Israel. The ICRC being pressured by the Red Crescent to not recognize Mahen David Adom is but one example. I knpw it\s difficult for videogameboy to see the real world as he prefers the comfort of his videogane take on like where everything can be reset and you cab have as many do-overs as you want. poor videogameboy sick with envy.

Dr. Brnd, I am not sure what kind of a doctorial degree you hold (if any) but perhaps you can increase your scholarship by reading the following scholarly critique by Edward Corrigan. Thanks, Dutch http://www.mepc.org/journal/9012_corrigan.asp P.S. No doubt you will hear much more of my whinning on other threads on such matters such as Israel violations in International Law, and Human Rights Laws, an illegal occupation and settlements, collective punishment, the use of disproportionate, war crimes and most of all Israeli officials dodging and denial of them all.

in Pals' "G-D knows where" bunkers? Though the Geneva convention DEMANDS access to captured soldiesrs, seeing to that that they are treated well and their health not let deteriorate. WHY IS THE RED CROSS NOT LET VISIT THEM? The Sderot inhabitants are not suffering from humanitarian crisis, when their every-day-life is dangered with quassams from "starving" Gaza?

If the Pals have money for weapons of the latest technology, WHY not for food?

1.) It's all Egypt's Fault "Egypt is the real criminal here violating human rights." Egypt is not occupying Gaza, Israel is. And please don`t claim there was a pullout in 2005. Daily incursions, civilian killings, drones, jet aircraft and incessant sonic booms, apache gunships, assassinations, walls, closed gates and ongoing IDF brutality in Gaza constitutes occupation. Since Israel has de facto control of all air, land and sea in Gaza, that makes Gaza Israel`s responsibility." 2.) Red Cross Bias: "Your claim about some "partiality" on the part of the Red Cross is a feeble attempt to discredit a hugely effective world organization just to obscure the fact that Israel is one of the human rights abusers it has to list as a consequence of its day to day operations in the world." The root cause is Israel's illegal actions in the territories as noted by the former Attorney General of Israel Michael Ben Yair : "We enthusiastically chose to become a colonial society, ignoring international treaties, expropriating lands, transferring settlers from Israel to the occupied territories, engaging in theft and finding justification for all these activities. Passionately desiring to keep the occupied territories, we developed two judicial systems: one - progressive, liberal - in Israel; and the other - cruel, injurious - in the occupied territories. In effect, we established an apartheid regime in the occupied territories immediately following their capture. That oppressive regime exists to this day.http://www.seruv.org.il/english/article.asp?msgid=77&type=article

obviously not...lol... and boy-o-boy!...is this honestly the best you can come up with? you've never really had much to speak of... but there are times...like this one... when even I'M embarrassed for you.

And judging by your response, you still are... PSM: "Are you saying the Red Cross should ignore misbehaviour by its component bodies?" *sigh* The ambulance service of any country is not - repeat, NOT - a "component body" of the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS. The ambulance service of any country is a "component body" of the INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENT. The ICRC wrote this report, not the IRCRCM. The IRCRCM has responsibility for ambulance services, not the ICRC. You can no more berate the ICRC for the misbehaviour of Palestinian Red Cresent ambulance drivers than you can berate an Australian Red Cross ambulance driver because the ICRC hasn't been able to visit Shalit. Doing so is judging something because of the behaviour of an organization for which they can NOT be held responsible. You have a problem with the way the Pal ambulance service is run? Then take it up with the Red Cresent, not the ICRC.

Choosen tribe of the Devil. The Jews belong to a dark and repulsive force. One knows not how numerous the clique is, how they stick together, and what power they exercise through their unions. They are a nation of rascals and deceivers." --Marcus Tullius Cicero, Roman statesman and writer (106 BC- 43 BC)

Darling Fox, The only reason I continue to go to Haaretz on-line is to read and enjoy your take on the news and your responses to those who think they know it all. Thanks for giving us (those who want peace with our neighbors but realize it's a dream that can never come true) a little comic relief. These world organizations that continue to blame Israel allow the Palestinians to wallow in their hatred. There are those in the international community who think it's ok for the residents of Sderot to be bombed every day but when Israel defends itself..that's not ok...oh well, maybe realizing that the only way out of their misery is through educating their youngsters (and I don't mean with guns and suicide belts) and helping each other this cycle of death and hopelessness could end....we did..now it's their turn. I'm bored with the same old pablum trying to be sold to us by all- enemies and friends alike.

Listen carefully to the responses. It will run the gamut but essentially goes like this: "Who arte these goyim, anti-semites that they should speak to us?? What did this Red Cross do for the Jews during the Holocaust. They don't like what Israel is doing in seeking ways to make life impossibly inhumane for the entire Palestinian population? They can go shove it. Israel will do what it wants and chooses to do to find new ways of bringing suffering on an entire nation and theres nothing they can do about it. If these arabushim dont like they way we treat them they can move. The Red Cross is nothing but a disseminator of anti-semitism out to slander all Israel is doing for its own population in the liberated territories of Judea & Samaria. The only thing lacking in the Red Cross report is stating the fact that Israel, as occupier, has lost any moral conscience and defends its brutality as neccesary to its survival.

misbehaviour by its component bodies?They should ignore it not condemn it or take disciplinary action like tell the Red Crescent to stop transporting weapons instead of denying it for years. 'before you open your pig-ignorant mouth. ' All class Johnboy very clasy.

The International Red Cross are total unacceptable idiots!!! Israel totally disengaged from the gaza, tore down hundreds or thousands of jewish homes hoping to bring peace!!! The Hamas kills Jews and Palestinians! Jews are to be blamed????? As an active member of Physicians for Human Rights all I can say is: Shame on you -International Red Cross - Your organization is DISPICABLE!!!!! SHAME ON YOU BEATRICE ROGO!! You and your likes are the primary cause for Middle East Crisis!! You and your likes are to be blamed for Israeli and Palestinian Misery!!!! MUST SEE VIDEO: http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-972718064631834705

eric, where do you get the real news from ??? does it come with the radon gas in nm ? your problem is thta you choose to believe what you want to believe !

try researching "REAL" history sometime, "less than"...instead of israeli propaganda sites whose only purpose is to influence israelis and jews of the diaspora who don't know the REAL truth. and the issue has NOTHING to do with being a jew... so if i'm an anti-semite; then so too are you! only i can STILL claim to be less of a fool!

that's exactly one of the most troublesome phenomena of this conflict. Israelis only see their own suffering. I am not saying Sderot is a fun place to live. Obviously it's not. But the countermeasures Israel are taking are pretty horrendous and they amount like it or not to collective punishment! But any organisation that's even a little bit critical of Israel must be biased at best and anti-semetic at worst huh?

meaning: The gas in Aushwitz Gas Chambers was generated from crystals produced by IG Farben. The generic name was Zyklon B in crystal form. It was trown in into the special compartment in the Gas Chambers after the Jewish and Gypsy victims were locked in in the gas chambers disguised as as showers. The crystals diintegrated in the chemical reaction and the poisneous gas disperesed through the vents that looked like a sprinkler in a shower. As a chemist I felt the need to explain what Mensche was saying. As a matter of fact Red Cross new about waht was going on in Aushwitz and about the gas chambers in there and and kept silent.

I am too caught up with the problems in Sderot where my people live and suffer to worry about the Palestinian suffering in Gaza. Charity begins at home. Maybe those in Gaza should direct their energy towards something other than rockets.

There is no humanity in Gaza or Judea and Samaria.

1. Israel surrounds all of Gaza - even the strip it bared of Palestian Homes in the past few years. It is impossible to go to Egypt without going through Israeli Border Points and then only after getting Israeli permission (which is almost unheard of these days). 2. What has the Hajj to do with Egypt? The Hajj is in Arabia Saudia!! and if Palestine's only Airport in Gaza had not been deliberately destroyed they could leave from there. 3. Egypt is one ccountry that "never stood by" and has always helped the Palestinian People. 4. Israel controls the sea off Gaza, the air above Gaza. 5. Israel controls life and death in Gaza - we are the culprits Silvermann - let us take responsibility for what we are doing and stop before it is too late!!

Apparently, peter = ignorance. As in.... p: "There is no reason to BELIEVE the ICRC, an organization that doesn`t recognize Magen David Adom because of pressure from videogameboys confreres" Yet another "peter" who is completely ignorant about the difference between the INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE OF THE RED CROSS and the INTERNATIONAL RED CROSS AND RED CRESCENT MOVEMENT Frankly, I can't even be bothered with explaining that They Are Not The Same Thing, because....well, it's obvious, ain't it - the person posting uses the name "peter", so he is going to be both lazy and ignorant in his opinions. Go and look up the difference between those two titles yourself, ya' lazy nitwit.

PSM: "As you are aware or should be the Red Cross has been less then impartial with logos,membership etc and it has turned a blind eye to Red Crescent ambulances transporting Arab fighters and munitions till it could no longer credibly ignore it. " And you have no idea that the International Committee of the Red Cross is *NOT* in charge of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement. It is *NOT* responsible for Red Cross Ambulances, or Red Crescent Ambulances, any more than it is responsible for Magen David Adom Ambulances. THEY DON'T DO THAT STUFF. The ICRC is only a PART OF the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and you can no more criticize them for the actions of Arab ambulance drivers than you can blame them if Magen David Adom ambulance drivers refused to treat non-Jews. You, PETER, are an ignorant, and you need to read up more on your subject - any subject - before you open your pig-ignorant mouth.

Mark says that Israel is "occupying" Gaza and therefore has no right to hold its citizens responsible for the terrorism of a few. Not correct! Israel is NOT in Gaza anymore and ONLY goes in because the locals are not preventing rockets from being launched from their territory. Furthermore, West Bank Palestinians ARE preventing extremists from launching rockets from their turf so if this is NOT being done in Gaza it would seem that this is an indication of popular acceptance. As for Marks accusation that I'm a war criminal and a monster just because we disagree on this matter turns the dialogue into a one of name calling rather than intelligent discourse. I usually enjoy reading Marks incisive comments, but alas he does not accord me the same courtesy of treating me as a legitimate interlocutor. And Mark, if you are reading this, next time please try and spell my name correctly. Thank You!

"So the partiality of the Red cross remains dubious at best." No, that simply does not comport with reality. The fact is in as much as any huge international organization can, it tries to not take stands on issues that will complicate it's mission to bring relief to civilians. True "political correctness" so as not to offend and become embroiled instead of carrying on a humanitarian mission. This stance lets them even carry on workshops in Sudan to the Sudanese People's Liberation Army (SPLA), the force in charge, to teach them to integrate international law into their procedures. Your claim about some "partiality" on the part of the Red Cross is a feeble attempt to discredit a hugely effective world organization just to obscure the fact that Israel is one of the human rights abusers it has to list as a consequence of its day to day operations in the world.

"Egypt is the real criminal here violating human rights." Egypt is not occupying Gaza, Israel is. And please don't claim there was a pullout in 2005. Daily incursions, civilian killings, drones, jet aircraft and incessant sonic booms, apache gunships, assassinations, walls, closed gates and ongoing IDF brutality in Gaza constitutes occupation. Since Israel has de facto control of all air, land and sea in Gaza, that makes Gaza Israel's responsibility. Along with the responsibility for creating a civilian humanitarian crisis and fomenting violence in the hopes of stalling any peace agreement to give yet more time in creating new "facts on the ground." Which is Bush-Sharon speak for endless settlements and apartheid for the Palestinians.

Yes, Israel and the US are (still) right in the middle of the Arab World. And, indeed, people who brutalize other people don't deserve pity.

you're all a bunch of racist idiots who would clearly have NO qualms whatsoever if israel was to begin the systematic murder of all palestinians. you...and those who think like you...represent israel's equivalent of the "einsatzgruppen". and you can scream all you want about the comparison, but it's valid; and if you ever took the time to take a long hard look at yourselves...you'd SEE what so many other people see. and 15 thru 17... your horrible qassams are nothing more than an pathetic excuse for israel to carry out its ruthless strangulation of the palestinians in gaza; and anyone who looks at the REAL statistics can see that. gaza is today what the "warsaw ghetto" was 65 years ago. congrats to israel and to you.

For 19 years they were under Egyptian brutal occupation, then from 1967 to 2005 under Israel's best humane administration and for the last two years self governing or lack of governing. It all shows how little you know about the conflict and that you are an Antisemite coming here to bash Jews no matter what the facts are.

Lynn, you do realize that you cheapen the phrase "never again" when you try to conflate it here in this thread with the Red Cross's current findings on Israeli policy in the occupied territories? This thread is about what Israel is doing to the Palestinians and how their actions are causing a humanitarian crisis. It is not about the Jewish narrative from more than six decades ago. We agree, it will never happen again to Jewish folks, but now the shoe is on the other foot and it is the Palestinians who need protection from Israel. It is about what Israel is currently doing, how it is acting, and how bad will the world allow it to get before events force a serious change in Israel's behavior. The news keeps getting worse daily with even more atrocious things being done in Israel's name, still the settlements grow, and there are threats of bloodshed when facing the fact that Jerusalem will become a two state capital. Time's up.

Should Nazis had behaved toward Jews like Israel using gloves with Arab barbarians still living in the 7th century, all 6,000,000 Jews would have survived the war. Your statement is very confused and illogical, shows total lack of knowledge of the conflict and the Middle East Arab mentality.

This is what ICRC does not understand but we in the Arab world know better.

There is no 'choice'. Jordan is Jordan, Israel is Israel, Palestine is... You're using another 'discussion ploy', a bit scratched by now. Just like: 'why don't jews return to the countries they come from'. Very boring.

Just a discussion ploy.

Egypt is the real criminal here violating human rights. It should open the border so the Palestinians in Gaza, at least, can get what they need. Egypt standing by, turning its back (except for the Hajj), is as guilty as the US was in neglecting the Shoa.

"IRC sure as hell isn`t doing much for Darfur and the starvation in the camps. Bunch of jerks." What a horrible untrue claim to make. You should not spread such misinformation, it calls into question your other comments. The fact is, the ICRC has been in Sudan since mid 2004 when they beefed up to 80 staff in country and another 350 local staffers or so who were feeding and sheltering a quarter of a million refugees. As of October this year they've reported feeding and taking care of about 190,000 as well as hundreds of self-help programs including water purification, agricultural, and even workshops on international humanitarian law for militants. Israel and its daily human rights violations are simply just one more country in a long list that rights abusers the ICRC deals with. No bias, just fact.

so what else is new?

"What Mark DOESN`T discuss is if this method of holding the civilian population responsible for what happens on its turf. . . " - Yirz Israel is the occupying power in Gaza by it's own demand. Thus to hold the citizens of Gaza hostage and punish them collectively for the failure of Israel to enforce it's own regulations in Gaza constitutes a war crime. I understand what you are Yirz, the same kind of guy who committed attrocities for Hitler. And, alas, Israel has chosen to make itself no different than the kind of guys who stuffed Jewish children (collective punishment) into gas chambers. You have proven to the world what you are Yirz. A war criminal and a monster.

yeah right, videogameboy isn't happy that all the "zionists" think this or that or whatever. So this racist pig who dreams for the glorious day of another do-over....or better yet unlimited repeats till he gets what he wants, oh yeah that glorious day of victory. There is no reason to BELIEVE the ICRC, an organization that doesn't recognize Magen David Adom because of pressure from videogameboys confreres. It's typical of videogameboy to not see any responsibility and accountability on the part of arab leadership to make decisions to benefit the population. yeah yeah yeah do the occupation shuffle. pathetic

In international law a crime against humanity is an act of persecution or any large scale atrocities against a body of people, and is the highest level of criminal offense. The Rome Statute Explanatory Memorandum states that crimes against humanity "are particularly odious offences in that they constitute a serious attack on human dignity or grave humiliation or a degradation of one or more human beings. They are not isolated or sporadic events, but are part either of a government policy (although the perpetrators need not identify themselves with this policy) or of a wide practice of atrocities tolerated or condoned by a government or a de facto authority. [Wiki] Israel is the occupying power and therefore responsible for safeguarding health and welfare of the population. Call the police.

"ALL You Zionists".I am an Israel supporter and I happen to have read the whole article and I am not criticising the Red Cross here. As you are aware or should be the Red Cross has been less then impartial with logos,membership etc and it has turned a blind eye to Red Crescent ambulances transporting Arab fighters and munitions till it could no longer credibly ignore it. They have not made an issue of not being able to visit Israeli captives either. So the partiality of the Red cross remains dubious at best. Did you notice that in this case they are clearly saying that the Pals are targetting Israeli civillians as their contribution to this mess. The crisis is not helped by the blockade but it is not being blamed exclusively on Israel.All the bits Israel bashers will never acknowledge in their postings. BTW The Red Cross did not exactly cover themselves with glory in WW2 especially with regard to the concentration camps and slave laborers

Dutch,congratulations, you have been studying this conflict since before year 2000! that'a a whole 7 years! wow! that's incredible. Do yourself a favour, and go back to year 1900 at least, you might learn and understand something. Or even about 5000 years ago , you definitely be better equipted to understand

re "Israeli restrictions have caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank" tis time to wisenup!!! all indication shows that Gazans should attach themselves to Egypt and the West Bank Arabs to Jordan, While they disattach themselves from all complaints how awful Israel is let them all try living with their "brothers" in the hood. enough with the complaints already ISRAEL OWES YOU NOTHING!!!

Ben: Anne might be stupid, but you are asinine. The Palestinians are not blockading Gaza to keep food and medicine from going in. It's Israel who is subjecting the Palestinians to famine. And why? Because the Palestinians did not vote the way Bush and Sharon/Olmert wanted.

BS'D THE RED CROSS DELIBERATELY TURNS A BLIND EYE TO THE SUFFERING OF THOUSANDS OF ISRAELI FAMILIES WHOSE LOVED ONES HAVE BEEN MURDERED OR WOUNDED IN CONTINUING ARAB TERRORIST ATTACKS WHICH ARE SUPPORTED BY A MAJORITY OF THE SO-CALLED 'palestinians'! WHY DOESN'T THE RED CROSS EXCORIATE THE 22 SOVEREIGN ARAB COUNTRIES FOR NOT ABSORBING THEIR OWN ARAB BRETHREN AND PROVIDING FOR THEM WITH SOME OF THE BILLIONS OF PETRO-DOLLARS THEY RECEIVE FROM OIL PROFITS? WITH G-D'S HELP, ISRAEL ONE TINY STATE THE SIZE OF NEW JERSEY, ABSORBED AND CONTINUES TO PROVIDE FOR ITS REFUGEES FROM THE HOLOCAUST, THE FORMER SOVIET UNION, FROM ETHIOPA...AND THE THOUSANDS OF JEWS WHO WERE EXPELLED FROM THEIR HOMES IN ARAB COUNTRIES WHERE THEY HAD LIVED FOR CENTURIES? (See website:victimsofarabterror.com

There is not enough room on this site for me to explain my disdain for the Red Cross but I will say that the Red Cross is the main reason that I contribute to the Salvation Army and of course I always contribute to the Magen David Adom. As far as the Red Cross goes... it can go to hell.

stament.You forgot to mention the bit about Pal rockets targetting Israeli civillians. So you do not like it if grandchildren of Holocaust survivors do not just lie down and take it? Maybe they should have just allowed the Arabs to do what they said and say they will do to please you.?Like Hamas children's TV saying they will kill all Israelis.

They can move to Palestine, a/k/a Jordan. Western money should be made availble to build communities there for these palestininas to join their brethen palestinins. There is plenty of land- over 77% of the Palestine Mandate. If the billions were put into Jordan for these palestinians the conflict would be over, conform to the original idea of the 'two state' solution and there would be no 'refugees'. An Arab state craved out of Judea Samaria is a 'Three State' solution. Add a separate Gaza and you have 'Four State' solution. Jordan and Israel is the 'two state ' solution.

Yes, son, the 6.000.000 Jews would have fared much better and many more would have survived if the Nazis had been only as cruel to them as the Israelis are to the Palestinians today. So there is a connection between the Holocaust and the treatment of Palestinians. The Nazis murdered Jews so if Israelis take away Palestinian land, imprison the occupied people in their own territory, shoot a few hundred civilians here and there during collective punishment excursions, deprive the occupied of their livelihood and mobility, well, that is perfectly acceptable. The Jews suffered excruciatingly, so Israel can torture the Palestinians less excruciatingly. Have you not learned the lesson of the Holocaust? No people can abase, exile, imprison, exterminate another people, ever. NEVER AGAIN.

The ICRC has no business criticizing Israel. When they take as much interest in the security and safety of Israelis as they do protecting Palestinian terrorists, THEN they might have a credible leg to stand on. In the meantime, it's nothing but a puppet of the Arabs and an anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli cesspool...

The Palestinians have a right to resist the occupation. -- and be responsible for consequences. That is a funadamental principle of democracy. --- ? From it springs the right to self-determination. ---? This is denied the Palestinians by the Israelis, against international opinon and international law. --- and vice versa Your support for a brutal racist state is abhorrent, and undemocratic. ----Others see it differently

nuff said.

Shoot the messenger, hey? Listen, all of you, if your argument depends on attacking the integrity of an organization like the International Committee of the Red Cross then you have already lost the argument. There wouldn't be very many other organizations whose independence and impartiality would match up to that of the ICRC, though no doubt all of the propagandists will start pointing me towards such paragons of umpartiality as CAMERA. If the ICRC says there is a humanitarian crisis that is getting worse, and it is getting worsse because of the actions of Israel, then BELIEVE IT. Coz the ICRC has no axe to grind here, and has no incentive whatsoever to induldge in cheap propaganda; it is simply telling it as it is. Even if you don't want to hear it.

TO SABRA THE RED CROSS ARE LIEING BASTARDS AND HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR THE 1940-45 WAR LETTING THE CHILDREN OF THE JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN RELIGION GO TO THE GASCHAMBERS AND TURNING THE OTHER CHEEK

and the starvation in the camps. Bunch of jerks.

BRAD MY FRIEND, DOES THE WORLD KNOW ABOUT HOW WE THE ISRAELIS, TREAT SOME GAZAN,S WE TAKE THEM TO THE IHILOV HOSPITAL IN TEL-AVIV, AND TREAT THEM FOR VARIOUS AILMENTS AND SOME OF THE WOUNDED, AND SOME OF THE CANCER PATIENTS, I CAN PROVE THAT BECAUSE MY SISTER IS IN THE PALACE, AND HER DAUGHTER GOES AND VISITS SOME OF THE PALESTINIANS, TO SHOW THEM THAT NOT ALL ISRAELI,S ARE BAD, BUT THE WORLD PRESS NEVER MENTIONES THAT, OR WRITE,S ABOUT IT. PLEASE PRINT THIS HAAETZ

Asharq Alawsat has a terrific article concerning Hamas, authored by the head of Al Arabiya TV. Your whines don't stand the light of day and neither does Hamas.

Has the holy Red Cross ever heard about Hamas & Co? Stop the biased blame game! No room for antisemitic politics anymore! Shame on the sick and sickening!

COOL TEX YOU ARE ABSOLUTLY RIGH THE RED CROSS ARE ABSOLUTE HYPOCRITES, THEY HAVE A LOT TO ANSWER FOR, E.G. LETTING HUNDREDS PERHAPS THOUSANDS OF CHILDREN GO TO THE GAS CHAMBERS IN 1940-45 WAR JEWISH AND CHRISTIAN CHILDREN, I THINK MANY OF THE CHRISTIAN CHILDREN WERE POLISH.

terror,the Kasams teams could not operate. The "innocent" pals,at least a GOOD MARGORITY, fuly supports the terror against Israel. Red Cross should first work on stoping the palis,and then things will change. Palis are the masters of their desteny. A real case of selfinflicted suffering.

It would be nice if the red cross was equally vociferous about the daily sufferings of israelis from the constant bombing of their towns and villages. A typical racist left wing organisation. Jewish suffering doesnt matter - no I take it back they are equally reserved in their condemnation of the racist Mugabe - it is only acts of self defence by Jews that warrant criticism.

I didn't say you were stupid because you see the suffering of others. I said you were stupid since you can not make the connection between palestinain suffering and their leadership decisions. That is, spelled out simply for you, STOP BLAMING ISRAEL FOR PALESTINAIN SUFFERING. The suffering of these people is now at the feet of their leadership and the choices they made and continue to make. If you want to wring you hands with grief-go ahead. But dont blame others.

But its ok because they have been given the green light by there god to have a jewish state that keeps the goyim and the unclean out,that is there very own,the rest of the world we have laws of equality,but in israel you have a bunch zionist racists fighting a bunch of moslem zealots,all in gods love,prophesy the trillion dollar industry,complex problem feed the poor or pour trillions into israels survival so christ can return,unless your jewish and your waiting for the so called real massiah,religion has become so warped it rivals all evil in the world,how many people are suffering or dieing because of religious doctrine.Does any one know the cost of keeping the light unto the world operateing,and is it ok for jews to ask god to kill the first born man,woman and animal in Iran.I still have not found one shred of written history that this happened in egypt except by a few jewish writers who had a great imagination.Or an egyption scholar describe the sea parting,but yet it is fact?

I suppose you would exclude from being a Jew anyone who believes that you should neither vex a stranger nor oppress him for you were strangers in Egypt, and that you shall have one manner of law as well for the stranger as for one of your own country. So much for the Torah.

has made huge mistakes. It also states that they have not moderated as they matured for the last 20 years. In fact they have gotten worse and much more violent.

Thank you Mark for more of your diet-Leftist crap. So Olmert is Right Wing eh? guess he will be getting rid of National Health Care soon. Mark wrote, as a member of the Hate George W. cult, that Olmert only wishes to kill as many Arabs as possible, if it wasn;t so stupid then I would have Baptists sent to his door to pull him out of that cult. Mark our general, who has never seen a war, tells us that all Olmert has to do is send in the tanks and take a swath of land putting the Qassams out of range of Israel. the only problem with this is that Mark would be the first one knocking over his liquid refreshments screaming against this obvious "War Crime! Sorry my drunken friend, but no matter what Israel does to protect itself you cultist mind will blame it on Bush and the "Israeli Right". that is a fact and you are an idiot. Cheers and a yee haw to you too.

Is any one else out there getting as sick as I am of this incessant pablum, being served up to us by the likes of NGO's, the Red CRYSTAL, and Ophra Winfrey? You gotta just love the line "normal & dignified life", it is perfect in its nebulous concepts of truth and justice. It is a war for god's sakes! No body is assured a normal life when bombs are falling. As for dignified, when is a life led with dignity. Does the Hamas feel dignified when it blows up babies? Of course they do. the only way to bring dignity to Gazans seems to be by killing jews. I would rather they lived with as little dignity as possible. I would wish the Red Cross would double its efforts to get us some real information on Shalit. By not gaining access to the Israeli prisoner of war, they are complicit in the committing of a WAR CRIME! Where is the dignity for the families of captured Israeli soldiers, or the residents of Sderot.

Red Cross has a proven record of not caring for jews. It couldn't care less about the life of the Israeli's. I do not understand why Magen David Adom is still a member of this useless organisation.

It has come to the point that I don't get your point. All I see is hatred piled upon hatred and your rants go on and on and on. Booring. See you tomorrow after the daily incursion by the IDF and the slaying of a few more innocent arabs whose only transgerssion was firing a few rockets and trying to kill Jews. Thanks to the IDF for keeping me safe.

"It never ceases to amaze me how people sitting in the luxury of their homes in Texas can have the temerity to criticize Israelis.." Indeed and as you pointed out, the palis were better off when Israel was administering the disputed terrorities. Israel built a bustling pali economy with a GDP of up to 13% according to the World Bank, and invested hundreds of millions in infrastruture projects. Literacy went up, surpassing that of Egypt & Syria. 7 universities were set up on WB, financed by Israeli and private Jewish funds. The palis also had free access to Israel?s medical programs that led to a steep drop in infant mortality, down from 60 per 1000 live births to just 15. All went downhill when the corrupt arafat & his cronies took over, as the UN Development Reports clearly show. Just as Israel is blamed for the PLO/PA's failings, the IRC is holding Israel overall liable for the dire state created by its enemies.

his knowlege of international law is sound.So is mine.The same UN and the world community that made it possible for israel to establish a state in 1947 and admitted it to membership of the UN,has the power & authority to suspend israel for non compliance of 181&194 and other matters I have referred to.BTW if you go to the site which gives Dan Gillerman's speech at the UN,Nov.29,2007(60th anniversary of 181)there is a little video which has footage on how jubilantly jews received news of the passing of 181!Since then hubris&greed overcame you and you know the old Greek saying:Those whom the gods would destroy they first make mad! So,if you want to be treated well,learn to respect the international community which made your state possible.Respect International Law,unless you want some big guy to come along and whack you,if that is your secret wish!

Oh, help me, help me, oh what shall we do. Condemned by the red cross! Oh God no! Funny the humanitarian red cross never said boo about the red crescent ambulances which carried terrorists and explosives to their deadly destination. Only when it concerns those greedy Jews--alveys it is ze Juden!

You belong to the lot of Dutch and all the other Antisemites. Any Jew in Israel will jump at the first opportunity for real Peace with Arabs if indeed it looks real and Arabs can prove that they are genuine. There are no bad Jews in Israel, only in your dreams. The problem with leftists like you is that you always jump and ready for it when Arabs otter the word Peace without having to prove that they mean it.

The problem I have with that report is that I feel it's biased. On one hand it puts all the blame on Israel. On the other hand human rights violation in other countries are totally ignored. Is this the price for admitting the MDA to the ICRC?

to discriminate against us. For example here in Mecca and the Hejaz we destroyed all churches and synagogues and will not allow non-Muslim Arabs to live here at all after we killed all that we could find.

do not boycott our hero brothers in settlements we conquered in Philistine Gaza and what Yahoud calls their Judea and Samaria when we colonized the region for our holly Caliphate and Allah. That's it, life is not fair; we demand Yahoud complies, Yahoud demands we do not comply. In the end look at Izrail's condition and our dire conditions to understand how much (or little) we achieved with this boycott.

Are those the same fellows that said Theresienstadt was a fun place with cultural and sport facilities? Oh yeah, and with postal services that delivered souvenir postcards from deportees ( thru the Red Cross of shame ) to their families and friends and so what if the cards arrived after the senders were already gassed and burned.

Thank you so much for your honest posting to Dutch. Unfortunately you do not understand what the problem is all about concerning Dutch. He has no interest in politics whats so ever. He is a racist, only hoping that the Jews of Israel will be thrown into the Sea. A person who understand politics and have an interest in it, will see that it takes two for a tango. I am sorry to say that there are a whole bunch of his type. We who see that a compromise must take place, and follow the one eye postings, we know Dutch, his friends and their dreams. Let me just say, that sorrily enough, we the Jews, also have some of those inhumans on our side as well...

Having been SLAPPED left & right by her beloved hamas terrorists with the failed CLEAN-GREEN whitewash of the BLOODY-RED bullets in kids and BLUE-BLACK injuries, lakshmi feels emboldened to go for BIGGER plans - an ICT and the World Court. Given the "expertise" of lakshmi's revisionist historical accounts and johnboy's own made-up international laws and fairy tales, the proceedings should last less than a day. Yawn. Still, very "scary" stuff. BUT only for people ignorant of the truth. And Israel has nothing to fear. Anyway, would the world wants to open up a can of worms that has everything to do with the world? Hope you are not holding your breath, lakshmi (and your cohorts), cos it has to be a very very very very very deep one.

Dutch is right... but that works for the palis too!!. Sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander

let the gazans and west bank complain to Hamas for their freedom fighting actions which are causing them all the hardships. When hamas stops shelling, rocketing, bombing and decides that shooting is getting no where, then these seciruty measures can be lifted. Then again hamas has no problem getting millions of dolars and food and medicine and spare parts now do they. hamas is screwing over the population of gaza under teh guise of fighting for them. great gig isnt it.?

Apartheid so what are you saying, Are you implying we Israelis are treating the Palestinians as the Germans did the Jews in the holocaust? O how nice of you! I will tell my government first in thing in the morning to get a zonder commander unit assembled to get rid of them Palestinians, what would you suggest, should we buy lories to gas them with the trucks fumes, or get them lined up by the forest, the banks of a ditch, or a river and shoot, maybe round them in a barn and light up the fire, or should we get an Auschwitz death camp running? How nice of you! By the way how are your Iraqi friends doing; how many of them are suffering by your presence there; how many are dead in your short period stay; how many dead because you dumb picklers don`t know the language; care by the way to lift them check points in Iraq?

So often those who are not 110 % supporter of all the actions of Israel are labeled stupid and worse...I think it tells more about your character than of mine. If you are not able to see the suffering of the innocent people, so it is your problem. I see the suffering of the children and people in Israeli side, too but it does not make me blind to see the suffering elsewhere,too. I have not voted for anybody here in Israel. As an outsider I am sure that my poit of view is more objectiv than yours!I do not have to be one-sided only.

Mark, as usual, has a detailed and thought-out argument claiming that the Israeli government prefers starving out innocent Palestinians civilians (at the expense of S'derot) rather than dealing with Hamas or engaging in a military campaign. He supports his argument by citing Lebanon as another example of the same tactic. What Mark DOESN'T discuss is if this method of holding the civilian population responsible for what happens on its turf is effective! I suspect that the government in Lebanon is no longer going to be so cavalier about Hizballah as it was in the past. Can this kind of thinking apply to Gaza? Its hard to say. But one thing is for sure. The Israeli government is not the only one to use economic weapons in Gaza that severely affect innocent civilians. The international community ALSO been less than forthcoming about contributing to a situation that they feel only will get worse until the Palestinian people finally decide to rid themselves of terrorists.

Doubtless it has escaped your attention that not only the US, but the UN, EU and the Arab League have denounced the Hamas takeover of Gaza, and the entire world participates in the economic boycott of Gazastan "government" vs. the PA -- not only the US, Bush and Cheney. Shortly, Israel will begin doing to Gaza what the US and EU forces are doing to the Taliban in Afganistan. What the Lebanese did to the rocket-firing Nahr el-Badr "refugee camp". With the same objectives and with the same methods. Doubtless we will hear more of your hysterical whining on this TalkBack - "Collective Punishment", "Disproportionate Force", "War Crimes", yadayadayada. Knock yourself out. HAARETZ loves your rants, it generates business and profits. For an I-S-R-A-E-L-I newspaper. Think about that, idiot.

The ICRC says it "recognises Israel's right to take measures to defend itself. But it says it needs to be balanced against the Palestinians' right to live a normal and dignified life". How can the palestinians in Gaza expect normality whilst they are waging war, outside of Gaza. The wall and security restrictions are a response to palestinian inspired suicide bombing. The lack of dignity and human rights in Gaza are the result of a miltary coup and authoritarian regime restricting personal freedom. Inadequate medical services is feature all around the world UK, USA, including delays and bureacratic obstacles to getting treatment. Abundant palestinian aid is funneled into buying wepons and paying for war. That is why there is a lack of rights and dignity, as these are quashed by the palestinian in favour of a war effort. Denial of serious honest peace moves and gesturing on so called reversionary principles will only prolong the agony and poverty.

Why does criticism of Israeli policies illicit such outrage in the US? In Israel itself, many voices are heard, and those Israelis who are opposed to the wall or to unreasonable restrictions on Palestinians are not branded anti-semitic. So many of the postings seem to suggest that Palestinians, innocent or guilty, young or old, deserve harsh treatment. But surely Israel, like any country, has a right to defend itself and an obligation to so so in the most humane way possible.

It never ceases to amaze me how people sitting in the luxury of their homes in Texas can have the temerity to criticize Israelis for defending themselves. Having lived on both the Lebanese and the Egyptian/Gaza borders, I have been amazed at Israeli patience through the years. Remember, before suicide bombing, there were no fences and the Palistenians went to their jobs in Israel without restraint (and their economic conditions reflected this). Also, their economic conditions dramatically rose during the so called Israeli occupation.

They won't let an ounce of oil in. Why not tell the stupid Gas station managers to accept what they get and not boycott Israel at the expense of their sick and poor?

1)Palestinians, who worked in Israel started killing their Israeli employers almost "epidemically" after 1993 and commit terrorist attacks in Israel. CONSEQUENCE: Israel started replacing Pals with foreign labour and built check-points, then the Fence, because the previous measures did not stop Pal-terror. 2)Pals started importing weapons by ships to Gaza and infiltrate into Israel through the sea in order to commit terrorist attacks in Israel. CONSEQUENCE: Israel started supervising Gaza sea-shores and set sea limits for Pals' fishing. 3)Israel indeed should have managed the Pal-economy for the Pals, since the billions the EU donated ended in Arafat's private bank-accounts, gave rise to corruption, weapons were purchased and tunnels dug to smuggle them from Egypt to Gaza, to pay life-time compensation (health-care, college and pension) to suicide terrorists' families. CONSEQUENCE: Israel froze the Pals foreign subsidies. 4)Presenently quassams swish in air-space

For every time the Red Cross visits Shalit, Israel can allow 10 Gazans to get free treatment in Israel for any disease. But until Shalit is granted such visits, Israel should allow not a single person in or out of Gaza, for any reason whatsoever. As for the border fence: several maps I've seen in Haaretz- provided by leftist, pro-Palestinian, and usually European sources- clearly show that the fence follows the pre-1967 border almost everywhere except around Jerusalem. The amount of West Bank land on the "wrong" side of the fence is miniscule. Actually, it's quite ridiculous how much land Israel simply GAVE AWAY to the Palestinians for free- 100% of Gaza and almost the entire West Bank. And yet the Pals still want more!

for the international community to get the UN General Assembly to set up an International Criminal Tribunal to try israel for war crimes.Can be done by the GA by a majority, pursuant to its powers to establish subsidiary organs under UN Charter,art 22. Also take israel to the World Court for genocide,which includes ethnic cleansing(1948)and presently slow genocide against the Palestinian people!

Oh it touches a nerve...no it's a pang in the heart...no it hits the funny-bone...no it just fizzles out. Who would believe that the grandchildren of Holocaust victims mean it when they say Never Again. Who would believe that we would succeed and survive the combined Arab armies attacking the nascent state??? Who would believe we would survive the combined armies ulullating on our borders in '67?? Who would believe we would survive the attack on Yom Kippur and repulse the combined Arab armies. Who would believe we would survive the tactic of a "palestinian" entity. Who would believe that I don't give a shit what this Bostoner believes??

When Red Cross visited nazi death camps it had pretty positive opinion about them. Tells about Red Cross stance quite a bit.

there was a country who was walling in Jews, depriving them of their livelihoods, denying them rights to education and healthcare and then imagine the justifiable outcry. BUT WHY IS IT OK TO DO THIS TO PALESTINIANS? The US gives the nod, The EU can't say anything because of German guilt. But remember a friend is someone who tells you the things you don't want to hear.

"Cannot put humantiarian crisis above self-preservation..." JJ, How distorted and over reactive your thinking has become. Not even 9/11 qualitfy as self preservation in your crisis category as the historian Joseph. J. Ellis explains: "Whether or not we can regard Sept. 11 as history, I would like to raise two historical questions about the terrorist attacks of that horrific day. My goal is not to offer definitive answers but rather to invite a serious debate about whether Sept. 11 deserves the historical significance it has achieved. My first question: where does Sept. 11 rank in the grand sweep of American history as a threat to national security? By my calculations it does not make the top tier of the list, which requires the threat to pose a serious challenge to the survival of the American republic. Here is my version of the top tier: the War for Independence, where defeat meant no United States of America; the War of 1812, when the national capital was burned to the ground; the Civil War, which threatened the survival of the Union; World War II, which represented a totalitarian threat to democracy and capitalism; the cold war, most specifically the Cuban missile crisis of 1962, which made nuclear annihilation a distinct possibility.http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/28/opinion/28ellis.html

If weapons can get into gaza by the boat loads so can everything else!! Israel lets food and medications in without any restrictions!! the situation in Gaza would be resolved the minute they stop shooting Kassams!!! Israel would do so much to help the Gazans!! The Hamas & Islamic Jihad have every interest in preventing peace and worsening the situation!! If you want to help try to understand the situation!! The red cross is lying to itself and blaming the wrong party and as a result is deferring the solution!! Israel has nothing to do with the problem, The situation in the Gaza is intentionally brought on by the Hamas and Islamic Jihad!!! YOUR COMMENTS ARE RIDICULOUS, MISTAKEN, AND SOOOO DAMAGING TO THE PALESTINIAN CAUSE!!!!

and the red x said what ?

and they know exactly what needs to happen in order for israel to back off however they CHOOSE to shoot rockets, THROW STONES, and are doing the most they can to DERAIL peace process. at the end of the day, it is ARABS who dont want peace. PS... not to say that israel is not responsible, but lets not pin all of the problems on israel. the minute rockets stop, is the minute the rest of the world will turn around and say... palis want peace! until then, look out for f16s

Even for a Haaretz Talkback this one has an exceptional number of people who express hatred. How can anyone hate the Red Cross? You might as well hate IATA for criticising the safety of Ben Gurion Airport - but perhaps some of you do?

This is the bit that dutch, ballistic, silverenne, and co will ignore "and urged Palestinian factions to stop targeting civilian areas and putting lives at risk." It seems that the red cross as always is anit semetic but at least they did put the above clause in their statement telling the whole world that the pals are equally to blame as well.

This website has been overrun by trolls of the cyber-variety. Viz: Clickfool, Dutch, & many many more. Those that do not understand: look up the term. They are no better than spammers & hackers! Back to thread: pals only have themselves to blame on the current humanitarian problems.

The West Bank, Gaza, Shibaa farms, Golan heights, east Jerusalem, Galilee, Haifa and Jaffa are all under Israeli occupation...for now.

Your comments reak with Anti Palestinian (and Anti Israel) racism!! Shame on you!! You clearly have no understanding of the situation!! The PA led by Arafat were so corrupt, they couldn't care one bit about the well being of the Palestinian people!! They ran so many Palestinians out of their homes in Bethlehem, Ramallah, Mainly Christians but also intellectual Muslums!!! They threatened their lives and killed thousands of Palestinians!! Several of my family members that didn't go along with the PA leadership were murdered without trials!! Me and my family left our home for the US with no intention to return!!! You could blame Israel all you want but you clearly have no idea what your talking about. The entire blame goes on the Hamas and the PA, they never made our lives better!! The main reason the Hamas was elected was due to PA corruption and now it appears that the PA has no interest in helping the Palestinians either!!

Apartheid, You are right Israel's actions in the territories are like the Facists. Indeed, a judge from Chile visited the territories last year and he found it was just like life under the dictatorship of Pinochet . ( http://www.jerusalemites.org/News%20In%20English/english/2007/febraury/12.htm ) Read his commentary for yourself. Dutch

Apartheid, I think the grandchildren of Holocaust victims learned well from those responsible for the Holocaust. It has often been said that those who are brutalized go on to become brutalizers as well. What I don't think many of those who jump with joy at the thought of dead Palestinians don't realize is that when Israel pulled out of Gaza they turned it into the world's largest outdoor prison. No access to the outside, no access to their airspace, no access beyond a few hundred feet to the sea, no jobs in Israel on which so many depended for their livelihood. And since Israel had long controlled the Gaza economy there was bound to be major problems when Israel pulled out and locked the door. Obviously the inmates of the prison have a major issue with their jailers.

Gilad Shalit needs Israeli medical care and cannot live a normal and dignified life. Also, all our missing soldiers.

If only it were possible to turn the clock back and have the Germans treat the over 6,000,000 "non threatening" dead Jews as "bad" as Israel treats its "threatening" Arab enemies.

The Hamas and Arafat/Dahlan are totally to blame!! Arafat and his corrupt team-Dahlan have spent years leaving Palestinians in the worse conditions!! Every Palestinian who has any brains will move out of there!! Hamas and abu mazeen will never work together - The Palestinians are totally responsible for the mess they are in!! Any palestinian who wants to leave can get up and move, or go on Hagz and not come back!

Dr, Brnd, Your defense of this unruly nation and its practices is what's laugh- able daily on this talkback. At least all the human rights groups and civil liberty groups and the internationmal Court of Justice supports the findings of the Red Cross. Yet there isn't a nation today that will stand besides Israel except the corrupt Bush & Cheney camp.That ought to tell you something. Dutch

would behave thus. Check points? A huge concentration camp wall? Anyone who approaches the wall dies?

Any criticism of Israel and lo and hehold, the critic is anti-semitic and disreputable. Is the ICRC going the same way as the UN .....surely not! Collective punishment is OK is it? The WW2 mentality......

Could not have said it better myself

Typical Israeli arrogance--blame the victims and their defenders. To think American tax dollars are propping up the likes of you and others in Israel is just sinful. It will change. Trust me on this. Dutch

Besides the onus is primarily upon the Pals , not the israelis, to make good, positive, forward-thinking policy decisions, the kind that lead to foreign financial support, easing of israeli restrictions which are only in place under the threat of terrorist attacks, etc... Further, even if Israel entirely dropped its guard tomorrow, many pals , especially Hamas, who hate israel much much more than they love their own people, would not make the idealogical, financial, and political shifts necessary to solve their own problems. Thirdly, one cannot objectively look at the israeli-palestinian situation and say rationally, that even if the responsibility was primarily Israels, which is not the case, that they could remove all or most of the restrictions which are in place for good reason. As time goes on, and in good faith, some restrictions may be removed. The pals are always looking for someone to blame other than , ironically, the party involved with the most culpability, them.

William, You may be a proud and successful nation but you are rotten neighbors and there is no denying this either. All the human rights groups who have observed Israeli practices and especially the IDF have reported deliberate and sytematic violence against unarmed Palestinian civilians with the intent of wounding them or killing them plus collective punishment towards them and punitive measures against them as a people, In this world we are measured not by our material success but how we treat others in our midst and Israel has failed this test repeatedly since I started following this conflict before the year 2000. Dutch

...I will not go into a lengthy explication about why inncocent civilians, if there are any in Gaza, often suffer in war time. But I will tell you that, contrary to your post (and see if you can wrap your miniscule head around this idea), the lives of Israeli citizens ARE indeed unequivocally more important than the suffering of palestinain civillians. It is the responsibility of every country to advance the well-being of their own citizens first. Israel does no more than that. Secondly, as Hamas like to remind everyone, they represent the will of the palestinians. Qasam rocket fire makes your life miserable? Too Effing bad-you voted for the party that wants to destroy Israel, now suffer. Just like we Jews?Israelis do for our governments policies.

So the Red Cross is miffed that Gazans have only "enough to survive", and that they don't have "a normal and dignified life". That's WAR, Ms. Roggo. Gaza isn't "occupied", they're involved in an active shooting war with Israel. Different Geneva Convention rules apply. Israel is under no obligation to afford its enemy with "a normal and dignified life". What is Hamas doing to afford Sderot a "normal and dignified life"? It is biased, unbalanced, frankly laughable nonsense like this from ICRC flunkies that destroys the Red Cross credibility and mission - hardly the "neutrality" that is required. Claim that Israel's security barrier creates a humanitarian crisis due to keeping farmers from their land is even more ludicrous; less than 1% of W. Bank agriculture falls within the fence by all calculations. Naturally, Ms. Roggo has no problem with Gaza's rocketing Sderot or refusing Israeli POWs ICRC access. A completely discredited organization. Yet, there's no "statement" on Darfur genocide.

Ferriman talks of fundamental principle of democracy but goes on a rant instead. A fundamental principle of democracy is for a government to provide for it's people, something the Arabs have not and are not doing. yeah yeah yeah do the occupation shuffle...is all Ferriman can do. The right to fight Israel and attempt to destroy her comes with consequences if you lose. There are responsibilities and accountability on the part of leadership with regards to their people....and their situation is a reflection of the abuse of Arabs by Arabs. It's all well and nice to hide this under the umbrella of "right to resist occupation" but that's a load of crock. You support for the Arabs inability and lack of ability to provide proper governance smacks of disdain and condescension. Choosing to compromise instead of demanding 100%, choosing peace instead of war, choosing construction instead of destruction would be governing. You don't even expect it.

please find out what has happened to all the missing soldiers over the years from Israel. Please allow the families of these people to take a breath and live like normal people. Dear Red Cross please be fair to one and all, as we all bleed red.

The Palestinian population has "effectively become a hostage to the conflict,"? A logical impossibilty, how can a combatant become a hostage to itself? This brave "political statement" by the ICRC contrasts with their craven cowardice to speak out at the time concerning what they acknowledge they knew during WWII about the concentration camps. Just a whiff of anti-semitism-or somthing endemic?

The barrier has been a blessing for Israel. It was the smartest and best idea. Until people can prove that they are civilized and willing to coexist with each other, the barrier should stay up.

How come no word from the Red Cross / Red Crescent on this disaster?

I've got the remedy. Sounds definitely like an iron deficient diet. Why not have your friend and colleagues try biting into those Pal Gaza guns/kassams? As I said previously lots of iron although no protein.

You seem to put into the same package the civilians( from little babies to old sick people) and the militants as a cause of this humanitarian crisis. There are still people who can make the difference between the militants and the innocent civilians who need aid. It is not only The Red Cross but also the World Bank said today, that the foreign aid will not be enough to revive peoples lives because of the restrictions of Israel. The basic human rights and needs are not the priviledge of only israeli people. The self defence of Israel cannot be the reason to prevent of helping innocent civilians.

You'd think some of the proceeds would go to their brothers in Gaza. But no, its better to blame everything on Israel, keep the pressure on, let them starve. Personally I feel a little sorry for the palestinians, kept and used as pawns for the whole Arab world.

We're a proud, successful nation that has existed in this form for 60 years, and thousands of years in the ancient form. We built an oasis on a desert and created some of the greatest medical and technological advances known to man. We are an independent State that is owned by only her citizens. Israel chose to feed its populace first before waging war, something the Arabs haven't learned and continue to pay the price for. You could disown them for their atrocities, but you're too addicted to the taste of oil and you dislike the taste of truth.

Dear Alicia, What has lead to the humitarian crisis is the brutal and racist Occupation. This is part of the overall plan to force out the Palestinians. It is called ethnic cleansing. Regards

Dear Nat, The Palestinians have a right to resist the occupation. That is a funadamental principle of democracy. From it springs the right to self-determination. This is denied the Palestinians by the Israelis, against international opinon and international law. Your support for a brutal racist state is abhorrent, and undemocratic. Regards

Dutch, do you mean the rights of Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and all of the other terror groups to continue to launch quassam rockets into Israel? If the Palestinian people would rid themselves of these barbaric terror groups whose sole purpose is the elimination of Israel, life would rapidly improve for the Palestinian people as a whole (greatly). However,this is up to the Palestinians, who until now have made their own bed by allowing terror groups to determine their situation.

Oh deary me, the people that voted Hamas and Fatah into power are in trouble. HELP! Silly arabs, terrorism isnt for kids. You gotta love how the Red Cross harps on how the poor terror supporters are having a rough time of it, yet has nothing to say about the same arab people who have started 5 wars, blew up women and children with nail bombs and used amulances to transport terrorists. Just another day in the life of Jew haters. I suppose the Red Cross would have been upset that the allies were making life tough on the Germans or the Japanese (isnt that the point of war - to make the otherside STOP due to suffering?)(guess not - war is when you support your enemy while he kills you - ask any Israeli leftist). BTW Red Cross, where are Israels missing soldiers? OOPS - Forgot about that one huh? (btw isnt this a HASS article - or is she out writting another olive tree story?)

How sad- the writers below the articles are so full of hate and fear to the point that they can't see humanity. Instead of attacking the Red Cross, how can we all work to end the conflict. There is enough blame to go around. The Children of Palestine and Gaza need our couarge and humanity and not our hate and distrust. Let us be the peace maker... We all know that Israel is in power to change the situation, all they need is the courage to shed fear and work toward a just solution for both people

A big thank you is in order for the International Red Cross! Israel has become a shameful nation and an embarrassment to many American tax payers today. My friend and collaegues who travel to the territories and see the inhumane conditions the Israelis have forced the Palestinian into and they come back sick to their stomachs. Is it any wonder many of them and other outraged American tax payers are leading the American charge to bring Israel's unruly politicians and their practices into line today. So a big thank you to the International Red Cross for your concern about the dignity and rights of the Palestinian people under Israel's unlawful control too. Others should follow your lead. Thanks, Dutch

If the ICRC is so concerned they should be working on the release of Israeli prisoners and the cessation of rocket fire. NOT A WORD ABOUT the Israeli suffering. The Pals would rather practice terror their economic fate is of no concern me or Dutch or Clickfoot for that matter.

Yet there is such a HOO HAA about them . Have you seen the Darfurians ,Somalis, Congolese,The Old Biafrans(in 70s). Have you seen Africans sunken Dehydrated eyes.The Kwashiorkor distended abdomens of the infants and their brown hair .The stick thin legs Gazans are using their Status as Arabs to extract Money from anyone except their Arab Brothers who are just coining it @$90+ a barrel oil. When Gazan women do the crying act you see mouths full of beautiful white teeth.

During the tsunami-catastrophy, as money was collected also in Finland for the victims, the biggest collector, the Finnish Red Cross decided with all the money, ordinary people had donated, to go to the stock exchange instead! Hallelujah! The Finnish RC explained that "well, the world has scraped together so much money that we need NOT to give OUR money to the victims, but can go to the stock exchange instead"! As always: Finnish people just take the s-t, when deceived or abused and keep their mouths shut! That is their nature. With UNIVERSAL morality like this....only 1% out of A-L-L the money collected for the tsunami victims in the entire world reached the intended victims!!! Where are the 99% of the money? In the intermediators' pockets! They grew rapidly rich! BTW.: the head of the intl. Red Cross is Finnish, Stenbäck, from the Swedish People's Party(!):Svenska Folk-Partiet, and he resides in Switzerland, where the RC-head-quarters are located!

to Israel and speak your mind. Just make sure someone doesn't hit you over the mouth for your idiotic comments.

Not enough Palestinians are dying to satisfy the Israeli right. It is most curious that the Olmert government has chosen to let Sderot take a pounding rather than risk it's excuse to continue starving Gaza. One can be reasonably certain that the folks launching the qassams and mortars are suffering the least of the privations. Yet ONLY driving them far enough from the border will solve the problem. This is a sort of "mini-second Lebanon war" in that the lust to harm civilians has more currency with Olmert than dealing with the military threat. There are only two roads open. Accept the cease fire and push Hamas to enforce it, or send in the tanks and push the qassam teams out of range of Sderot. But, to Olmert, starving Palestinians is more important than protecting Israelis. Just as killing Lebanese civilians was more important than saving Israeli lives a year ago.

That this moderate statement by the Red Cross is so brutally rejected - along with the tired old accusations about anti-Semitism, speaks volumes about the morality of some on this site. It's very simple - Palestinian civilians should not bear the responsibility for attacks by militants anymore than Israeli civilians should be targeted by the Palestinians. Israel is guilty of collective pusnishment and stands rightly condemned for it. Relentlessly dismissing such legitimate questioning of Israeli actions merely serves to underline the lack of any real moral justification for its behaviour. And explains why many across the world view Isarel as yet another terrorist state.

You're still evading your vow to become a Human Shield--Instead, you remain at home hiding--

need to stop burying their dead and piling the bodies in a place where the western media can obtain pictures of piles of dead bodies. This would be the perfect answer to those talkbackers who think that it is OK to starve women and children, and deny afreedom for a people because of theri religion, and only because of their religion. I love those American Jews who believe that Genocide is not acceptable for Israelis but perfectley acceptable if used against palestinians

These cries of the Red Cross on the Palestinian humanitarian crises fall on deaf ears when the Pals continue to shell Sderot and other places. Is something wrong with the brains of these idiots when they cant tell the difference between right and wrong? Get it straight; first came the shelling then came the response to prevent the shelling. Ergo no shelling ,no humanitarian crises. End of story....no brainer Red Cross!

WHAT has led to this humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

A few weeks ago the leader of the Danish Red Cross,Jørgen Poulsen was elected to country's Parlament .His election was no doubt caused by a Mother Theresa image he projected,caring for the World's poor and persecuted. Since he can't be in the 2 places at the same time,the RC has terminated his employment. But no,Jørgen Poulsen demanded and got a golden parachute,about 150.000 $ from the RC . As it came out on the TV news from his co-workers and journos ,the first thing he reads in the morning are stock market quotations and the mostt frequent cell-phone calls on his frequent trips abroad in his RC capacity have been from his stock broker. Now the Danish RC is worried how to explain part of the money collected for the needy ones are to go to one with a huge salary who didn't want to relinquish his cushy job art RC.

We need to disown Israel and thrown It officials and their apologists out of the US government and bar them from stately institutions around the world until they clean up their act and recognize their neighbors rights and human dignity too.

It is true that no one likes to see civilians suffer, "Palestinian" or Jewish or New Orleans residents or anywhere. But the report inserts opinions, twists truths, mislabels, and is so unbalanced as to be seen only as a political device. Remember when the Red Cross said Thereseinstadt was a wonderful model Nazi camp, with schoolchildren giving plays? Remember when they had orders if a group of people are injured and some are Jews to not help them - during WWII? Remember when Christians get a cross, Arabs a Crescent, and Jews a Crystal - during WWII - wait, I mean today?

What a joke! 1. The actual humanitarian crisis are the rockets flying from Gaza into Israeli towns targeting civilians and suicide bombers from the West Bank. 2. Checkpoints and the wall are to keep the terrorists out. Hello!!! They are the richest so called "refugees" in the world. They are masters at appearing to be the victims.

pals future is in their own hands?

The actions on both sides seem completely dumb. The Palestinians are suffering and they keep firing kassams and Israeli towns are being hit by kassams and Israel keeps supplying electricity. If someone wrote a book like this it would be rejected. Ashkenazi hinted yesterday that the way to stop kassams is to simply respond with very large attacks which would involve no threat of life to Israeli soldiers. One attack - bomb the Hamas parliament. Second attack - wipe out their training fields and offices etc. This is of course the right approach! The kassams stop and Israel stops attacks on Gaza. Sounds simple to me!

IF only they expressed concern and arranged visits to Shalit, Eldad & Regev--Is Arad dead or alive--IRC make an effort, to show some concern for Jews--In case you people didn't know it, most American G.I's, despised the Red Cross--They were stingy in dispensing supplies to G.I's..that were donated to them for that purpose--

Beatrice Megevand Roggo... isn't she that world-class anti-semite?

The problem now in the past or in the future is not Israel. It's the ICRC, Hamas, Fatah including Abbas. These are the ones who have been and continue to be responsible for the "Crisis".

When the anti-semites in teh Rec Cresent organisation arrange access to Shalit, Regev or Goldwasser, and show the same level of concern for them as they do for their buddies the Palestinians then we'll give a damn. Until then they may as well just keep their useless mouths shut.

No longer thab 2 weeks ago ICRC representative in Gaza stated Shalit was to be allowed to pass a letter. Nothing has come out of it. ICRC is dancing to the pal tune. "3 patiensts dead".Why weren't they transferred to Egypt ot Schweitz for that matter if this well paid ICRC parasite holds their life so dear.

Someone forget to tell these idiots that Hamas steals medical supplies and fuel intended for the hospitals or that they would have better hospitals if they invested in hospitals instead of weapons? How about telling them that if they cease terrorist activity there would be no need for these unecessary security restrictions that saves lives. Stopping the nonsense would improve everybody's lives. It's worth it to make them unconfortable to save lives of innocent people.

"The ICRC depends on its neutrality to distribute emergency aid and help victims of conflict and violence around the world". Haven't seen them neither helping victims of conflict and violence in Sderot nor Ido Zoldan's family.

Are the Palestinians themselves, with help from all the surrounding Arab/muslim states... Stop the murdering and terror, we will ease restrictions...

Speaking of "prisoners" being "held hostage", shouldn't you give a couple wags of the finger to the Arabian masters of Gaza who infiltrated into Israel in order to kidnap and kill Israelis? An action that, not so coincidentally, has led to harder restrictions against the Pallies? Otherwise, let's face it, your organization ain't nothin' but a hypocritical thang.

It is how Hamas, Fatah, IJ, Tanzim, Al Aksa Shaidin Brigades, PLFP, Hizb U-Tahrir and so on are not the greatest contributor at all, in any form and shape to Philistine Arabs Humanitarian Crisis.

Its easy for an outside to talk in terms of the right balance not being struck. So, lets see, was the balance right when there were regular suicide bombers ripping the flesh of civilians sitting in restaurants? It is true that a state can go too far but unless there is strong evidence that what is being done doesn't add to security of Israeli citizens, this is more plain anti-Israeli garbage. What has happened to the rate of deaths in Israel since the current measures have gone into effect? With respect to Gaza, it is a hostile entity that is is (a) sworn to Israel's destruction and (b) is lobbing artillery in Israel. In fact, Israel is being far too pacifist in the face of this provokation and danger to its citizens. Anyway, why is the RED CROSS looking to Israel to help with Gaza. Hamas isn't lobbing artillery into Egypt. Let the Egyptians provide humanitarian relief.

Let them eat their guns. Lots of iron but no protein.