Israel: Gaza crossing to stay shut as long as Hamas in power

After reading the agreement on the link you posted, it appears to me that it was an agreement with the PA. Since Hamas, not the PA, is in power in Gaza, it would seem that the agreement is moot. Therefore Egypt WOULD be in violation of their treaty with Israel if Egypt were to open that crossing on their own.

Israel(and of course the US), insisted on free elections in the occupied territories, knowing well that Hamas would win! This gives Israel another pretext for not negotiating in full faith with the Pals

ISRAEL IS IN CHARGE OF HER BORDERS AND CROSSINGS. THE PALS VOTED FOR TERRORISTS, AND HAVE TO LIVE AS TERRORISTS, PERIOD.

Nothing to lose ??? Wait till Israel tightens the screws, in response to further terror. We'll see Gaza begging, it will have a lot to lose. Try us. Israel has nothing to lose. They've absorbed 8000 rockets, enough is enough. Weakling Olmert has left the stage. No more Mr. Nice Guy. Just try us, Silvie.

Dutch, we don't give a rat's behind about your advice. Your flatulence has more value than your advice.

http://unispal.un.org/UNISPAL.NSF/0/16BEB4B8617DF3F0852576B7005C78E3 A/RES/64/94 19 January 2010 //10. Calls upon Israel, the occupying Power, to cease its imposition of prolonged closures and economic and movement restrictions, including those amounting to a blockade on the Gaza Strip, and, in this regard, to fully implement the Agreement on Movement and Access and the Agreed Principles for the Rafah Crossing, both of 15 November 2005; //

http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/Web%20Search%20Simple2?OpenForm Just enter - rafah crossing - in the ' Advanced full-text search ' box... nothing else....Click ...it brings up a huge list

"And Egypt was not a party to it. " http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA/Peace+Process/Reference+Documents/Agreed+documents+on+movement+and+access+from+and+to+Gaza+15-Nov-2005.htm "And the Agreement expired before June 2006 and was never renewed." Was set to expire on conditions being met... they haven't. It goes on... Note the date. // Implementation of the Agreement on Movement and Access and Update on Gaza Crossings (29 April - 12 May 2009)// http://domino.un.org/unispal.nsf/9a798adbf322aff38525617b006d88d7/affd66d20e762dc0852576aa0070c0d5?OpenDocument Egypt could open Rafah any time it wants and violate NO International Agreement to which Egypt is a party." An agreement between two Sovereign Nations IS international. (inter-national) "Sorry to be so disagreeable" Unlike some folk..you're not....cheers

"Most Israelis are reasonably intelligent. If faced with overwhelming power, but with no threat of annihilation, most Israelis would choose a sane route to better the situation" In other words, give in, submit, lay down and die, which is what Israel wants Gaza to do. "Like Kenny Rodgers sings, "gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em...." Like Bob Dylan sings, "When you got nothing, you got nothing to lose..." ...which describes the situation of the Gazans very well.

The Rafah Agreement was a fraud on both Israelis and Palestinians. And Egypt was not a party to it. And the Agreement expired before June 2006 and was never renewed. Egypt doesn't get along with Hamas and with US encouragement, Egypt participates in the Siege of Gaza. They also allow Israel to maintain the fiction that Israel is not responsible for Gaza. Israel maintains that the Palestinians are occupied, but only in the West Bank. Somehow, Israel cannot conceive that there might be a connection between Gaza and the West Bank Palestinians, legally. But it is tied up in the Oslo Accords that Israel would like to abolish, except for the legal fictions it enables. Egypt could open Rafah any time it wants and violate NO International Agreement to which Egypt is a party. They only need encouragement. Sorry to be so disagreeable.

The more you attack Israel the more Israel defends itself. You can't stand it, can you American lady. Try finding some other hobby.

"If Israel was under seige, don`t you think Israelis would do the same things to the foreign enemy who had them in a stranglehold?" [Silvienne] Actually, no. Most Israelis are reasonably intelligent. If faced with overwhelming power, but with no threat of annihilation, most Israelis would choose a sane route to better the situation. Like Kenny Rodgers sings, "gotta know when to hold em, know when to fold em...." Hamas is a specie apart.

The crossing shut will be considered a war crime and all the Israeli politicians will not not travel out of Israel,except occupied territories and US Congress

"They shoot rockets at us, send suicide bombers to our cities, constantaly attempt to attack us across the fence, bomb the crossing while it is open, bomb supplies destined to help their own people, smuggle weapons and terrorists to be used against us, send TNT in barrels to our beaches" If Israel was under seige, don't you think Israelis would do the same things to the foreign enemy who had them in a stranglehold?

The structure that is wrong there isn't necessarily concete in nature but more bodily in nature. Such as the Israeli army's illegal presence in the Palestinian territories and specifically at the Karni Crossing. Let's not side step that critical issue there and make believe it doesn't exist or indeed that it has nothing to do with the violence there when in fact it is the root cause. Hence this conflict is the results of the Israeli Army imposing its ugly and unlawful will against the Palestinian people in the territories and it is beyond time for anyone, especially Israelis to dismiss or excuse this like defense officials as they maybe looking across a barbed wire fence one day when they are kicked out of the Middle East for being unruly neighbors when most of the blame was their leaders policies. Dutch

"A million civilians suffering - I`m glad it`s not on my consience"

No one I know is going to accept this ongoing cruelty and collective punishment toward the Palestinian people anymore. it's so unGodly and it makes Israelis look like the bad guys today who must be de-feated. The Palestinian people have every right to elect whomever they feel is best qualified to guide them and no amount of bullying from Israel or their complicit partners will change this. In addition, Israelis need to understand they are not only dealing with a world fed up with war & violence and especially theirs and will no longer sign on the bottom line for Israel at the cost of the Palestinian people. (Get this piece straight if nothing else as next time it could be Israelis looking across a barbared wire fence instead of Gazans.) And Just remember, there is nothing whatsoever holy about your own leaders either. Many ruthless murderers and gang leaders themselves Like Menachem Begin who blew up the King David Hotel and killed 91military staff and Yitzak Shamir whose Zionist gangsters murdered hundreds of Palestinian civilians. So no one can claim clean hands in this conflict. No one! Dutch

You said it ....... "There are bad people on both sides and as always the majority are just sseking to live their lives in peace." A million civilians suffering - I'm glad it's not on my consience.

Maybe you should actually read the article instead of just looking at the heading. They tried having this crossing open, it resulted in 6 civilian deaths and & nearby 2 Israeli truck drivers were killed! There are other crossings that are open, having one open that risks people's lives is just stupid. And a special note to Flora @ #11, please pick up a history book b4 u come on Haaretz next time. Gaza and West Bank have not belonged to Israel for 60 years. They won them in the six day war in 1967. Before that Gaza was part of Egypt and West Bank was part of Jordan. You should also know that from 1948-1967 neither country did anything to help the refugees.

If a country fires 6000 rockets into your country, then your country govt better find a way to stop that. Israel has every right to do whatever it takes to stop the rockets. Gaza was lucky that every building was not flattened. True it is not all the gazans who want a conflict with Israel. But the hamas leadership continues to fire rockets and threaten Israel, continues to smuggle weaponry. And Israel is doing what it can to stop all of this. Why is the borders closed...because any clear thinking person understands that thousands of islamic terrorists and weaponry would flood into gaza and the conflict would escalate once again. Hamas cares little for the gazan people's welfare

Israel is under the international microscope. Hamas, most certainly has its charter. So have all the Arab States. By closing off the crossings, Israel shows that all the people of Gaza are Hamas, which is not the case, no matter how many rockets are fired by some minority of Jihadi orientated fanatics. The Egyptians are not about to open their gates of hell either. So, who will take responsibility when the poor underdogs of Gaza begin to starve. I say this, for Israel has a responsibility. You cannot seal off Gaza. For its a crime. Egypt cares not. However the world expects much more from Israel. The true and only democracy in the Middle East. Shalom.

Why won't they open the border, huh?

and break the 2005 agreement, infringing the Israel/Egypt peace agreement. I don't think so. They didn't open it during Cast Lead after Israel had it closed...preventing CIVILIANS from fleeing a war zone. //Geneva Convention 1V?Section II..Occupied territories..Art49?The Occupying Power shall not detain protected persons in an area particularly exposed to the dangers of war unless the security of the population or imperative military reasons so demand. //

and to the people for 60 years??? hello!!!

we know what hamas is but israel is becoming a country of hipocrisy and discusting leaders! and is such someone will knock them down a notch! They think no one can touch them? we will see:)

we should stop supporting Israel as long Israel is a country of a dictator. remember Israel what you do to other will be done to you!

they shoot rockets, send suicide bombers etc. in other words terrorists, terrorists. of course israelis are nice, clean, innocent, humanitarian, etc. when was it that you last saw a sicide bomber? and if you and the rest of israel were under siege, and in an open prison like the people in gaza are, what would it be your reaction? would you succumb and die? an israeli once told me that his people are a fighting people. so, then, why shouldn't anybody fight back to get himself up if he is put under?

Nate, its sufficient to look at the Hamas charter to open the crossing or not to begin with. No sane neighboor state on this earth would give permission to open this crossing unless you are a fanatic Palie. Justice and truth is to shut down the crossing. Aby

Sir, One should never forget that virtually ALL Mohammedans - not only "bad people" - learnt from Koran to kill Jews. You should repudiate the book.

Defense officials leave people no alternative but to call for massive boycotts against Israel Is that what you all want? Dutch

It seems to me the structure that is wrong there isn't the Karni Crossing but the army's illegal presence at the Karni Crossing in vio-lation of international law. Now take this away and I doubt if there would be any cause for attacks, etc.... Why talk incircles when the solution is obvious? (Israelis shouldn't accept this garbage?) Dutch

According to Goldstone int'l Sharia Law criteria , retorsion is a war crime

Interesting that here is a newspaper reporting as fact the very key finding of the Goldstone Report: That international law and convention (against indiscriminate life-diminishing punishment against civilians by a Sovereign power) is being broken by the Sovereign power over the territory - there is no question that questions of life and death of civilians in Gaza and Judea, Sam., Old Jerusalem etc. are 100 percent in the hands of the only sovereign government with the power to act in those areas. There is no other government with the power to act in the Land of Israel which includes Gaza.

Israel shot 5 missiles at Gaza last night. No reported civilian deaths. We don't know what tonnage of high explosive the IDF used. Probably more than in a Qassam or a mortar shell.

Until Israel starts to eject its own people off of rooftops I suggest you attept to see the situation more grey than black and white. There are bad people on both sides and as always the majority are just sseking to live their lives in peace. To believe anything else is to enter the path of prejudice and bigotry and you're not a bigot. Are you Nate?

So Egypt can open Rafah anytime the US and Egypt agree. It's not as if the Israeli crossings will ever be opened in any foreseeable future anyway. If the PA and Hamas reconcile, there will be another reason to perpetuate the Siege.

... why they look dumb! It's the Charter, stupid!

Justice certainly will prevail. Every day more and more people see the true face of Hamas.

They shoot rockets at us, send suicide bombers to our cities, constantaly attempt to attack us across the fence, bomb the crossing while it is open, bomb supplies destined to help their own people, smuggle weapons and terrorists to be used against us, send TNT in barrels to our beaches. And now they want us to open the crossing? Like Hellllllllo...

it's called the carrot and the stick...you get what you earn.

Totally agree. The true face of Israel is showing in the lengths it will go to defend it's population. Gaza needs to be isolated until the population demands Hamas relinquish power. The lives of Israeli's are not worth the extra convenience the opening of the crossing will bring to the population. Humanitarian aid is getting through via Israel and Egypt, that will suffice for now.

They said "a picture is worth a thousand words". Just when people's hearts turn into stones. Give people a break for goodness sake and remember that things will never remain the same, you guys might be in their shoes one day. Show some humanity to urself before showing it to the world. Peace

Continue to close the Gaza crossings but remember, everyday more and more people are beginning to see the true face of Israel. Justice will prevail, it's only a matter of time.

If the Karni crossing is too dangerous for Israel it should remain closed. This is just another example of Hamas making life more difficult for the Palestinians. Of course there are those who will claim Israel should keep it open without expecting Hamas to stop terror. Who cares what they think?