"We are consulting closely with Egypt, as well as our other partners, on new ways to address the humanitarian, economic, security and political aspects of the situation in Gaza."

This echoes what seems to be a widespread illusion: That it is possible to resolve the issue of humanitarian aid to Gaza satisfactorily, without allowing in arms, and thereby remove a source of needless discord.



Biden, an others who share this view, have short memories. Before the illegal Hamas takeover, just such a mechanism was in place. EU monitors inspected cargoes entering Gaza overland from Egypt. The Palestinian government, not just the Hamas, objected bitterly to this arrangement. Even this arrangement had been a compromise, so that Palestinian "rights" would not be infringed by Israeli inspectors. No Israelis were present in the terminals, which were monitored by remote video camera. It was better than nothing, but it was not a good arrangement. Hamas used the terminal to transfer large amounts of cash as well as personnel going to and coming from Iran on errands that had nothing to do with humanitarianism. Hamas put an end to this leaky supervision when they occupied the terminals.

The simple truth is that by definition, there is no arrangement that can provide security for Israel and at the same time satisfy the Hamas. As long as there is any meaningful barrier to the import of arms and strategic materials, the Hamas will continue to complain about "humanitarian" issues in Gaza, injury to the economy, Palestinians kept in a "jail" and under siege. The Palestinian Authority will have no choice but to support them, just as they supported the same bogus claims that were made before the terminals on the Egyptian side were destroyed by Hamas. UN and other relief officials will continue to issue pious statements about the supposedly starving children of Gaza. To do otherwise, even if they believed otherwise, would probably be bad for their own health.

The Hamas campaign plays on the gullibility of people who want to be fooled: People who can see a "humanitarian crisis" despite shelves full of goods, busy streets, luxury restaurants and an apparently well-fed populace. Hamas gains in two ways from this campaign. It is at the same time a device for delegitimizing Israel, and a way to achieve an important tactical goal: the opening of the Gaza port to the unlimited importation of Iranian armaments in large quantities. By definition, any effective control on arms import will be blasted as an extreme humanitarian hardship imposed by the evil Zionists. Therefore, no such solution as Joe Biden envisages is possible. That is the Catch-22 involved in finding a solution for humanitarian relief of Gaza.

Ami Isseroff