Egypt/Gaza Border

[doodlebug 3]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ap/20070719/img/p...217260a740.html

Anyone have a detailed article link on this? ####### why are they not letting them go back to Palestine?

[allousa 1]

My MIL usually has gone every year to visit her daughter and other family members and several times she has had to wait for days (once even for 3 weeks) at the border trying to cross. She's 67 friggin years old!!!!!! #######!!!!!!

Her health has gotten worse so she hasn't gone this year because she can't deal with the weather.

If Rome doesn't hurry up and process Hicham's file, his visa is going to expire. His only choice is to try and get inside Gaza for the passport to be renewed. I don't even want to think about that right now.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ap/20070719/img/p...217260a740.html

Anyone have a detailed article link on this? ####### why are they not letting them go back to Palestine?

This is kind of complicated, but basically it's a big political armwrestling contest with the West pitting Fatah against Hamas, and with people's lives being given the lowest possible priority.

Of course you have the U.S. and Israel taking a very hard line against Hamas, doing everything they can to bring it down -- even if it means letting people rot at the Rafah border. The U.S. and Israel don't want anything or anyone getting in or out of Gaza, except some very meager food aid that is being grudgingly allowed in. (Of course when Fatah was in power, Israel didn't allow much to get in or out then, either. That's part of why Hamas got elected -- Fatah couldn't accomplish jack squat.) Mainly the U.S./Israeli objective is to punish the general civilian population for having the audacity to vote for Hamas, and to rachet up the pressure so as to prevent any chance of Fatah and Hamas entering into a coalition government.

Abbas is still trying to wrest back political power from Hamas after Fatah's staggering defeat in last year's elections. He is being heavily funded and armed by the U.S. in an attempt to bring down the elected Palestinian government (which had been dominated by Hamas candidates.) Abbas has already gone ahead and appointed new "government" officials to take the place of the elected Hamas members -- carefully choosing ones who are "acceptible" to the West.

The EU had stationed observers at Rafah who were monitoring Palestinian-Egyptian control there -- Israel had demanded their presence in order to allow it to open (well, for the few days it was open over the last year and a half.) But the EU has since removed them, after Hamas put down Fatah militias' attempt at a coup and took control of Gaza. Israel already didn't trust the Egyptians -- hence the international observers -- and it certainly doesn't trust Hamas to run this border crossing.

Then you also have Egypt's role in this. The Egyptian government is being paid $2 billion a year to toe the line of U.S.-Israeli policy. And Mubarak has his own personal reasons for wanting to weaken Hamas -- he fears its success is encouraging Egypt's branch of the Muslim Brotherhood (which is a political threat to his dictatorship.) So Egypt is also refusing to open the border, because that means they'd have to cooperate with Hamas, and that goes against the dictate.

Essentially, the U.S. and Israel want the Palestinian people to suffer and die until they agree to "leaders" (actually, puppets) that the West selects for them, who will then officially sign off on the Israeli plan for "peace" -- which means Israel will take all it wants of the choicest parts of the West Bank (including the main water sources, strategic hilltops and borders) -- and Palestinians can have a couple of disjointed open-air concentration camps on whatever wasteland Israel will deign to allow them, and which will be completely surrounded and controlled by the Israeli military.

This was kind of quick and off the cuff -- but I can try to find you some links later.

[PalestineMyHeart 1,897]

My MIL usually has gone every year to visit her daughter and other family members and several times she has had to wait for days (once even for 3 weeks) at the border trying to cross. She's 67 friggin years old!!!!!! #######!!!!!!

Her health has gotten worse so she hasn't gone this year because she can't deal with the weather.

If Rome doesn't hurry up and process Hicham's file, his visa is going to expire. His only choice is to try and get inside Gaza for the passport to be renewed. I don't even want to think about that right now.

Is there an official Palestinian consulate/embassy/government presence in Morocco ? There is a process by which Palestinians in the diaspora can sign a paper to designate someone in Palestine to act as their "representative," and have them renew the passport for them. I will try to find the info for you....

[doodlebug 3]

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ap/20070719/img/p...217260a740.html

Anyone have a detailed article link on this? ####### why are they not letting them go back to Palestine?

The EU had stationed observers at Rafah who were monitoring Palestinian-Egyptian control there -- Israel had demanded their presence in order to allow it to open (well, for the few days it was open over the last year and a half.) But the EU has since removed them, after Hamas put down Fatah militias' attempt at a coup and took control of Gaza. Israel already didn't trust the Egyptians -- hence the international observers -- and it certainly doesn't trust Hamas to run this border crossing.

Forgive my ignorance but isn't this border between Gaza and Egypt? Why would Israel even be allowed to have a say in what happens to it?

[allousa 1]

My MIL usually has gone every year to visit her daughter and other family members and several times she has had to wait for days (once even for 3 weeks) at the border trying to cross. She's 67 friggin years old!!!!!! #######!!!!!!

Her health has gotten worse so she hasn't gone this year because she can't deal with the weather.

If Rome doesn't hurry up and process Hicham's file, his visa is going to expire. His only choice is to try and get inside Gaza for the passport to be renewed. I don't even want to think about that right now.

Is there an official Palestinian consulate/embassy/government presence in Morocco ? There is a process by which Palestinians in the diaspora can sign a paper to designate someone in Palestine to act as their "representative," and have them renew the passport for them. I will try to find the info for you....

There is an office in Casa, but they will not issue passports or travel documents as Morocco does not even "officially" consider Palestine it's on entity. Can you believe that #######. Hicham's father acted as his representative before when he was in Palestine. But any info that you can provide would really be helpful. :):)

http://uk.news.yahoo.com/ap/20070719/img/p...217260a740.html

Anyone have a detailed article link on this? ####### why are they not letting them go back to Palestine?

The EU had stationed observers at Rafah who were monitoring Palestinian-Egyptian control there -- Israel had demanded their presence in order to allow it to open (well, for the few days it was open over the last year and a half.) But the EU has since removed them, after Hamas put down Fatah militias' attempt at a coup and took control of Gaza. Israel already didn't trust the Egyptians -- hence the international observers -- and it certainly doesn't trust Hamas to run this border crossing.

Forgive my ignorance but isn't this border between Gaza and Egypt? Why would Israel even be allowed to have a say in what happens to it?

Israel control all of the borders under the disguse of "self-protection", but the majority of the world calls it for what it is...OCCUPATION!