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Posted on 01/26/2008 3:04:23 PM PST by NYer
The Catholic priest in Hamas-controlled Gaza has described the situation in his parish as “almost as bad as hell” and condemned what he called “punishment until death”.
Mgr Manawel Musallam, speaking exclusively to The Universe on Wednesday, said: “Gaza is dying.
“This is not punishment for salvation. This is punishment for extermination. It is the punishment of a nation.”
The priest explained how thousands of people had escaped Palestine into Egypt when gunmen blew up part of the border wall at the Rafah crossing overnight on Tuesday. The exodus has taken place as a result of an ongoing Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip to combat rocket attacks on its territory.
Mgr Musallam explained: “People have gone to find food and employment [in Egypt]. There is no food here, no employment here. We have a lack of water and electricity.
“The situation is critical. Streets are covered with sewerage. I see the sick crying and dying.
“Our hospitals need electricity and medication but out of 3,700 parcels of supplies only nine were allowed in.”
Mgr Musallam said children in the Holy Family Catholic School had to walk to school as there was no fuel for transport. Pupils and teachers arrive dirty because they cannot wash as water has to be pumped into buildings using electricity.
“In our school canteen, we have to feed 700 pupils but have only enough food for 30 or 40,” he added. “The cook cannot find anything to give them to eat. With no electricity and no water there is very little you can cook. You cannot even make a loaf of bread.
“I see children crying in huge distress all day long. Two pupils in the school, aged nine and six, were wounded in the bombings. They are afraid and traumatised because of the bombardments and of the darkness at night.
“They cannot even go to the toilet at night. They wet their beds but there is no water to wash afterwards. People come here to ask for water and electricity because we have a generator. They come to cook and they come for a shower.”
The heads of churches in Jerusalem and the Holy Land have issued a strongly- worded statement urging the Israeli authorities to end the current blockade.
They condemned the situation as “illegal collective punishment, an immoral act in violation of the basic human and natural laws as well as international law that cannot be tolerated anymore”.
“The siege over Gaza should end now,” they added. “One-and-a-half million people are imprisoned and without proper food or medicine, 800,000 are without electricity.
“In the name of God, we urge the international community, President Bush and the leaders of Israel, to put an end to this suffering and call upon Israel to activate Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s initiative for Palestinian responsibility of the borders, thus ensuring sufficient normal flow of medicine, food, fuel and goods to Gaza.”
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I’ll bet he’s a liar, NYer.
If they would stop flipping rockets at Israel, perhaps they might get better treatment.
As it is, starve them out. No support for the enemies of freedom.
The Paleostinians are very big into farming, business,
and fishing, and medical technology, AND the American
taxpayers gave them a billion dollars (along with the
EU and the UN), so why is/was there a problem?
It’s really simple Monsignor, If the West Bank has to be given back to Jordan or turned into an independent state, then Gaza belongs to Egypt under the same logic. If it is to become a part of the same state as the West Bank, then let Egypt and Jordan supply the electricity and food to their dear beautiful Arab brothers and sisters. Why on earth would Egypt think Israel should give them anything?
Only a deranged individual totally devoid of Socratic Deduction and lessons in history could possibly blame Israel for Gaza’s woes.
This is garbage.
Actually its punishment for launching rockets into Israel. If you had kids living in Corpus Christi Texas that faced daily rocket attacks from Mexico, there be a little more than a blockade done about it.
Most of these people are nobody’s enemies. The problem is that the Pali factions are essentially using them as hostages.
We - and every other country and NGO in the world - have poured billions into the Pali territories and there is no earthly reason these people should be desperate. They’re blaming Israel for it? What happened to the billions their own government has gotten?
This dhimmified priest is indeed desperate. But he has to assign blame where it’s due (although I will say that h is actual words seemed to me to be more critical of the overall situation than of Israel). Still, it’s difficult because nobody there can speak out without having the Pali goon squad show up at their door.
Msgr., have you tried calling the Hamas Helpful Hotline. They seem to have plenty of money or maybe that’s just for themselves and for more rockets.
The churches, of course, have no influence whatsoever with the Hamas-led government.
But would they not better serve their flock by pointing out that launching Kassams is not the way to win friends or influence your benefactor?
To be blunt: Why should Israel continue to give food, water and electricity to people who would, left to their own devices, exterminate them?
Dear Mgr Musallam,
Where were you when the rockets were being fired into Israel from Gaza?
If I were you, I would take my flock and leave. Gaza is not a fit place to live anyway. It seems to be ruled by criminals and terrorists. You would be better off somewhere else.
Regards,
He couldn’t call for Hamas to stop attacking Israel, or Hamas would kill him.
Until the Priest can bring himself to condemn acts of commission, he has no authority to condemn acts of omission.
Israel is only one nation in the world. Many other nations could give Gaza food, fuel, and everything else they need. And yet they don’t, either. Why is that, Priest? Even the Holy See could support all of Gaza’s needs, and yet it doesn’t.
And most of all, the Gazans could live with all their needs met, in peace and prosperity. But they choose to live full of violence and hatred. And that has caused their living Hell. It is a Hell of their own making, from which they could be free, but they CHOOSE to remain in Hell.
If Gaza is a nation, then it is a nation at war with Israel, and every citizen and housing block a place of war. Why? Because ..
Since 1 January 1st through January 20th over 430 Kassam missiles and mortars were launched at Israel from Gaza. In all of 2007 over 2,300 Hamas missiles and mortars were launched at Israel from Gaza. [Source Israel News Agency]Let them save themselves by acting like a responsible nation!
Today's video of the chaos at the break in the wall with Egypt shows the Gazans for what they are -- every family for itself. Not even close to any order, law, or nationhood. A place where murderers launch rockets every day at innocents.
Do something about those murderers first, Priest!
I just read an article where al-jazeera calls Hamas and at the appointed time when the cameras roll they turn the power off.
They’ve gotten billions in food aid.
So all this business about the lack of power and food isn’t even true to begin with!
I caught a glimpse of a Pali “protest march” and some white women were giggling behind their moonbat signs.
This isn’t to say people aren’t suffering but the true issue here is the Palis have got to grow a pair and start cutting the throats of Hamas and any other anti-Isra-eeeeeli terror organization and put an end to being used as human shields if they indeed expect a better life! Period!
This might be hard, but — isn’t life HARD? And what about ‘take up your mat and walk’?? They have brought it on themselves by allowing thugs to run the show, and voting for them. Evidently thugs cannot run a government well.
I don’t know. If I were in Israel, I would not supply them with things so they could turn around and blow my country up, either.
Help me. Has the Good Father had anything to say about Sderot?
ML/NJ
Are you sure about that?
I'm not.
That's the problem with humanitarian aid. Likely the majority of the billions of aid are going straight into the pockets (or Swiss bank accounts) of a very few...look at how rich Arafat was when he died!
Yes.
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