Posted on 09/10/2008 5:19:17 PM PDT by Alouette
British left-wing activist Lauren Booth remains stuck in Strip after journey to 'break' Israeli naval blockade, equates situation to Holocaust, Darfur
Unlike her brother-in-law, Quartet envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair, who frequently travels from Israel to the Palestinian territories and back, Lauren Booth has found herself stuck in the Gaza Strip.
The British left-wing activist arrived in the Hamas-controlled coastal enclave as part of the dozens of 'Free Gaza' activists who set out on two boats from Cyprus last month with the intent of "breaking" the Israeli naval blockade imposed on the Strip. Booth is one of the 10 activists who chose to remain in Gaza while her companions set sail back to Cyprus.
Since then she has been stuck in Gaza, unable to exit through Israel or Egypt.
In a telephone interview with Ynet on Wednesday, Booth slammed Israel's policies and called Gaza "the largest concentration camp in the world today. I was startled the Israelis agreed to this.
Despite her current predicament, Booth said she has no regrets. "My children are the ones who are suffering, because I'm being prevented from leaving and they can't see me. I don't regret it, because I wanted to come here and help these children who are suffering on a daily basis," she said.
Booth asserted that the current siege is not the result of the policies of the Hamas government. "There's been a siege for 20 years already. Palestinians' freedom of movement has been restricted since the 80s. This is an inexcusable outrage on an international level."
She spoke of the situation in Gaza and said, Yesterday, I visited mothers of children under the age of five. Nutrition here has deteriorated threefold over the last two years because it is impossible to bring food through the crossings. Unemployment has risen, so people can't even afford to buy what food there is left."
'It's as bad as Darfur'
When asked about Israel's right to respond to incessant attacks emanating from Gaza, Booth evoked Holocaust-related rhetoric. "There is no right to punish people this way. There is no justification for this kind of collective punishment. You were in the concentration camps, and I cant believe that you are allowing the creation of such a camp yourselves.
The Palestinians suffering is physical, mental and emotional," she went on, "there is not a family here in which someone is not in desperate need of work, shelter or food. This is a humanitarian crisis on the scale of Darfur.
Booth said that while the media does focus on Gaza, its journalistic criterion remains deeply flawed.
One Western person is stuck in Gaza and the media turns it into a huge story. A million and a half people are stuck in Gaza, and it's a non-story. I am telling you, what is going on here is a tragedy. Whatever is being done, it's not enough.
One person Booth doesn't think is doing enough, is her brother in law Blair. I dont think he has a real idea of what's going on here. I think that the Israeli government is working very hard to keep him in the dark.
Winter fuel shortage
Despite the morale boost from the sea-faring activists, Gaza residents are concerned of the impact the Israeli siege may have as winter nears, and are preparing for long months with limited amounts of fuel. Director of the Palestinian Energy Authority in Gaza warned of an exacerbation of the fuel siege during the cold season. The director said the amount of fuel currently being brought in to the Strip through Israel serves a mere 35% of the Palestinians' needs.
Meanwhile on Wednesday, Egyptian security forces prevented a convoy of local operatives from reaching the Rafah crossing and from there to Gaza.
Hamas slammed Egypts decision, and said that the security forces actions hurt the Egyptian nations feelings and those of the Palestinians.
Ali Waked contributed to the report
“She is conducting a world wide tour of Islamic misery theme parks..”
Wow. Her kids are sure gonna miss her. She’ll be gone a while.
My wife used to work at Disney in Orlando. I could very well picture an Islamic theme park. Dhimmeland (see the Louvre after they spray paint the Mona Lisa and demolish all nude sculptures and paintings, Israel after the piece [sic] process has finally worked), Womanland (honor kill your sister, circumcise your daughter, make your wife wear a burqa), Suni-land and Shia-land (right within shooting distance of each other), and Ameriqaaland, or America after it becomes “enlightened” and Cat Stevens is the new Sultan.
Cat Stevens will be Haj Khazir ibn Sharmuta( Been to Mecca, swinish son of a prostitute)
Many ancient maps should Jerusalem as the center of the world and the Jewish Temple as the center of Jerusalem
These moonbats are magnetically attracted to the Holy Land for the same reason real Jews and Christians are
Her children hope she's stuck there for a few years
They are getting a vacation from this harridan
“Cat Stevens will be Haj Khazir ibn Sharmuta( Been to Mecca, swinish son of a prostitute)”
Not bad. But I think his name would have to be Khaziri ibn Sharmuta to be “swinish” son of a prostitute. Instead he’s just a pig, sans lip stick.
“Her children hope she’s stuck there for a few years
They are getting a vacation from this harridan”
“I wanted to come here and help these children who are suffering on a daily basis”
In addition to malnutrition, physical and sexual abuse, oppression and daily exposure to violence and corruption, they’ve got to have the likes of her in their face, showering them with “compassion”.
“Hey, Ali. How do you say ‘please, we are unworthy of your kindness. Go bestow it on the children of Darfur, or better yet your own children’ in English?”
“I’m not sure. I think you use a lot of fourth-row upper-case random typing when you’re on Freep. Oh, why won’t she go away? I’m getting nightmares and I haven’t yet gone to sleep!”
“By the beard of the Prophet! So am I! Stop smiling at me! Please! Perhaps if I throw feces in her face?”
Now if the “inmates” in that funny farm were not such homicidal Maniacs, I would say the US should go in there to clean them out. However if we sent in the marines to kill the bad guys, nobody would be left. So, the best course is to pray for them to come to their senses, and save the bullets.
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