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Today's Tearjerker: Gaza dreams lie in tatters *sniff*
A year after Israeli pullout, Gaza dreams of renewal lie in tattersGAZA - Just a year ago, Gazans were euphoric with dreams of a renaissance that would turn their squalid, overpopulated patch of land into a Singapore on the Mediterranean. Singapore? YJCMTSU. Israel had uprooted its settlements and pulled out its army after 38 years of occupation, donors pledged US$9 billion (7.1 billion) for rebuilding, and American Jews spent US$14 million (11 million) to bequeath leftover greenhouses to the Palestinians to jump-start a farming revival. Classic. Throwing good money, Other People's Money, after bad. Now, Gaza is facing disaster. Who'da thunk it? The Palestinian Authority, now led by the Islamic radicals of Hamas, is on the brink of collapse, Gaza's crushing poverty has worsened and the threat of an explosion of internal violence is ever-present. Israeli forces are back in the strip fighting Palestinian militants, but that war has been all but eclipsed by the 34-day Israel-Hezbollah war in Lebanon and its aftermath. Wait for it... "We are in the worst situation since 1967," the year Israel took control of Gaza, economist Omar Shaban said. "It hits everything." Wait for it... Palestinians and international officials say the blame lies everywhere. Wait for it... International donors never came through with their pledges. Almost there... The Palestinians never properly planned for their newfound freedom. They isolated themselves by electing Hamas, while militants continued to launch attacks on Israel from Gaza. Bingo! Give the twit a cupie doll! Almost like he gets Cause -> Effect! Wowzers! Israel reneged on an agreement to allow Gaza free access to trade, halted the transfer of vital tax revenue to the Palestinian Authority and eventually sent the army back into Gaza after waves of rocket attacks and the capture of an Israeli soldier by Hamas-linked militants who had tunneled under the border. Hamas. End of story - the rest is fluffing, LOL. Gazans have had little to celebrate in recent years. Hamas. The 1.4 million people who live in the 360 square kilometers (140 square miles) of territory suffered some of the worst violence during fighting with Israel that began in September 2000. Hamas. Then, last summer, four months before he was felled by a stroke, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon pulled all Israel's settlers and soldiers out of Gaza. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said these were "historic days of joy," and he brimmed with plans for Gaza's rebirth. Handed a Golden Opportunity... The abandoned settlements would be used for tourism, farming and industry, and for apartment blocks to relieve Gaza's housing crunch. Ka-ching! "If we are successful in this endeavor then we will have accomplished something incredible, which is to pull the Palestinian people out of poverty and into prosperity," Abbas said at the time. Uh, hang on there, Abu Dildo, your 'people' are Paleos... They haven't learned a goddamned thing since '48, what made you think they'd figure this obvious bit out, eh? International officials said Gaza could be a trial run for a future Palestinian state. Sure thing... Actually it serves as a perfect model for the imaginary Paleo "state"... But minutes after the last Israeli soldier pulled out of Gaza early on Sept. 12, ominous signs emerged. Like they stayed Paleos, you mean? Didn't magically become busy-beehive Mormons or industrious Buddhists? Huh, go figure. Security forces lost control as Palestinians ran through the settlements, looting and torching greenhouses and buildings, including synagogues. Thousands jumped over the border wall into Egypt as security officers stood by helplessly. Paleos. Doing what they do best. Still, there was promising momentum. Free money from Idjits! In November, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice brokered a deal that gave the Palestinians control of their border crossing into Egypt the first time they had ever run an international border and greater access to Israel for their exports. Another Golden Opportunity... In those heady days, Yehia Mahani, 40, had grand plans for his Gaza City factory, which makes hangers, plastic cups and household goods. He forgot the Paleo thing, too. They all do, including the EUdoinkers. Expecting a flood of orders from Israel and abroad, he got bank approval for a US$150,000 (118,000) loan to expand his factory of 25 workers. Big Plans. I'm gonna be rich! "We had hopes that things would be better, but it was the opposite," he said. "All these dreams died." Uh oh... Paleos. Everything changed Jan. 25 when Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, won Palestinian parliamentary elections. Le bingo, part deux. Foreign aid and Israeli tax transfers were cut off, leaving the new Hamas government unable to pay its 165,000 employees a major engine of the Palestinian economy. Bitten again by that damned Cause -> Effect thing. Some think they should learn, eventually. Heh. Abbas, from the moderate Fatah Party, waged a power struggle with the new Hamas Cabinet over control of the security forces. When Abbas won, Hamas sent thousands of its own paramilitary troops into Gaza's streets, sparking gunfights and fears of a civil war. SOS. Paleos. Things collapsed June 25, when Hamas-linked militants tunneled into Israel, attacked an army post and captured Cpl. Gilad Shalit. Paleo Logic. A full step down from Arab Logic. Israel hit back by pounding Gaza with airstrikes, damaging its power plant, closing the Rafah crossing and sending soldiers back into the territory for the first time since the withdrawal. Shalit remains in captivity. Go figure, huh? Damned Jooos, caring about their people. Sheesh. The hope for Gaza disintegrated. F**kin Duh. Paleos. More than 200 Palestinians, most of them militants, have been killed and the remnants of Gaza's economy have been shredded. In the biggest sign of popular discontent, tens of thousands of teachers, health workers and other government employees went on strike on Sept. 2. But will they actually learn anything? LOL. They're Paleos! Adel Sharar, 36, an unemployed father of five, has been suffering since Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's government was forced to cut its payments to laborers who used to work for Israeli companies. Aw gee... Cause -> Effect on a personal level. *sniff* "I know that they are not magicians, I know Haniyeh does not have a magic wand, but in the end, as a Muslim, he must be responsible for his followers," he said as he waited for U.N. food aid. "In four months, we did not have any meal with meat." And all of this is whose fault? Salim Taba, a 30-year-old engineer, has not been paid his monthly US$800 (630) salary from the Palestinian Authority in six months. He is considering selling his car and some of his wife's jewelry to pay back part of a US$12,000 (9,440) bank loan. "I am lucky. My wife is working and we have no children, but I am sorry that I didn't listen to the advice of some of my friends, and I voted for Hamas," he said. Yep, some voted for Fatah. Kinda like voting for Goebbels instead of Hitler. If you had only listened, Sali, a "moderate" bunch of Paleo killers could've remained in charge of your insane asylum. Damn! A year after the government announced its big plans for the settlements, they remain covered in the rubble left over from the Israeli pullout. Instead of being used for development, many have become training camps for militant groups. Ooooh, now we know whose fault they think it is. Professional seething training and Guilt Projection 401. "We cannot blame the occupation only ... we have to blame ourselves," said Shaban, the economist. "There was no master plan. There are no projects going on." Okay, who swung the feather! *gotta dust myself off* The hope for the greenhouses, too, has ended in disappointment, with US$25 million (20 million) worth of tomatoes, strawberries and peppers stuck at the Karni border crossing into Israel and eventually dumped in landfills, according to the Palestine Development Company, which ran the greenhouses for the government. It had Jooo cooties! The always consistent Paleos. Seeing no hope for improvement, the government didn't even bother to plant new crops. Of course not, cuz it was the Jooos fault for giving Gaza back! Ha, we're onto you sneaky bastards! Businesses also have been devastated. Israel routinely closes the Karni crossing, citing security threats, and last month released footage of what it said was a tunnel militants had dug toward the crossing in preparation for an attack. I don't think they have a word for "security" or the absense of killing in Paleoese. Please rephrase. The closures made it impossible for Mahani's factory to import the raw plastic, coloring and additives he needed, and he couldn't export what little he could produce, he said. Oh shit, more tears. The factory, which used to run 24 hours a day, now works only 24 hours a week because of rolling blackouts due to the Israeli attack on the power plant, he said. His employees are lucky to work one 8-hour shift a week, and the business, which only sells its products in Gaza, is losing US$3,000 to US$5,000 (2,360 to 3,930) a month, he said. Damned Jooos! "We are hoping that next year will be better, that next year will be better. We are living by hope," he said. And on Other People's Money. Don't forget that little detail... To keep his business solvent, Mahani opened a new factory in Egypt, where 100 people work in round-the-clock shifts. Where they're Arabs, so life still sucks, but at least they're not Paleos. According to Paltrade, a coalition of Palestinian exporters, more than 20 Gaza textile and furniture manufacturers moved their businesses to Egypt or Jordan, diverting millions of dollars in investment and thousands of jobs from Gaza. Go figure, huh? Traitors! Many others are looking to leave, creating fears of worse unemployment and even deeper poverty, said Hanan Taha, a Paltrade official in Gaza. Requiring even more Other People's Money. A proud Paleo tradition. "The situation is very difficult. The crisis is continuous," she said. Cuz you're still Paleos and you will never live in peace, so you reap what you sew. Dipshits. "There are no hopes and dreams." LOL... Stop it, you're killing me here. Posted by: Gruth Hupeagum6409 2006-09-09 |
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