For Gazans, victory over the blockade demands but a little more patience, writes Saleh Al-Naami Gamal Al-Khodari, chairman of the Popular Committee for Confronting the Siege on Gaza, can barely keep up with the telephone calls from around the world he is receiving in his office. "You cannot imagine the amount of sympathy around the world towards the Gaza Strip," he tells Al-Ahram Weekly. "This is demonstrated in the preparations being made by many peace activists worldwide for the sake of ending the unjust siege of Gaza." Al-Khodari revealed that so far 10 international caravans by sea have been organised to head towards Gaza, adding that Israel's "deceitful" announcement of easing the blockade was quickly exposed. This new enthusiasm amongst peace activists is an expression of their willingness to face Israel once more in order to break the siege on Gaza. "Other than these 10 caravans, there are also contacts underway to organise more caravans by sea," Al-Khodari added. "The Mediterranean is the scene of a true sea-bound Intifada that will continue until the blockade collapses." There are two ships slated to arrive from Lebanon, three from other Arab countries, another three from Islamic countries, and finally two from Europe. Al-Khodari believes that the call to end the siege expressed during the meeting of the leaders of the G20 countries in Canada is noteworthy, adding that specific mechanisms to lift the blockade must be decided upon and there should be readiness to impose sanctions on Israel if it does not comply with the growing global demand to end the siege. He warned that Israel's claim of easing the blockade "is cheap publicity to dodge demands for ending the blockade". Monitoring the flow of trade between Gaza and Israel, Al-Khodari explained, it is clear that no progress has been made in terms of living conditions in Gaza. In fact, the rate of goods entering Gaza has dropped after Israel's announcement that it is easing the blockade, and two out of four commercial border crossings between Gaza and Israel remain closed, while another opened for two days and the fourth was partially open for one week. According to Al-Khodari, facts on the ground demonstrate that Israel's claims of easing the blockade are nothing more than PR. He called for intensified action to end the siege. He added that Israel continues to prevent the entry of 3,500 types of goods into Gaza, including "livestock, raw material for industry, all forms of construction material, electrical appliances, equipment and machinery, sewage needs and spare parts, power generators and spare parts, household and office furniture, as well as hundreds of other goods." John Ging, director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA), argued that ending the siege would help ensure security and peace in the region. "I reiterate our concern over the continued siege of more than 1.5 million Palestinians inside Gaza," Ging told a news conference in Gaza Sunday. Ging explained that the aspirations of the Palestinians could not be achieved through aid, but rather through ending the blockade. The average Palestinian in Gaza, indeed, was unaffected by Israel's decision to ease the blockade and allow "goods for civilian use", including Khamis Sabri who owns a bookstore in Al-Rimal district in Gaza City. "One week ago, Israel announced in a statement from Netanyahu's office that it would allow paper, but not a single sheet has come in," complained Sabri. "People are relying on what is smuggled in through the tunnels." Several passersby on Omar Al-Mokhtar Street, which runs through the centre of Gaza City, expressed scepticism on Israel's decision. "It is obvious that at best Israel will focus on allowing more foodstuffs through, which are already piling up in stores because of smuggling operations through the tunnels, though no one can buy them because they are too expensive," said Samir Abu Hadeeb, a teacher. "[More than food] we are seeking freedom of movement." Abu Hadeeb believes that his brother's future was destroyed when the occupation authorities prevented him from continuing his studies at one of the universities in the West Bank, sending him back to Gaza. Ahmed Hammad told the Weekly that for two years his daughter has suffered from a blood disorder that requires her to undergo a bone marrow transplant. So far Israel has not allowed her to pass through the Erez Crossing. Salah Al-Bardawil, a leading Hamas figure, described Israel's announcement of an easing of the siege as an attempt to offset calls by the international solidarity movement for a complete end to the blockade. "The decision demonstrates Tel Aviv's intention to 'manage' the siege, not lift it." Al-Bardawil demanded that all goods should be allowed through without restrictions, because it is the right of the Palestinians to live like any other people." Al-Bardawil told the Weekly that all goods and persons should have complete freedom of movement, and that all border crossings between Gaza and the outside world should be opened. He affirmed what Israel has admitted: that it is punishing the Palestinian people for their political choices -- namely, the election of Hamas in the 2006 parliamentary elections. He said that by easing the blockade, Israel is trying to gain international legitimacy to continue the siege. Al-Bardawil called on the world to force Israel to end the siege, and urged Arab states to stop conspiring against the Palestinian people by supporting the blockade. He affirmed that this kind of Arab pressure on the Palestinians would not bring about political results, but would cause the Palestinians to insist on their democratic choices in the last elections. In its Sunday issue, Yediot Aharonot newspaper reported that during his White House meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu in two weeks, President Obama would make several demands that are non-negotiable. These include ending the siege on Gaza and allowing Palestinians freedom to travel outside Gaza through Israeli border crossings. "If anyone believes that lifting the economic blockade on Gaza will please the Americans, they are mistaken," one top Israeli source told the newspaper's senior commentator, Shimon Shiffer. "Obama's demands of Netanyahu will be much more significant." The newspaper added that Obama believes the lives of more than 1.5 million Palestinians in Gaza are unbearable. It continued that Obama is especially upset about restrictions on the movement of Gaza's residents, which he believes constitute a form of collective punishment. Yet it appears Obama's demands will fall on deaf Israeli ears. Gabi Ashkenazi, the Israeli army's chief of staff, said that Israel would not lift the siege on Gaza and that the army will enforce it. Speaking to high school students in northern Israel, Ashkenazi asserted that no goods would be allowed through without thorough examination and Israel's permission. "Israel has an intrinsic right to prevent the passage of combat material into Gaza," he said. "Anyone who wants to bring medical goods into Gaza must go to the port of Ashdod for inspection. At that point, Israel will decide whether to let them through or not." It is apparent that lifting the siege on Gaza requires two elements. First, patience on the part of the Palestinians -- their continued suffering under the siege, and not accepting the alternatives Israel is attempting to force on them (such as a partial lifting of the blockade). Second, the international solidarity movement must continue its activities, including sending more caravans by sea in order to penetrate the blockade. The Palestinians are sending the message to the world that the minimum requirements of human rights require an end to the siege. Anyone walking the streets of Gaza's cities, or the narrow alleys of its refugee camps, would be surprised at the confidence the residents have that the siege will end.
