Here we go again...
With closed borders, a bombed out infrastructure and civilian casualties mounting everyday, the people of Gaza are crying out for aid.
The international community has come together in an attempt to help the Palestinian people who were left shattered in the wake of the Israeli offensive into Gaza that occurred in January.
World leaders are attending a conference in Egypt to discuss the future of Gaza and the Palestinians are hoping for a little more than $2 billion in reconstruction aid. The United States, European Commission and the Gulf Arab States have pledged more than $3 billion, but with carrots and sticks attached.
U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said the first goal is to open the border crossings so aid can be received by Palestinians, but said it was imperative that illegal weapons don't flow into Gaza.
As I am writing this, reports are coming in that Hamas has again begun lobbing rockets into the south of Israel essentially ending the cease-fire.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made it clear that reconstruction aid was part of a larger picture of pushing forth peace in the Middle East.
“Our response to today’s crisis in Gaza cannot be separated from our broader efforts to achieve a comprehensive peace…that brings us close to our shared goals,” Clinton said.
Israel and the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip were not invited to the summit against Egypt’s wishes, which was hosting the event.
While conventional wisdom may hold that you bring in the two pugnacious states to work out their differences, the international community has obviously decided that both countries are acting too childish and at least for now don't deserve a seat at the table.
While conventional wisdom may hold that you bring in the two pugnacious states to work out their differences, the international community has obviously decided that both countries are acting too childish and at least for now don't deserve a seat at the table.
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