Gaza: The Aid, the Analysts and the Violence

"Gaza: Israelis Turn Back Libyan Ship"
A16, Tuesday 12/02/08
World Briefing, by the Associated Press

In this news brief on Israel turning away a Libyan ship from Gaza, there are three areas of note:

1) Has the Associated Press confirmed that the Libyan ship's cargo is in fact 3,000 tons of aid, and not something else?

2) Do the analysts cited really believe Arab and Islamic nations are eager to end Gaza's isolation, empowering Hamas? Or rather, knowing their attempts to break the blockade will be unsuccessful, these nations are eager to make Israel look bad?

3) Labeling Hamas a "violently anti-Israel militant group" begs two questions and a point:

- Can there be a peacefully anti-Israel militant group?

- Does this description open the door for Fatah being referred to as a "less violently anti-Israel group" or a "politically anti-Israel group"?

- The word "violence" is key to understanding why Israel imposed the blockade. It's not just that Hamas is anti-Israel, which is frequently cited as a reason for its blockade. After all, Fatah is anti-Israel. The point is that there's no way for Israel to relinquish land and sea entry into Gaza, under the constant and very real threat of violence.

The description is a positive development for the Times, albeit used in an AP brief.