Hamas Refuses Flotilla Aid
You know that cargo that was so vitally important to deliver to the Palestinian people of Gaza? So important that peace activists put together a flotilla of Turkish ships and tried to run a blockade to get it there as soon as possible, before anyone else suffered and died waiting for it?
Well, Israel has offloaded and inspected the cargo (at least some of which is apparently useless junk) and now is ready to deliver it (minus the gas masks and body armor).
But Hamas is refusing to accept it.
Jerusalem (CNN) — Israel has attempted to deliver humanitarian aid from an international flotilla to Gaza, but Hamas — which controls the territory — has refused to accept the cargo, the Israel Defense Forces said Wednesday.
Palestinian sources confirmed that trucks that arrived from Israel at the Rafah terminal at the Israel-Gaza border were barred from delivering the aid.
Ra’ed Fatooh, in charge of the crossings, and Jamal Khudari, head of a committee against the Gaza blockade, said Israel must release all flotilla detainees and that it will be accepted in the territory only by the Free Gaza Movement people who organized the flotilla.
Israel said it had 20 trucks of aid found on the ships, such as expired medications, clothing, blankets, some medical equipment and toys.
Do we need any more evidence that the entire incident was a staged setup, designed to generate a propaganda victory for Hamas? But there will be people, no doubt, who look at this and applaud Hamas for taking a brave stand on principle — while blithely ignoring the fact that this gang of terrorists couldn’t possibly care less about building a productive society, or helping the people of Gaza.