Saturday, February 18, 2017

Gaza: Hamas Rejects Israeli Offer to Invest in Gaza

(Gaza) Israeli Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman offered Hamas a solution to the current standoff between Israel and Gaza. He offered to turn the Gaza Strip “into the Singapore of the Middle East” by building a seaport and an airport in Gaza, as well as creating industrial zones that would help create 40,000 jobs in the strip, if Hamas agreed to demilitarization and to dismantling the tunnel and rocket systems it has built up.
“There is no reason for the residents of Gaza to live in the 21st century under lesser conditions than in Judea and Samaria or in the Arab world. The Gazans must understand that Israel, which withdrew from the Gaza Strip to the last millimetre, is not the source of their suffering — it is the Hamas leadership, which doesn't take their needs into consideration. The moment Hamas gives up its tunnels and rockets, we’ll be the first to invest.”
What a fantastic idea — Israel offering to make Gaza into an industrial partner which would better the lot of the poor Gazans who for the past 12 years have lived off aid from the outside world.

Senior Hamas leader Mahmoud Al-Zahar on Friday rejected the offer, demanding that Israel hands over all the Palestinian prisoners it holds in return for the remains of 2 Israeli soldiers it claims to hold.
“This is a prisoner exchange. If we wanted to turn Gaza into Singapore, we would have done it ourselves. We do not need favours from anyone.”
I wonder why the world's media (and the ethical latte crowd) haven't picked up on this story?