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Mr. Sandman
02-04-2009, 01:36 PM
JERUSALEM – Hamas police in Gaza seized thousands of blankets and food parcels meant for needy residents, a U.N. spokesman said Wednesday, threatening to fracture relations between the international agency that cares for most of Gaza's residents and the territory's militant rulers.

Hamas policemen forcibly broke into an aid warehouse in Gaza City on Tuesday evening and confiscated 3,500 blankets and over 4,000 food parcels, said Christopher Gunness, a spokesman for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency.

Gunness said the incident was "absolutely unacceptable."

He said police confiscated aid meant for 500 families after U.N. officials refused to voluntarily hand it over to the Hamas-run Ministry of Social Affairs. Similar U.N. aid packages had already been distributed to 70,000 residents over the past two weeks.

Ahmad Kurd, the Hamas Minister of Social Affairs, did not deny the seizure of the aid Wednesday. He charged the U.N. was giving the aid to local groups with ties to Hamas opponents.

"UNRWA did not do what it said it would do, and began distributing its aid to groups that tie their activities to political activism," Kurd said.

Israeli officials have charged in the past that the militant group routinely confiscates aid meant for needy Gazans, but Gunness said this was the first time Hamas had seized its goods since taking control of the territory in 2007.

The U.N. agency provides food, education and health care services to more than half of Gaza's 1.4 million residents.

Hamas is under pressure to provide aid to Gazans, who are facing more hardship than ever since Israel's devastating three-week military offensive, which ended Jan. 18. The operation, aimed at halting rocket fire from the territory, killed hundreds of civilians and left thousands destitute after their homes were damaged or destroyed.

Tensions between Hamas and the U.N. could make it difficult for the international agency to continue providing desperately needed services.

Some international donors had expressed concern that funds meant to rebuild Gaza could fall into Hamas' hands, and the U.N. had been trying to assuage those concerns.

The United Nations is expected to take a leading role in rebuilding Gaza, because Israel and the international community will not deal with Hamas.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090204/...52CqZYMfdvaA8F
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The_Prince
02-04-2009, 06:10 PM
at least they didnt bomb the facility, and kill the UN workers. :) plus this is the first time such a thing has happened.
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Trumble
02-05-2009, 09:04 PM
One they learned from Mugabe, I suspect. Grab the foreign aid knowing nobody will make too much of a fuss, then distribute it to your own supporters and get the credit. Control the food supply and you control the people, indirectly if you can, overtly if you have to.
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nocturnal
02-06-2009, 12:09 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Trumble
One they learned from Mugabe, I suspect. Grab the foreign aid knowing nobody will make too much of a fuss, then distribute it to your own supporters and get the credit. Control the food supply and you control the people, indirectly if you can, overtly if you have to.
Hamas has never before engaged in subverting UN humanitarian assistance programmes. They would never engage in any actions that would alleviate the suffering of the people unless they have genuinely founded misgivings about where the assistance is being channeled to. You'll know that since Hamas took over the Gaza strip, there's been constant infiltration and seditious activities on the part of Fatah supporters to undermine Hamas.

Siezing UN aid is unacceptable i agree, and Hamas should have conveyed their concerns to the relevant officials who are co-ordinating the aid effort, but you'll appreciate that there's a history of aid being used to blackmail the popluation of Gaza, predominantly by israel and it's collaborators. So that is why Hamas did what they did. It will cease im sure.

But do not act like an ignoramus and use such isolated incidents to demonize Hamas when they are fighting the cause of the Palestinians with fortitude and valour.

The cause of this crisis is the occupation, the embargo, the genocide, all of which has endured for 61 years. That is the nucleus of contemporary terrorism.
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The_Prince
02-06-2009, 01:16 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by nocturnal
Hamas has never before engaged in subverting UN humanitarian assistance programmes. They would never engage in any actions that would alleviate the suffering of the people unless they have genuinely founded misgivings about where the assistance is being channeled to. You'll know that since Hamas took over the Gaza strip, there's been constant infiltration and seditious activities on the part of Fatah supporters to undermine Hamas.

Siezing UN aid is unacceptable i agree, and Hamas should have conveyed their concerns to the relevant officials who are co-ordinating the aid effort, but you'll appreciate that there's a history of aid being used to blackmail the popluation of Gaza, predominantly by israel and it's collaborators. So that is why Hamas did what they did. It will cease im sure.

But do not act like an ignoramus and use such isolated incidents to demonize Hamas when they are fighting the cause of the Palestinians with fortitude and valour.

The cause of this crisis is the occupation, the embargo, the genocide, all of which has endured for 61 years. That is the nucleus of contemporary terrorism.
you are 100% correct, but just to add further, this isnt isolated incidentS plural, this is an isolated incident as a WHOLE becuase this is the FIRST time it has happened. so indeed to trumble, dont be an ignoramous and try to start your demonizing campaign, because sadly it wont work, to compare hamas with mugabe, LOL your funny, very funny. hamas has given 50 million to the victims who have lost homes or familly, and will be giving more as time goes by.
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Suomipoika
02-06-2009, 07:58 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by UN halts Gaza aid over 'thefts'

The UN aid agency in Gaza says it has suspended all aid shipments, accusing the Hamas government of seizing hundreds of tonnes of food supplies.

Ten lorries carrying flour and rice were taken from the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom crossing, the UN's Relief and Works Agency (Unrwa) said.

Hamas admitted a "mistake" had been made and says it will return the goods.

But Unwra says deliveries will not restart until it has assurances that such seizures will not happen again.

Gaza is facing a humanitarian crisis after Israel's three-week offensive.

About half the population is dependent on UN food aid.

Israel intensified a blockade on the territory 19 months ago when Hamas took over the territory.

The lifting of the blockade is among Hamas' demands for agreeing a long-term truce with Israel.

On Friday the group's exiled leader, Khaled Meshaal, told a rally in Syria that Israel still had not given the necessary undertakings for such a truce.

Second incident

Unrwa said the food had been imported from Egypt, and had been due to be collected by its staff at the Kerem Shalom crossing in southern Gaza on Friday.

"The food was taken away by trucks contracted by the ministry of social affairs," the agency said in a statement.

It said aid deliveries would only be resumed if Hamas returned all the aid and provided "credible assurances" that it would not happen again.

It was the second incident in three days. On Tuesday, 3,500 blankets and more than 400 food parcels were seized at gunpoint from a distribution centre in Gaza, the UN said.

The Hamas government's social affairs minister, Ahmed al Kurd, ordered "the aid to be returned to the agency if it turns out it is indeed its property", Hamas spokesman Fawzi Barhum said, according to AFP news agency.

He said no Hamas or Unrwa representatives had been present at the crossing when drivers loaded up the aid supplies, and the drivers had assumed they belonged to the Hamas government.

Although the UN, as an organisation, does not negotiate with Hamas, its relief agency in Gaza has to have some contact with the faction for practical reasons, says the BBC's Aleem Maqbool in Gaza City.

UN-Hamas tensions

Earlier in the week, Mr Kurd warned Unrwa not to "become a political player in Gaza". He said all aid should be distributed through Hamas.

But Hamas's rapid attempt to rectify the situation - at least once Unrwa announced its suspension of imports publicly - suggests it does understand how crucial the UN's aid work is, our correspondent says.

Hamas itself has given very limited financial assistance to some of the thousands of Gazans whose homes were destroyed in the Israeli offensive.

The perception of many in the territory is that the group is only helping its own supporters, he adds.

The UN has increased its food distribution in recent weeks to cover 900,000 of Gaza's population of 1.5 million following Israel's offensive against Hamas that began in December.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7875171.stm

Road block has now managed to block UN aid, well done.
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Israfeel
02-07-2009, 09:13 AM
LoL you guys rely on mainstream media for your news. You can't face the reality that Islam is the truth so you resort to believing Zionist lies in order to convince yourself that Muslims are evil.
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Mr. Sandman
02-07-2009, 09:23 AM
format_quote Originally Posted by Israfeel
LoL you guys rely on mainstream media for your news. You can't face the reality that Islam is the truth so you resort to believing Zionist lies in order to convince yourself that Muslims are evil.
A major UN relief agency has stopped importing aid into the Gaza Strip, after its supplies were allegedly stolen for a second time this week.

The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) said that 10 lorries loaded with humanitarian supplies were seized by Hamas members at Gaza's Kerem Shalom crossing on Friday.

"UNRWA has suspended all imports of aid into the Gaza Strip following the confiscation of hundreds of tonnes of food aid," a statement from the Unrwa said.

"UNRWA's suspension of imports will remain in effect until the aid is returned and the agency is given credible assurances from the Hamas government in Gaza that there will be no repeat of these thefts."

Hamas has said the seizure was a mistake and that they are working to return the lorries.

Second instance

According to UNRWA, it was the second time this week that Hamas members had seized aid supplies.

Its officials said that Hamas members had seized 3,500 blankets and 400 food parcels at gunpoint from an UNRWA store on Tuesday.

Mike Kirsch, Al Jazeera's correspondent reporting from Gaza City, said: "Hamas officials are saying this whole thing is just a big misunderstanding.

"They are saying that the 10 trucks that were intercepted ... they believed was aid coming from Hamas, from the ministry of social affairs, that was on the Israeli border, in effect that the trucks got mixed up with the UN trucks.

"And what has since happened is that Hamas has received documentation from the UN that verifies that these trucks belonged to the UN and Hamas is now saying these trucks will be returned on Saturday."

Humanitarian crisis

Christopher Gunness, a UNRWA spokesman, told Al Jazeera that UN aid shipments into Gaza will not restart until all the aid seized by Hamas is returned.

"Until we get all of this aid back, and until we receive credible assurances from the Hamas government, the suspension of our imports of aid into Gaza will continue," he said.

"Let me make one thing clear, we have some supplies in Gaza, we are going to continue with those distributions those are not suspended."

Gaza is in the midst of a humanitarian crisis. A stiffling economic blockade imposed by Israel for the past 18 months has crippled its economy and caused severe food and medicine shortages.

Israel's 22-day long assault on the Palestinian territory has worsened the situation further, forcing many Palestinians to live on handouts.

Hamas charge

Speaking to Al Jazeera, Ahmed Yousef, a senior Hamas offical, said: "Our relationship with UNRWA is a strategic one. There are some mistakes that have been committed by some people."

He said steps were being taken to resolve the issue.

A senior Hamas leader, however, had earlier in the week accused UNRWA of indulging in discrimination in its distribution of aid.

Ahmed al-Kurd, the Hamas government's social affairs minister in Gaza, had demanded that aid be distributed more "widely and fairly".

UNRWA only provides assistance to those Palestinians holding refugee status.

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/mi...257805408.html

This from Al Jazeera. Is it a Zionist as well?
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sevgi
02-07-2009, 02:03 PM
format_quote Originally Posted by nocturnal
Hamas has never before engaged in subverting UN humanitarian assistance programmes. They would never engage in any actions that would alleviate the suffering of the people unless they have genuinely founded misgivings about where the assistance is being channeled to. You'll know that since Hamas took over the Gaza strip, there's been constant infiltration and seditious activities on the part of Fatah supporters to undermine Hamas.

Siezing UN aid is unacceptable i agree, and Hamas should have conveyed their concerns to the relevant officials who are co-ordinating the aid effort, but you'll appreciate that there's a history of aid being used to blackmail the popluation of Gaza, predominantly by israel and it's collaborators. So that is why Hamas did what they did. It will cease im sure.
But do not act like an ignoramus and use such isolated incidents to demonize Hamas when they are fighting the cause of the Palestinians with fortitude and valour.

The cause of this crisis is the occupation, the embargo, the genocide, all of which has endured for 61 years. That is the nucleus of contemporary terrorism.
I agree with most of what you are saying. But, what I highlighted is the crux of your opinion/ argument. Do you believe that the UN is a collaborator of Israel?
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nocturnal
02-07-2009, 06:52 PM
No i do not believe that the UN as an institution is a zionist collaborator, at least not inherently anyway. What is indisputable though, is the pervasive extent of american hegemony over the UN with regards to israel, especially in the security council. All you need to do is examine the spate of resolutions drafted with the intention of condemning israeli massacres only to unsurpisingly find equal numbers of american vetoes thereby nullifying any condemnation of israeli military aggression and overtly supporting it.

Thankfully, the activities of UNRWA in the Gaza Strip are independent of the political wrangling that goes on in NY, and Hamas recognize that too, which you can see in the amicable relationship they've had with the UN. This incident was an isolated one and should be treated as such, not used in melodramatic fashion as some sort of political canard.
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