Israel, Palestinians locked in border row

[Violet_Crumble]

WRANGLING over Gaza's status is likely to intensify this week when Prime Minister Ariel Sharon seeks to persuade the United Nations that Israel is no longer responsible for the Palestinian territory after its troops withdrew on Monday.

Mr Sharon is scheduled to address the UN General Assembly's 60th anniversary session in New York tomorrow at a time when world leaders are praising him for ending 38 years of Israeli settlement and military presence inside the densely populated Palestinian enclave.

On Monday UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan praised the determination and political courage shown in this regard by Prime Minister Sharon. Mr Annan also congratulated Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas for his role in ensuring that the disengagement was carried out peacefully, in co-ordination with Palestinian security forces.

But beyond local co-ordination on the ground, Mr Sharon has described his evacuation of troops and 8000 settlers as a one-off unilateral step and, in the absence of a peace process, fresh confrontation is already developing over Gaza's borders.

The Israeli Government is insisting that it will maintain control over Gaza's sea and air access and the restricted human and economic traffic between Gaza and Egypt.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/middle-east-crisis/israel-palestinians-locked-in-border-row/2005/09/13/1126377314999.html

[bemildred]

1. Responsibility and authority go together.

If Israel is not responsible, then it has no authority either.
Or it can have both.

[pelsar]

2. mute point

the wall between egypt an gaza now is full of holes with people and goods and missles moving freely between the two sides...

its a minute helicopter trip from gaza to egypt...same for boats......

[bemildred]

3. Principles are never moot, that's why they are principles.

To be sure chaos may rule the day and people may ignore
principles, but then they may rue the day they did that
too. There will still be trouble while Israel claims
authority without responsibility.

We do seem to have quite a mess going on in Gaza now.
There are some interesting pictures on the internet. I
expect the Egyptians are about as happy with Sharon and
the withdrawal as the Turks are with Shrub and his dandy
little Iraq invasion.

[pelsar]

4. the egyptians...

didnt want gaza or anything to do with it.....they just didnt have much of a choice....sharon basically stuck them with it..after all "the palestenains and egyptians are "brothers"....

israels not claiming authority over gaza....its theirs.....to do as they please....though i just read where abbas is now blaiming israel for the chaos at the egyptian border...heh heh...guess old habits are hard to get rid of

[barb162]

6. Abbas should just as well blame Ecuador

Who is tunnelling and blowing holes in the border wall? Wait a minute, maybe, just maybe, he should blame the Palestinians for the chaos at that border

[barb162]

5. If Egypt is getting upset about the Palestinians crossing the border

then Egypt should be upset with the Palestinians, NOT ISRAEL. Egypt and the PA need to station a few more guards there.