Israel Ships Fresh Fruit and Vegetables to Gaza

[ProgressiveProfessor]

Israel has resumed shipments of produce to Gaza, according to the Israeli Agricultural Association, which explained in a statement Sunday that produce shipped to the region will gradually increase as long as quiet prevails in southern Israel.

Israel and Hamas both began a renewed, albeit fragile, ceasefire, one week ago.

As of now, the Ministry of Defense has permitted the transfer of ten trucks of produce a day carrying 200 tons of bananas, persimmons, and apples. Produce growers hope that the shipments will increase soon to 15 trucks.

The CEO of the Fruit Growers Association, Ilan Eshel, explained that the situation is good for Gaza and good for farmers. Sending fruit to Gaza reduces pressure on the local Israeli market and also helps meet Gazans’ need for basic foodstuffs, he said.
====================================
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/129595

[cali]

1. can Gazan's afford to buy it? Do they have the market infrastructure left

after the Israeli bombing and destruction?

[Idealism]

2. These people subsist on less than $2 a day

Hard to buy much with that, just another reason why 75% of Gazan's live on humanitarian aid.

[DesertFlower]

7. Hamas has money to buy it for

their people.

[Idealism]

8. Not nearly enough, it seems.

[DesertFlower]

10. it depends on what hamas

considers important. Is it food for their people or weapons to destroy israel?

[Idealism]

14. that is a non-starter

much of the weapons they receive are bought and paid for by outside influences. Hamas doesn't pay anything for Grad rockets, for example.

[DesertFlower]

15. it would be nice if those

outside influences would help the people with food and other necessities.

[Idealism]

16. there is only so much smuggling you can do through tunnels

considering Israel blockades off the strip, and has many times in the past refused any humanitarian aid from entering into Gaza. not to mention that the IDF and IAF has blown up those tunnels repeatedly.

[Duckhunter935]

19. That is why

If Hamas actually cared they would only push to have food and medicine smuggled. They insist on wasting a valuable limited resource on weapons.

[DesertFlower]

21. exactly.

[Idealism]

22. According to an Al Jazeeran journalist, the tunnels are 90% for food

He did a report on the tunnels before they were destroyed.

[Duckhunter935]

29. So Hamas could have gotten 10%

more food and medicine into Gaza if they had really wanted to. But they chose not too.

[Idealism]

31. You falsely assume 10% would be weapons

In fact, there were reports of everything from stoves to fuel being transported through the tunnels. There is also medicine (although basic) being shipped in through the tunnels as well- or at least there was until Israel destroyed many of them. The only way of getting a car into Gaza, a mule, any type of animal, has been smuggling. Weapons are a very very small part of what the tunnels are used for, as evident by how few rocket launchers of Grad-type there were (Grads come from Iran and can't be manufactured currently in Gaza due to lack of materials)

[Duckhunter935]

32. I take your point

But any weapons or material to construct weapons should not be smuggled and they should only smuggle basic supplies needed for existance. As I have said before Israel should open the crossings to allow aid in.

[Idealism]

33. Your point is that same as mine I believe

Smuggling should not be needed, but given the blockade, 100% of the things smuggled in should be things to help the citizens of Gaza cope with being in a cage.

[azurnoir]

3. Is the produce a donation or for sale?

the article really doesn't say.

[cali]

5. I think it's pretty clear from the article that the produce is not a donation

[bowens43]

4. ..

[BunkerHill24]

6. IDF propaganda machine just keep going, and going, and going

and going, .....

[DogPoundPup]

9. World Boycotts Israels fruit and veggies, so they take it next door to it's

used and abused neighbors after destroying their neighbors farms and orchards.

Wow!

[Scurrilous]

36. Minister: War caused 170 million in damage to Gaza farms

<snip>

"Israel’s three week war caused 170 million US dollars in damage to the agriculture sector in Gaza, the Agriculture Minister in the de facto government reported on Saturday.

Agriculture Minister Muhammad Al-Agha said losses could be as high as 200 million from an “agricultural holocaust” committed by Israel during the war.

Al-Agha explained that losses in the livestock sector alone amount to 110 million dollars.

He said 1,000 irrigation wells were destroyed along with, vast areas of vegetable and fruits farms, egg incubators and green houses."

http://www.maannews.net/en/index.php?opr=ShowDetails&Do=&ID=35246

[DogPoundPup]

39. horrendous and intentional

[azurnoir]

11. It was Arutz Sheva so I take them with a grain

it said the shipments were in part to "reduce" pressure on the Israeli market, meaning there was a surplus in Israel and produce prices had gone down. I know the US donates surplus produce and in some cases actually dumps it at sea to control supply and demand.

[Madam Mossfern]

12. So they shouldn't send it? n/t

[azurnoir]

26. No that is not what I said

actually my comment was supposed to a reply to #5, if the produce is for sale howver it really does little good considering the present state of things in Gaza albeit I have read here that Hamas is handing out money but I would suspect Gazans would be "hesitant" to spend that money or any money to profit Israelis at this point in time.

[ProgressiveProfessor]

13. More credible than EI and Al-Ahram...moreover it can be verified

[Duckhunter935]

17. Did you know most of Gaza was not attacked directly

It was mostly in the northeast and southwest and only part of Gaza city as a whole



http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7812136.stm

[Idealism]

18. I am a bit skeptical of that map

The IAF was doing 60+ missions per day on average, according to the MFA. That only is air-raids, not tank shelling or mortar fire.

[Duckhunter935]

20. Yes we all know the BBC is biased nt

[Idealism]

23. The map wasn't from the BBC, fyi

I said I was skeptical, given what the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on how many bombing missions the IAF was doing per day. There is a disconnect between 60+ mission per day for 22 days and only 566 buildings damaged.

[azurnoir]

40. wrong place delete n/t

[slipslidingaway]

27. BBC crisis over refusal to broadcast Gaza appeal

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3705364&mesg_id=3705364


"The BBC was in crisis tonight as politicians including government ministers, religious leaders and senior members of its own staff condemned the decision not to broadcast a charity appeal to help the stricken people of Gaza rebuild their homes.

The corporation's director general, Mark Thompson, was left isolated as rival broadcasters ITV and Channel 4 agreed to put out the plea for aid made jointly by 13 British charities. The BBC has decided the broadcast of the appeal might be seen as evidence of bias on a highly sensitive political issue.

The Archbishop of York, John Sentamu, has accused the broadcaster of "taking sides". He said yesterday: "This is not a row about impartiality but rather about humanity.

"This situation is akin to that of British military hospitals who treat prisoners of war as a result of their duty under the Geneva convention. They do so because they identify need rather than cause. This is not an appeal by Hamas asking for arms but by the Disasters Emergency Committee asking for relief. By declining their request, the BBC has already taken sides and forsaken impartiality," the archbishop added..."

[slipslidingaway]

25. See my reply below about the maps, I posted the link last night

and followed up with additional information to the poster, but that info seemed to get lost.

:grr:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=253940&mesg_id=254018

[Duckhunter935]

28. I did miss your reply

I am sure that as things get sorted out there will be more damage noted. I do agree that Israel went too far and how they handled this was completely wrong. Some posters around here have implied that all of Gaza was leveled and that is also not true. I am sure there are areas of the Gaza strip that received very little if any damage and that is a good thing. However you will not see that on the news or posted by some members here because that will not highlight their point of view..

[slipslidingaway]

34. As was noted in the original link that you responded to last night...

"...Highlighted below are some of the main buildings identified as destroyed or damaged in Gaza City and the surrounding area as of 16 January, when this latest satellite image was taken.

The image, taken for Unosat at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research, has helped researchers identify at least 566 destroyed or damaged buildings."


We should all be careful not to try and spin this one way or another, whether to say that all of Gaza was leveled, certain towns were in fact leveled, or to say that most of Gaza was not attacked directly. The increasing lack of supplies and refugees and affects many people.

[Duckhunter935]

30. Thanks for the link, good info

Even with the extra provided maps and imagery you can still see most buildings are not destroyed. Even the UN compound that was fired on(I think is not acceptable) is not destroyed but most of the buildings are in fact intact.

[slipslidingaway]

35. I'll repeat this once more...

"...Please note: Buildings not marked in the map as damaged does not imply the buildings are undamaged, only that damages were not identified with the available satellite imagery at the time of map publication. Because of the reduced spatial resolution of this satellite imagery, the confidence level for damage identification within dense urban areas is significantly reduced. It is highly probable, therefore, that the damages currently identified in this map underestimate the actual building and infrastructure damages present on the ground at the time of satellite image acquisition..."

[Duckhunter935]

38. As I said I agreed with that statement

But on the other side all buildings in Gaza city and in the Gaza strip were not damaged or destroyed as some have implied. Large parts may not have been damaged at all.

[slipslidingaway]

41. I doubt many people believe that ALL buildings were either

damaged or destroyed in Gaza.

[slipslidingaway]

24. Either you missed my reply to you about the maps or are trying

to put a more positive spin on the destruction that has occurred in Gaza.


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=124&topic_id=253721&mesg_id=253721


My post from last night...

You get a better idea when viewing the satelitte map at the link posted in the OP. Not sure if BBC produced the other two maps for the article or not, it almost makes it look fair and balanced.

:(


Additional maps are here and contain similar notes.

http://unosat.web.cern.ch/unosat/asp/prod_free.asp?id=120

"This map presents a preliminary and on-going satellite-based damage assessment for the Governorates of Gaza and Gaza North. Damaged buildings, infrastructure and impact craters have been identified with Quickbird and WorldView satellite imagery acquired on 16, 10 & 6 January 2009, and received at a reduced spatial resolution of 2 meters. Pre-crisis Ikonos satellite imagery from June 2005 was also used. Affected buildings were classified either as destroyed or severely damaged by standard image interpretation methods. Please note: Buildings not marked in the map as damaged does not imply the buildings are undamaged, only that damages were not identified with the available satellite imagery at the time of map publication. Because of the reduced spatial resolution of this satellite imagery, the confidence level for damage identification within dense urban areas is significantly reduced. It is highly probable, therefore, that the damages currently identified in this map underestimate the actual building and infrastructure damages present on the ground at the time of satellite image acquisition. This damage map will be revised and updated as additional analysis and ground information is available. Please send any additions/corrections to UNOSAT. Map scale for A3: 1:50,000; Projection : UTM Zone 36 North; Datum : WGS84"


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7848643.stm

CONFLICT IN FIGURES

More than 1,300 Palestinians killed

Thirteen Israelis killed

More than 4,000 buildings destroyed in Gaza, more than 20,000 severely damaged

50,000 Gazans homeless and 400,000 without running water

[GoesTo11]

37. This is a good thing.

Since no one else said it.

[azurnoir]

42. Yeah if Hamas is indeed handing out cash

Israel might as well get some huh?

[anonymous171]

43. Clever strategy.

Bomb their agricultural facilities, then send them food in its place. Might create some goodwill between them.

[Idealism]

44. Replace "send" with "sell" and you have the right idea.