Oct 19 2000
Three million hostages
The title of this article, “Three million hostages,” may surprise some, but this is actually what has happened to the Palestinians living in the West Bank and Gaza during the past few weeks. These Palestinians have become prisoners in their own country. Movement between cities and towns was completely forbidden, as was the movement across the Jordan River bridge, the Gaza airport, and the land crossing with Egypt. Israel’s Ben-Gurion Airport was also forbidden to Palestinians. This procedure was not limited to those wishing to exit but also applied to those who happened to be outside the area when this arbitrary decision was made. Unlike previous times when such radical steps were taken, the Israelis made no attempt to describe this action as a security precaution. This was collective punishment. Continue Reading »