Don't think that because you are an
American you have any rights if you visit Gaza. Nope, Israel says you should just "Feck Off" And yet, Israel boasts about it's
"special" relationship with America. Well, the
special relationship is
only one way.
America gives Israel billions each year, and Israel tells you to "feck off" and takes away your rights. Yeah America, great deal, keep the money coming.
GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—In blockaded Gaza, even an American passport isn't a sure ticket to freedom.
Two boys, ages 5 and 6, are stranded because one has a U.S. passport that expired and the other's is about to.
The U.S. offers no consular services in Gaza, and Israel's border closure of the Hamas-ruled territory prevents the children from reaching the nearest U.S. diplomatic mission in Israel.
The bureaucratic limbo means the boys' Palestinian parents can't leave Gaza, either. Their father, Kamal Elkafarna, stands the risk of losing out on doctoral studies in Russia.
"It's an absurd situation," said Keren Tamir of the Israeli human rights group Gisha, which has appealed to an Israeli court on behalf of the family. "They can't get new passports since they can't leave Gaza, and they can't leave Gaza since they don't have new passports."
The closure is enforced by both Israel and Egypt, which only let out a trickle of Gazans. Egypt opens the gates periodically for Palestinians with foreign residency or medical patients. Israel enables Gazans suffering serious illness to reach Israeli hospitals for treatment.
Israel says the travel restrictions are a result of Hamas' hostility to the Jewish state.
(Oh Really? I find this comical....Who is invading someone else's country on a daily basis? Who has held another country under siege for years? Who is stealing another countries land? Who inflicted a collective punishment of genocide on another country? Who has lost more lives? Who has the 4th largest army in the world, WITH Nuclear weapons? Why, guess what? It's not HAMAS gosh darn-it, it's Israel!!So I reckon HAMAS, a democratically elected government has a right to be "hostile" towards the rogue state it lives next to)However, the blockade has been widely criticized. The Quartet of Mideast mediators—the United States, the United Nations, the European Union and Russia—demanded over the weekend that Gaza's borders be opened. Human rights groups say locking in Gazans, especially students like Elkafarna, has backfired because the closure limits development while fueling frustration and militancy.
(See this is the strategy, Israel wants HAMAS to remain hostile, this is why they keep committing crimes against Palestinians. If Israel can keep the aggression going they can stall out any peace deal whilst they continue to steal more land. Only when Americans wake up and get pissed will this ever end, so will youse all Wake Up Now?) Elkafarna, 37, holds a Master's degree in systems engineering from George Washington University. His two sons, 5-year-old Elias and 6-year-old Qasem, were born in the United States while he obtained his degree.
He now hopes to pursue a Ph.D. in project management at Voronezh State University of Architecture and Civil Engineering in Voronezh, Russia. However, Russia won't give the boys visas in expired passports, and renewing the passports has proven impossible. source
