Sir, – In his letter of February 23rd, Jason Fitzharris argues that the claim made that the people of Gaza have nowhere to go is false as Israel does not surround Gaza. He points out that the strip has a 12km border with Egypt, which is refusing to open the Rafah border crossing to allow people leave Gaza. He asks, why is there no mention or criticism of Egypt’s policy?
First, Egypt has no obligation or responsibility to provide a safe refuge for the Palestinians who have been forced to leave their homes following months of bombardment and persecution, culminating in almost 30,000 deaths to date, many of them children. The situation in Rafah where 1.2 million people are now crammed together in appalling living conditions is down to the actions of the Israel Defence Force (IDF) in relocating Palestinians – sometimes several times and amid life-threatening danger – from more northern parts of Gaza. Second, should Egypt accede to such an unacceptable demand where they must accept Palestinian refugees, it would allow the occupiers to ethnically cleanse Gaza and accelerate a process allowing further illegal land grabs by right-wing settlers. As the conflict continues, Israel’s true intentions for the future of Gaza are becoming clearer, dashing the hopes of an independent, self-governing Palestinian state. – Yours, etc,
MICHAEL CULLEN,
Sandycove,
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Co Dublin.