[Peace-discuss] Collective punishment by US/Israel

[C. G. Estabrook]

The major crisis in Gaza started immediately after Hamas won a free and fair 
election. The West, which despises democracy unless it comes out "the right 
way", immediately turned to punishment of the people for the crime of not 
following orders, Israel and the U.S. in the lead, Europe following timidly 
along as usual. The crisis has continued to escalate, and of course it is tied 
to U.S.-Israeli takever of whatever is of value in the West Bank, often with 
considerable violence.

The Annapolis conference was a joke in poor taste. It had almost nothing to do 
with Israel-Palestine. It was an effort by Bush and Rice to line up the 
"moderate" Arab states -- that is, the extreme fundamentalist tyrannies that are 
expected to follow orders -- in an anti-Iran alliance. That's why it was held in 
Annapolis.

There should be efforts by the Islamic states, and everyone else, to put an end 
to the savage punishment of Palestinians by the U.S.-Israeli alliance .

--Noam Chomsky