Guardian

Harriet Sherwood neglects to mention one large Arab state bordering Gaza

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In 2012, a year in which 2,327 rockets and 230 mortar shells were fired into Israel from Gaza, 16,553 Palestinians entered Israel from the Palestinian run territory to receive medical treatment in Israeli and PA hospitals.  Additionally, during 2012, the Israeli civil administration for the territories financed life-saving medical treatments for 20 Palestinian children (including marrow transplants and kidney transplants) worth more than 1,500,000 NIS ($405,000).

Harriet Sherwood’s latest piece, ‘British surgeons carry out first organ transplant in Gaza‘, about a volunteer medical team from Royal Liverpool hospital training Palestinian doctors in Gaza to perform transplants, completely ignored Israel’s continuing medical-related humanitarian assistance to citizens of the Hamas run territory, and, instead, focused on restrictions and alleged shortages in Gaza’s hospitals.  

Sherwood wrote the following:

“A team of British surgeons has carried out Gaza‘s first organ transplants as a pilot for a long-term plan to train local medical staff to perform the operations.

“I cannot express my happiness,” said Ziad Matouk, 42, who was born with one kidney and was diagnosed with renal failure several years ago. “I’m proud to have had one of the first transplant operations in Gaza. I want to hug and kiss all the doctors.”

Two patients underwent kidney transplants at the Shifa, Gaza’s biggest public hospital, which is beset by overcrowding, chronic power cuts and shortages of drugs and equipment. The operations were conducted a fortnight ago by a volunteer medical team from the Royal Liverpool hospital.

…

Matouk, whose wife donated one of her kidneys, hopes to return to his job as a falafel vendor in Maghazi refugee camp, central Gaza, within six months. The couple had sought a transplant in Cairo, but were rejected as unsuitable at a state hospital and could not afford the fee at a private hospital. “We were desperate,” said Matouk.

Then, there was this passage:

“Israel heavily restricted imports to Gaza between 2007 and 2010, and continues to control the flow of goods in and out of the Palestinian enclave.” [emphasis added]

Of course, contrary to the clear suggestion conveyed in that sentence, Gaza has a border which Israel does not control.

As we noted (and pointed out to Guardian editors) in 2011, about a story titled “10 highlights of Palestine“, by Sarah Irving, which alleged that “Israeli border authorities…control all routes into the West Bank and Gaza”, Gaza borders Egypt, which has been in control of Gaza’s Rafah crossing since 2005.

We discovered Irving’s curious geographical error by use of our blog’s extremely expensive, highly sophisticated satellite technology (i.e., maps we found online), which showed the following:

gaza

So, it would seem reasonable to conclude that the Islamist Egyptian government bears some responsibility for medical aid and goods flowing into the Islamist governed Palestinian state on its border.

In 2011, it took Guardian editors nearly a month to correct Sarah Irving’s omission relating to Rafah, upon which they added the following text:

This article was amended on 15 December 2011. The original said the Israeli border authorities controlled all routes into the West Bank and Gaza. This has been corrected.

We look forward to observing how long it takes them to correct Harriet Sherwood’s latest error about Gaza’s southern border.

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19 replies »

  1. Wonder what the names of the volunteers, which in itself are doing good for the people of Gaza, and who funds some of their activities.

    With so much to do in the UK and so little volunteering here, one must wonder why is Europe keeps funding aid projects in countries which don’t seem to want to stand on their own two feet but rather carry on using aid as a god given right?

    • Israel is the occupying power of the state of Palestine – West Bank, including East Jerusalem, Gaza.

      Egypt isn’t.

      Israel controls five out of six land crossings in and out of Gaza.

      Israel controls 100% of Gaza’s airspace.

      Israel controls nearly 85% of Gaza’s fishing grounds.

      Israel controls one-thirds of Gaza’s arable land.

      Israel controls imports of commercial goods and humanitarian aid into Gaza.

      Israel forbids nearly all exports of agricultural produce out of Gaza.

      Israel controls and severely restricts movements of Palestinians in and out of Gaza, including towards the rest of the state of Palestine (West Bank, including East Jerusalem).

  4. As this became very clear after Harriett’ Sherwood’s laughable adventures with some Gaza fishermen and a GPS device – geography is not her forte. But why should a political activist (even if she is masquerading as a journo) worry about geographical facts?

    • As this became very clear after Adam Levick’s string of misinformed stories on Gaza – international law is not his forte. But why should a political activist (even if he is masquerading as a blogger) worry about international law or facts?

  5. “We look forward to observing how long it takes them to correct Harriet Sherwood’s latest error about Gaza’s southern border.”

    No doubt they’ll delay it till there’s practically zero chance of anyone noticing Sherwood’s article, thus allowing the original propaganda to stand.

  6. In the article ” The couple had sought a transplant in Cairo, but were rejected as unsuitable at a state hospital and could not afford the fee at a private hospital”

    So Egypt rejected treating them, Egypt is in chrage of their southern border. Yet all you hear is that it is Israel fault.