Israel Bans Aid as Biden Prioritizes 'Humanitarian Pause,' not Food
NPR reports on aid groups like the Norwegian Refugee Council facing Israeli bans in Gaza, framing it as a logistical challenge. What they fail to provide is the context: Israel’s policy of controlling humanitarian aid access is not new. Documents from the Israeli government itself detailed a 2008 'deliberate policy of calibrated deprivation' to put Gaza 'on a diet,' according to a UN report from
the time. This isn't about security; it's about control. While Secretary of State Antony Blinken has spoken of needing 'more food, more water, more medicine' for Gaza, the Biden administration simultaneously voted against a UN Security Council resolution for a ceasefire and continues to send billions in unrestricted military aid. One might wonder if the 'humanitarian pause' rhetoric is more for PR
than actual aid delivery when groups like NRC are being systematically shut down. It appears some humanitarian crises are more inconvenient than others.