Israel Prefers Gaza Traders to Aid Groups: A Masterclass in Control
The New Arab reports Israel is permitting Gaza traders to import goods, including items previously restricted, while simultaneously denying the same to aid groups. This isn't about feeding the starving; it's about control and creating monopolies. The 'security' rationale often touted for such restrictions has long been a flimsy veil for economic strangulation, a policy applied against Palestinians
for decades. Back in 2010, the UN confirmed Israel calculated Gaza's minimum calorie needs to determine precisely how much food to let in—enough to avoid mass starvation, but not enough for dignity or development. Critics might call it 'caloric control,' not aid. So, instead of aid agencies ensuring fair distribution, private traders (likely those amenable to Israeli conditions) get to profit from
a captive market in the world's largest open-air prison. It's a tale as old as the occupation itself: humanitarian crisis becomes an opportunity for political leverage, neatly packaged to look like an olive branch. One might ask, how many 'goodwill gestures' actually deepen economic dependency and inequality?