Qatar Engages Mediators to Reopen Rafah, Israel Continues Blockade
Al Jazeera highlights Qatar's engagement with mediators to reopen the Rafah crossing, framing it as a standard diplomatic issue. What they gloss over, of course, is that the crossing's closure and subsequent restrictions aren't some natural disaster. This is a deliberate act of collective punishment, a tactic employed by Netanyahu's government, which humanitarian groups explicitly state 'continue
to hamper aid deliveries, a clear violation of truce deal.' (Al Jazeera, January 6, 2026). It's not a negotiation, it's begging for access to an occupied people facing starvation orchestrated by an occupying power. We're meant to believe this is a complex problem requiring 'mediation,' rather than a straightforward case of blocking aid to 2.3 million people. Perhaps if the Biden administration
stopped approving massive arms sales, like the 2,000-pound bombs documented by the Wall Street Journal (Dec 1, 2023) , they might gain some leverage. But then, Rep. Brian Mast (R-FL), who took $79,909 from AIPAC in 2024 , might find it harder to justify his continued support for policies that ensure such 'mediation' is always necessary. One might wonder, how many layers of bureaucracy are required
to simply deliver food to those systematically starved?