Gazans Form Chain at Border

Party shares blame with Israel for sky-high unemployment

(NEWSER) - As joblessness mounts in the beleaguered Gaza Strip, more and more residents are blaming the ruling Hamas party for their woes, GlobalPost reports. Although Gaza has one of the fastest population growth rates on earth, 45% of people have no job and 85% depend on aid to get by. And while Palestinians largely blame Israel’s stifling economic blockade, they are increasingly turning their ire on Hamas, too. More»

Only 'a Marshall Plan' can bring lasting peace, writes rabbi

(NEWSER) - Israel's push to wipe out Hamas via military action "is understandable, but stupid," writes Rabbi Michael Lerner, editor of the Jewish progressive magazine Tikkun. While Israel clearly must defend itself, "the kind of response matters"—and the killing of Gazan civilians is "a crime against humanity" as much as Hamas rocket fire. In an op-ed for the Times of London, Lerner calls for an immediate ceasefire and a new path forward. More»

Evacuation of spouses raises fears of imminent ground assault

(NEWSER) - Israel has reopened a border crossing to let foreign passport holders flee Gaza, the New York Times reports. Hundreds of men holding only Palestinian travel documents have been forced to remain behind as their wives and children are evacuated. The move raises fears that a wider Israeli assault on the territory, possibly including a ground invasion, is imminent. More»

(NEWSER) - Anti-Israel protesters gathered in the Arab world and beyond today to protest Israel’s bombing campaign against Gaza, the AP reports. At the largest protest, in Lebanon, tens of thousands of Hezbollah supporters listened as the group’s leader warned Israel of the futility of a ground invasion. "Israel's air force will fail to destroy the will of the fighters firing rockets," Hassan Nasrallah said by video link from an undisclosed location. More»

Blockade destroying jobs, food supplies

(NEWSER) - As Israeli and Palestinian leaders tentatively prepared to resume peace talks, a new report by a coalition of British charities warns of a crushing humanitarian crisis in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. The international consensus to isolate Hamas has led to unemployment, medical shortages and hunger worse than at any time since Israel's seizure of the Strip in 1967, they warn. More»