Gaza After Disengagement

What happened to all the greenhouses and irrigation lines that the withdrawing Israelis left behind? Also, the photos showed people with lots of produce, so the claim of food shortage is questionable. I thought the idea of separation was to establish Palestinial independence, so why is it a problem if the border is sealed? They could be trading with Egypt on the west.

And what happened to the billions of euros the EU has been pumping in to Gaza for humanitarian aid? I suspect they are lining the pockets of the Hamas bigwigs.

Also, my son served in the US military, and if some force came over the border and kidnapped one of our men from one of our bases, I know that the US response would be swift and furious. We shouldn't expect any other army to behave differently. Hamas surely knew that when it took the soldier, but apparently they didn't care about the collateral damage to the unprotected civilians.

Israel is far from perfect, but here in the US we know that you have to see both sides of a story before you can decide. That's why a free press is so important, but it's not present in any Arab country. And while we're on the topic of freedom, let's take a minute to think about the way women are treated in Gaza. Like the 27-year-old who was beaten to death with iron chains by HER FATHER for the "sin" of using her cell phone to talk to an unrelated man. An adult woman tortured for a phone call!

To tell the truth, more Palestinians have been killed by the Hamas assassination squads and modesty police than by the Israelis. You can't go shouting about human rights when the right to free speech and the right of association (first amendment of the US Constitution) are denied to large swaths of the population on pain of death.