title: govt of india and orissa act now prevent child deaths in malkangiri  countercurrentsorg
text: photo by swithun crowe  cc by  
  this fall the us agreed to provide  billion in military aid to israel over the next ten years ensuring americas continued role in funding the occupation of palestine meanwhile my friends and colleagues here in gaza live in fear of another significant israeli attack in the near future 
  they have every reason to fear another major escalation  violence is a daily reality in gaza in two recent incidents a rocket was fired from gaza into israel without causing damage or injuries and in both instances israel responded by bombing targets throughout gaza 
  in august alone israel bombed more than  locations in the small territory  
  the simple story told about these events focuses on action and reaction palestinians attacked israel with a rocket and israel responded we hear this logic after nearly every event of this sort but its woefully incomplete 
  in both instances the rockets fired werent fired by hamas but rather by small radical armed groups at odds with hamas which governs gaza these groups seek to incite israeli attacks on hamas with the goal of destabilizing its control over gaza because they see hamas as too comfortable with the status quo 
  since seizing power in  hamas has worked to control and limit violence from the territory outside of periods of defined military escalation  which tend to be precipitated by israeli attacks  they have effectively stopped attacks against israel from gaza 
  this explains why as noted by the israeli press there were only  rockets fired from gaza towards israel between january and august this year none were fired by hamas so israels decision to target hamas as a response makes no sense 
  of course  rockets fired from gaza is  too many for those of us committed to ending all violence and none of this should be taken as an apology for other violence perpetrated by hamas 
  but as the united nations office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs in the occupied palestinian territories reports  there were also  israeli military incursions into gaza this year resulting in  palestinian deaths and on average injuring five palestinians in gaza every week 
  this is the part of the story that isnt told 
  gaza also remains under an israeliimposed blockade that severely limits travel trade and life for gazans despite assurances that restrictions would be lifted in the  hamasisrael ceasefire agreement the blockade remains in effect 
  israel with support from the us government claims this decadeslong blockade is in place to pressure the people of gaza to rise up against hamas and provide security for israelis 
  if those are israels raisons detre then its a complete failure it hasnt stopped violence it hasnt weakened hamas and it hasnt brought israelis or palestinians security 
  while the blockade hasnt succeeded in achieving the changes israel claims to be seeking its impact on the civilian population of gaza has been immense 
  over two years after the end of the last large military operation there much of gaza remains in ruins 
  of the  palestinians in gaza who were displaced during the  israeli bombardment over  remain homeless as  percent of the homes seriously damaged or destroyed havent been rebuilt this is largely because reconstruction materials remain blocked from entering gaza 
  this important context is too often missing as us pundits and politicians consider the situation in gaza 
  given the blockade and regular military incursions imposed by israel the firing of less than  rockets per month by palestinians cannot be seen as the core reason for violence 
  if the us is serious about promoting peace between israelis and palestinians preventing future violence in gaza and guaranteeing security then it must recognize the violence inherent in the israeli occupation and end the blockade 
  the next attack on gaza feared by my friends who live there is an inevitable reality if nothing changes 
  mike merrymanlotze has worked with the american friends service committee as the palestineisrael program director since  
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