There was a period where only weapons were restricted. It was short because of Hamas' actions, they clamped down on dual-use items.
You're making shit up, as you always do when your slobbering apologia is met with fact. But, given that you're the same person who claimed that the blockade didn't actually exist when the IDF itself stated otherwise, nobody would expect you to say anything truthful or accurate about this.
HRW, from January 2006, before Hamas took office:
http://www.hrw.org/legacy/wr2k6/pdf/israelopt.pdf
In August and September 2005, Israel unilaterally withdrew approximately eight thousand settlers, along with military personnel and installations, from the Gaza Strip and four small settlements in the northern West Bank near Jenin. While Israel has since declared the Gaza Strip a “foreign territory” and the crossings between Gaza and Israel “international borders,” under international humanitarian law (IHL), Gaza remains occupied, and Israel retains its responsibilities for the welfare of Gaza residents. Israel maintains effective control over Gaza by regulating movement in and out of the Strip as well as the airspace, sea space, public utilities and population registry. In addition, Israel declared the right to re-enter Gaza militarily at any time in its “Disengagement Plan” Since the withdrawal, Israel has carried out aerial bombardments, including targeted killings, and has fired artillery into the northeastern corner of Gaza.
...
The Israeli authorities continue a policy of closure, imposing severe and frequently arbitrary restrictions on freedom of movement in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, and East Jerusalem, contributing to a serious humanitarian crisis marked by extreme poverty, unemployment, and food insecurity. The movement restrictions also have severely compromised Palestinian residents’ access to health care, education, and other services. As of August 1, 2005, the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported 376 closure obstacles, down from 605 in February. However, this decrease, a result of the Sharm summit and the subsequent decrease in fighting, is offset by an increase in the number of “flying checkpoints” (currently an average of sixty each month), which usually consist of a military jeep blocking a road and checking all traffic for an undisclosed period of time; an increase in concrete military towers and “road protection barriers”, which block Palestinian traffic from entering settler-only roads through the OPT; and the increased movement restrictions associated with the “separation barrier” or “wall” that Israel is building mostly inside the West Bank.
So, for about the 50 billionth time, Loren, you are wrong and have no clue what you're talking about, at all.
Allow the forum a moment to collectively process this shocking, unexpected revelation.
No, you didn't. You continue to make point #1 which I have never disagreed with. You are ignoring point #2.
Few polls look at this elephant, though. I managed to track down a reference to one although the original seems to be dead:
http://elderofziyon.blogspot.com/2011/07/details-from-poll-of-palestinian-arabs.html
(And if you don't like a Jewish source, Wikipedia mentions the same poll, it's just not easy to link to.)
I can accept permanently a two-state solution with one a homeland for the Palestinian people living side-by-side with Israel, a homeland for the Jewish people. - 30%
The real goal should to start with a two state solution but then move to it all being one Palestinian state - 66%
In other words, don't actually make peace.
Actually, no. That poll is dogshit. The Israel Project is not a reliable source for data on an issue like this. It is a Zionist propaganda think tank that dresses itself up as a source of real, objective scholarship.
Again, allow the forum a moment to overcome the shock and surprise of seeing you cite a biased, unreliable source in order to further your agenda of demonizing Arabs.
While they do that, let's have a look at what
real polls have to say:
http://www.cfr.org/israel/shikaki-palestinians-support-hamas-but-most-favor-negotiated-peace-israel/p11522
The public takes a position almost right in the middle between Fatah and Hamas. On the one hand, two-thirds [of those polled] support Hamas’ views that it should not support the state of Israel as a precondition for international support or for entering negotiations with Israel. So in this instance we clearly see the public taking the position of Hamas rather than the position of Fatah or the president. But to the question of “If there is a peace agreement and the issues of the conflict are resolved and a two-state solution is adopted and a Palestinian state is created,” a full three-fourths say they would not only support recognition of Israel but also support reconciliation between the two peoples. In fact two-thirds of the public are willing to go further and agree to a formula whereby the Palestinians would not only recognize Israel but would recognize the Jewish nature of the state of Israel as part of a peace agreement.
The public is a lot more moderate than Fatah and Hamas put together when it comes to a two-state solution.
Again, the last bit about recognizing Israel as a Jewish state renders your contention null barring credible evidence to the contrary, putting aside all manner of mental gymnastics and just generalized fucking racism.
So that's another talking point down the drain, Loren.
- - - Updated - - -
Stop weapons smuggling. Not consumer goods.
Yeah, we all know what your definition of "dual use" looks like, Mr. "No Blockade."
Israel wants to collectively punish Gaza, it needs Egypt's help to do that, and the U.S. government, which Israel and its supporters have essentially monopolized, holds the purse for the Egyptians. This isn't a tough one to figure out.
