Friday March 30, 2007

I've Been Thinking:

Humanitarian Aid Trumps Political Agenda.
It probably won't get much play in mainstream news but it should.

For the very first time since 2000 an Israeli ambulance crossed over an army checkpoint entering the Palestinian region to save the life of a 6 month old baby.
This is a watershed event.

The baby is still alive and recovering in Tel HaShomer, an Israeli hospital - two other infants from the same child care facility are dead.
Palestinian police made certain that the Israeli bulletproof ambulance was not blocked as the medical team sped the child and his parents from a Palestinian hospital in Ramallah to the Israeli hospital.

Earlier this week a dirt wall sewage pool broke in Gaza. 3000 people were quickly evacuated, dozens more swam for their lives swimming in sewage, many died in the muck. Palestinians refused to ask for Israeli help. Finally, Israel's defense minister just sent his people in to help - to shore up the walls and clean up the remains.

This is the way it should be.
Humanitarian issues should be separated from political issues.
Humanitarian issues are probably the building blocks of political cooperation.