Sunday, December 28, 2008

Gaza situation

Since the operation started in Gaza Strip, more than 300 people killed in two days and two hundred missing and about 160 were in critical condition .
Israel destroyed all the police station and all the Government centers .
police and civilians and children who killed in this operation.

It is hard to describe what is going on in Gaza , a terrible disaster, where the aircraft do not distinguish between civilians and military and children.
At this moment there are tanks in the around Gaza in preparation for the invasion of the Gaza Strip

I am asking the international community to stop what is going on in Gaza I hope to return to ceasefire and move away from violence
Because violence will bring more violence
I will update you with the situation

Sunday, December 21, 2008

Request for assistance

The readers of the blog have probably already read of impossible situations for students in Gaza wishing to study abroad.

Peaceman has lost 2 years of studies being trapped in Gaza. He came back for a year in the middle of his studies to make some money so he can finish his degree in Europe.

In June 2007 the Hamas took control over Gaza and ever since Israel has placed a siege of the Gaza strip and only very few students had been able to leave since.

Due to the very high unemployment in Gaza, he has been barely able to find work and what he had managed to find has been only enough to support himself within Gaza. His plans to make enough money to pay for his tuition and expenses during his studies in Europe have are not possible under the siege.

Thanks to the University he studied in, they are allowing Peaceman to partially study on line. This is extremely difficult in his current situation with continuous power shortages and no reasonable studying facilities. He is of course not able to attend classes and keep up with the requirements.

The good news is that there is a good chance that peaceman will be able to leave Gaza within the next few days or weeks.

Peacman is seeking help in finding ways to receive a load or grant for his tuition and initial living expenses. He is will of course pay back any loan once he has the ability to do so.

Any help from the readers of ways to assist him would be greatly appreciated.
If you know of a way to help, please post your details to the blog (email+ phone). These details will not be published (the blog is moderated and comments are posted only after reading each post). Peaceman or I will contact you to for further information.

Thank you. Hopeman

Friday, December 19, 2008

A walk in the fields

For a little over a month the cease fire has come to an end.

Yesterday morning my wife and I decided to walk to the fields. I said to her that it may be a mistake to leave our kids alone at home, but she said "we cannot let the rockets control our life". We kept walking, hoping that no rockets will be fired today. After about 15 minutes away from our home we heard the rocket alert. We had no where to hide so we both lay flat on the ground covering our heads. This is the safest thing to do when out in the open while rockets fall.
We heard the rockets fall at a distance and ran quickly home. We called our kids on the cell phone and made sure they were safe. They were all fine inside the safe room. The rockets fell somewhere in an open field, and no one was hurt.

On November 4th Israeli armed forces entered Gaza and as claimed blew up a tunnel that was being dug towards the Israeli border. As a result Palestinian forces attacked the Israeli forces, and the circle of blood has returned...

Since then the region has been slowly but surely moving back into instability. With Qassam rockets and mortars being targeting Israeli communities and Israeli helicopters and tanks targeting Palestinian locations. Several Palestinians have been killed. Several Israelis injured, All people in the region are in fear of further escalation.

We lived for almost 5 months in a ceasefire situation. On my side of the border things had returned to normal and we finally once again felt safe. Kids played freely outdoors, streets filled once again with people, and the constant fear of the rocket alerts had disappeared.

My kids went to sleep in their room again instead of the safe room, and I could walk out to the fields surrounding the town without the fear of being out in the open with no where to hide.

During this time I have been in touch with many friends of mine in Gaza, and from them I heard a very dark and troubling reality.

The siege Israel had imposed on them continued. Basic items were allowed into Gaza, however manufacturing materials and many other items that are needed for normal life were not allowed. They had many power shortages and had very little fuel and cooking gas. People could not enter of leave Gaza and could not start living a normal life since the economic and employment situation remained as it was before.

As Peaceman mentioned, hundreds of Palestinian students and been stranded in Gaza. Some, like Peaceman, have already missed 2 years of academic studies.

Neither side took advantage of these 5 months to work out a solution that will prevent the return of violence, and now it is back. Once again talks about major Israeli attacks on Gaza and major rocket attacks on Israel. Politicians on both sides blaming the other side for the situation and hope for the civilians in the region is once again very slim.

Once again we should all call to end the violence, open the siege, start talking and bring back hope to us, civilians on both sides, pawns in the unbearable senseless political game.

Let us live with dignity, freely, quietly and securely in this region!