Of blockades, bulbs & books
National Post – June 1, 2010

Q: Why was the blockade imposed?

A: Two years after Israel pulled out of the Gaza Strip, Hamas evicted rival Fatah and took over. The hard-line Islamist group, considered a terrorist organization by most western nations, also stepped up rocket and missile attacks against Israel. In retaliation, Israel imposed the land, sea and air blockade in partnership with Egypt. Even so, breaches occasionally occur, with Palestinian tunnelers especially active in the Egyptian sector. In January 2008, Hamas blew a hole in the Egyptian defences, allowing thousands of Palestinians to cross into Egypt to buy goods.

Q: What's forbidden?

A: Anything with military uses – concrete, steel pipes and fertilizer, for example. The UN relief agency for Palestinian refugees also says household items that have been refused entry include light bulbs, candles, matches, books, musical instruments, crayons, clothing, shoes, mattresses, sheets, blankets, pasta, tea, coffee, chocolate, nuts, shampoo and conditioner. Many other items – ranging from cars to fridges to computers – are generally barred. "There was a whole thing about not allowing pasta in," says Gerald Steinberg, a professor of political studies and senior research associate at Israel's Bar-Ilan university. "It wasn't that pasta wasn't allowed, it was that the pasta shipments came from an Arab country, and on the packages were incitements of violence and terror." Harmless items are sometimes blocked for another reason.

Q: Which is?

A: British writer George Orwell once said penny candies and other tiny luxuries were the only thing keeping industrial England from violent revolt. "There is a category of what are considered to be unessential perks," Mr. Steinberg says. "If you're in a state of war you don't want the [Palestinian] population to have a sense that everything is normal, and that there's no reason to rebel against the Hamas leadership."

Q: Has the blockade worked?

A: Depends who you ask. As far as the Israeli government is concerned, the answer is a resounding yes – attacks from Gaza aren't nearly as frequent as they were when Hamas first swept to power. Politics is another consideration. "This policy of being constantly moderately aggressive is really what keeps the government together," says Derek Penslar, a professor of Jewish history at the University of Toronto. But many on the right, including Mr. Steinberg, consider the blockade ineffective. After all, Hamas is still in power. Meanwhile, many on the left consider the blockade draconian, an impediment to Israel's interests. "We don't want to push Hamas' back against the wall," said Shlomo Brom, former chief of strategic planning for the Israeli military.

Q: How many ships have breached the blockade?

A: None. "Seven or eight" ships have tried, says Captain Barak Raz of the Israel Defense Forces, outlining the usual procedure. "First we contact the organizers during their planning stage, if we know about it beforehand, and urge them to dock in Israel so we can transfer the goods. We contact them out at sea, too." Ships that refuse to comply are intercepted, boarded and diverted to nearby Ashdod according to standard international law and navy procedure. In 2009, Israeli sailors boarded a merchant ship flying the Antiguan flag and found 600,000 tonnes of weapons believed to be destined for Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Q: Is the blockade likely to ease any time soon?

A: Don't count on it. Israel is unlikely to budge now, the experts say. "There's a tendency of governments, and particularly the Israeli government, to reinforce the policies that exist even if they're not seen as especially successful," Mr. Steinberg says. "They want to fix the mistakes that were made, but not convey an image of failure."