PALESTINIANS KNOCK DOWN BORDER GATE, FLEE TO EGYPT, ESCAPE ISRAEL'S HARSH COLLECTIVE PUNISHMENT

The Palestinians in Gaza have taken enough collective punishment from Israel, and so today they knocked down the wall and gate bordering Egypt. The Egyptian authorities did the right thing in not opposing the Gazans who are desperately looking to escape their dreadful prison after Israel imposed a lock down of all the other border gates and prohibited needed shipments of food, medicine and power.

Would anyone believe that countries could get away in 2007 with collective punishment on a whole people in order to stop a few from shooting missiles into and onto Israel towns? When Palestinians fire missiles at Israeli towns, this is barbaric. But over the last month Israel has cut off power for heat and lights and cooking fuel for the whole Gazan population. Israel also reduced the amount of medicines and food for Gaza. This surely qualifies as illegitimate collective punishment. How many residents of Gaza, the old, the sick, the very young, have died because of Israel's clamp down?

So congratulations to the Palestinians for knocking down the wall. At least now they have access to basic necessities of life in nearby Egyptian towns.