Israeli Arguments
In September 2007, citing an intensification of Qassam rocket attacks, Israel prevented the transfer of electricity, fuel, and other supplies into Gaza. Israel stated that the purpose of the blockade was to pressure Hamas into ending the rocket attacks and to deprive them of the supplies necessary for the continuation of rocket attacks. Israel argues that it is not legally responsible for Gaza beyond whatever is necessary to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
A US Congressional Research Service report claimed 'While there are differing views in Israel concerning the Gaza blockade most Israelis equate security with survival and peace. Israel’s leaders appear to believe that the blockade of the Gaza Strip, have brought about a quiet ... As of the date of the Gaza flotilla incident, no Israeli had been killed in a terrorist or in a cross-border rocket attack in more than a year. Therefore, the Israeli government is reluctant to abandon the blockade tactic worked ... from its perspective.'
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu maintained that the blockade is necessary to prevent weapons from reaching Gaza. He said, “(I)t’s our obligation—as well as our right in accordance to international law and to common sense—to prevent these weapons from entering by air, sea, and land.” Referring to the Gaza flotilla, he added, “Had the blockade been breached, this flotilla would have been followed by dozens, by hundreds of ships. The amount of weapons that can be transported aboard a ship is totally different from what we saw get through the tunnels.”. He argued that the consequences of Israel’s failure to maintain the blockade would be “an Iranian port in Gaza, only a few dozen kilometers from Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.”
An Israeli government document stated,
A country has the right to decide that it chooses not to engage in economic relations or to give economic assistance to the other party to the conflict, or that it wishes to operate using 'economic warfare'.
An Israeli government spokesman added in 2010 that the blockade is intended to bring about a political goal and that Israel "could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control" of Gaza.
Speaking in 2006, Dov Weisglass, an advisor to Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, allegedly said that, "The idea is to put the Palestinians on a diet, but not to make them die of hunger." Although this quote is widely reported, the original quote appears to have been: "It's like an appointment with a dietician. The Palestinians will get a lot thinner, but won't die." Weisglass has denied this report.
According to US diplomatic cables obtained by the Wikileaks organization, diplomats stationed in the US embassy in Tel Aviv were briefed by Israelis on the blockade of the Gaza Strip. One of the cables states that "as part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed (...) on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge".
Read more about this topic: Blockade Of The Gaza Strip, Debate
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