A diplomatic cable released by WikiLeaks reveals that Israel intended to keep Gaza economy “on the brink of collapse” in 2008. JTA reports:
he cable, one of three on the topic from the U.S. Embassy in Tel Aviv to Washington, said that “As part of their overall embargo plan against Gaza, Israeli officials have confirmed to (U.S. embassy economic officers) on multiple occasions that they intend to keep the Gazan economy on the brink of collapse without quite pushing it over the edge.”
Israel said it would keep Gaza’s economy “functioning at the lowest level possible consistent with avoiding a humanitarian crisis,” according to a Nov. 3, 2008 cable.
That’s not really surprising. And it’s not unwarranted considering what Hamas was doing in Gaza at the time and the war that was coming.
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