Two stories in the media today highlighted the incredible hypocrisy of the European Union when dealing with the Middle East. According to news reports, yesterday the countries of Britain, France and Germany each called in the Israeli ambassador to protest against plans to undertake construction in the eastern part of Jerusalem of apartments for new residents. The was denounced by the Europeans as an "assault" on peace. Meanwhile, the residents of the Yarmouk refugee camp are literally starving to death after a six month blockade against supplies like food, water and fuel. Yarmouk is a Palestinian refugee camp. It was established shortly after 1948 as a "temporary home" for thousands of Arabs who fled the fighting during the Israeli War of Independence. Of course, after Israel won that war, the refugees in Yarmouk were not allowed to leave the camp and integrate into their host country, Syria. Instead, the Palestinians were forced to stay in the Yarmouk camp and to live off of support from the United Nations. Nearly seventy years later, the descendants of the original refugees are still there.
Since last Summer, the Assad regime has blockaded Yarmouk whose residents have sided primarily with the rebels. It is not that there are major fighting forces in the camp, but rather than residents in the camp have the misfortune of being an island of Sunni Moslems in an area controlled by the Shiite Assad regime. So as to break the support for the rebels, Assad had cut off all food and other supplies to Yarmouk. In fact, supplies to Yarmouk were cut off just around the time that president Obama made his deal to allow Assad to stay in power despite his use of chemical weapons.
In the last two days, two dozen people have died of starvation in Yarmouk according to reports in the media. Many more are close to death. So far, none of the European nations who profess outrage at the possible construction of homes in East Jerusalem have had anything to say about the infliction of mass starvation on the tens of thousands of Palestinians in Yarmouk. For that matter, our own administration has not seen fit to ask Assad to let in food and water for the starving civilians in Yarmouk.
Even for the Middle East, this is really bad stuff. Must the West go along with it?
Since last Summer, the Assad regime has blockaded Yarmouk whose residents have sided primarily with the rebels. It is not that there are major fighting forces in the camp, but rather than residents in the camp have the misfortune of being an island of Sunni Moslems in an area controlled by the Shiite Assad regime. So as to break the support for the rebels, Assad had cut off all food and other supplies to Yarmouk. In fact, supplies to Yarmouk were cut off just around the time that president Obama made his deal to allow Assad to stay in power despite his use of chemical weapons.
In the last two days, two dozen people have died of starvation in Yarmouk according to reports in the media. Many more are close to death. So far, none of the European nations who profess outrage at the possible construction of homes in East Jerusalem have had anything to say about the infliction of mass starvation on the tens of thousands of Palestinians in Yarmouk. For that matter, our own administration has not seen fit to ask Assad to let in food and water for the starving civilians in Yarmouk.
Even for the Middle East, this is really bad stuff. Must the West go along with it?
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