Despite Robert Mugabe's assurances Zimbabwe is still firmly in the grips of a Cholera outbreak. So far the death toll stands at 1,500 with 400 dying in the last ten days. While the country is preparing for another round of delicate power-sharing talks I'm not about to attempt to use this blunt diplomatic tool to try and solve all the problems but there are clearly failings on both sides. The MDC appear to be using the plight of human rights activists as a way to delay Tsvangarai taking up the post of Prime Minister and Mugabe is still trying to blame all the countries problems on a US/UK Imperialist plot to topple him from power. This is of course ridiculous but this propaganda is ever more difficult to challenge when viewed alongside Israels conduct in the Palestine.
As part of the 2000 Arab-Israeli peace process the Palestinians, at the request of Israel, held democratic elections to decide who would represent them. They chose Hamas over Fatah. Although this election was monitored extensively by international observers and found to be fairer then the average American election Israel decided that they simply didn't like the result and refused to recognise it. They responded first by carrying out military operations against the Palestinians before placing them under an economic blockade which banned all imports and exports and with-held tax revenues generated by earlier exports. Once the Palestinian economy had been brought to the brink of collapse the Israeli's told the Palestinians that they would lift sanctions if Hamas and Fatah formed a power-sharing government. Fatah and Hamas put their differences aside and formed a government of national unity but strangely Israel failed to lift the blockade.
Instead Shin Bet, the Israeli equivalent of MI5 stepped up their infiltration of Fatah offering cash payments and probably cases of Viagra to any party officials who were prepared to disrupt the unity government and ferment political divisions between Fatah and Hamas. This subversion of the democratic process came to fruition in June 2007 when Palestine descended into civil war. After a short conflict Hamas took full control of Gaza and Fatah went off to build palaces in the West Bank. As a reward for doing Israel's dirty work the blockade of the West Bank was relaxed slightly and Fatah were given the responsibility of with-holding tax revenues to Gaza where the blockade was tightened.
Understanding that they needed to be able to control Gaza's criminal elements one of Hamas' first acts on taking control was to bring in the Red Cross to help train a civilian police force capable of stopping disparate groups from firing rockets into Israel. For some reason this caused Israel to throw their toys out of the pram and they immediately started disrupting Red Cross aid convoys until the training of the police was stopped. Shortly afterwards they started demanding that Hamas called a ceasefire and did more to stop rockets being fired into Israel.
Today Gaza appears to have entered the eye of the hurricane with the number of air-strikes falling dramatically and the Israeli air force making a point of bombing the same targets twice. This is a sign that the Israeli offensive is on the wane or more likely a deliberate attempt to draw out Gaza's secondary infrastructure ahead of a second wave of attacks. Obviously the Israeli's have dropped another few tonnes of bombs and killed 10 people but by Gazan standards that's considered a good day because they hardly bother jump when the bombs go off anymore. Meanwhile in Israel somebody dropped a tea tray sending everybody scurrying off to their bomb shelters convinced the world was about to end. When they finally resurfaced a few rockets were fired into Israel but there have been no reports of any injuries or deaths.
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