International Christian Embassy Jerusalem, 11 Apr 2008

According to a top IDF officer on Thursday, Hamas is twisting the reality of life in Gaza by creating a false ‘humanitarian crisis’ to gain sympathy. Colonel Nir Press, head of the Erez Crossing, said the Nahal Oz attack on Wednesday was part of Hamas’ strategy for "creating a false display of crisis in order to gain international legitimacy," but all claims have proved untrue.

"The buds of this phenomenon emerged at the end of 2007, when we heard claims that gas used by hospitals in Gaza has run out, making it impossible to use operation rooms... We immediately brought in large quantities... Hamas' objective in that case was to direct an accusatory finger at Israel, as if it undermines the operation of hospitals," said the top officer.

Hamas has created The Popular Committee for Fighting the Siege on the Gaza Strip, in efforts to blame Israel for causing the crisis in Gaza, said Press. "For example, they started to count the number of patients who died of disease in the Strip and blamed us for failing to provide treatment," he said. "When the list reached 60 people we undertook a thorough examination and discovered that 20 of them were treated in Israel, while the rest did not even ask to enter Israel for treatment."

"Hamas realizes that its situation on the Palestinian street is difficult, and every such accusation resonates in the media and creates international support," Press added. "In reality, the ones who cut off the electricity supply in January were Hamas."

Press also emphasized that Israel has no desire to cause a crisis in Gaza. "At the end of the day we have nothing against the Palestinian population," he said. "We're not fighting it, but rather, the terror groups. It is sad to see those engaged in terror using innocent civilians in order to gain power," reported Ynetnews.

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