Photograph Source: U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Michael Ito – Public Domain

Donald Trump may be able to claim credit for opening the Rafah crossing from Gaza into Egypt – thus allowing potentially thousands of Palestinians desperately seeking medical care to leave to get it – but if he wants kudos for his Gaza policies, this is not enough. When the crossing opened February2, Israel only allowed five – count ‘em, five! – of the thousands of sick an injured to leave for Egypt via Rafah. What kind of “opening” is that? Whatever it is, it’s something more focused on bureaucratic control and restrictions of Palestinians than a good faith effort to observe Trump’s so-called peace plan. Any honest observation of that plan’s implied pledge would have seen the full 22,000 patients who need care evacuated to hospitals abroad.

Then the next day, 135 injured Palestinians tried to exit – these pitiful numbers contrast sharply with the over 529 Gazans killed by Israel since the ceasefire began in October. If Trump doesn’t want his signature truce to continue to be derided as a sick joke, the white house better make it plain to Jerusalem that abiding by the agreement’s letter is long past due. The problem of course is that the Likud fanatics running Israel still dream of ethnically cleansing Gaza. So I guess, not letting very sick people leave to see a doctor, fits with this goal of making life in Gaza as unbearable as possible.

So where to look for help in this ghastly situation? I’ll tell you where: Abu Dhabi and whatever locale comes next, for Russian president Vladimir Putin’s team who were recently negotiating an end to the Ukraine War, and making demands of the U.S. like, “Release Nicolas Maduro!” It wouldn’t take much for the Russians to insist on help for the Palestinians; in fact, when first invited to join Trump’s “Board of Peace,” Putin offered – before even accepting – to donate $1 billion for Gaza reconstruction from the Russian assets frozen by the lunatic west. He also suggested, again, that creating a Palestinian state was the........

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