Every mainstream media outlet imaginable wants you to know that Israel has just re-opened the Erez border, thereby allowing aid through it for the first time since October 7. The White House released a statement saying that it’s delighted to hear this news. It’s a great improvement from previous arrangements, reports state.
What they fail to mention is that now 30% of all Palestinian children under 2 in Gaza are malnourished, that the death toll has surpassed 33k, and that the US—the same superpower that’s telling Israel to protect the civilians—has signed off billions in weapons to Israel not even a month ago.
It’s extremely aggravating to me when people are tone-deaf enough to celebrate “small wins” like this. Biggest thing is, we don’t know how many trucks Israel will grant access. In February it was as little as 14 trucks a day, which is not enough considering Gaza is now suffering mass starvation. Not only that, but this also came in light of a majority white convoy being targeted, which angered Israel’s allies—and is ultimately what forced them into opening this border up. This is still not and never has been about the devastation in Gaza. This is about PR—and also about the US asserting its influence over Israel. None of this reads as humane or with good intention to me.
And finally—and this is what I think makes me the angriest—this is proof that the US could have stopped it all much sooner if they wanted to. I already know this will be people’s go-to for defending their decision to vote for the verminous, blood-soaked war criminal that is Biden (and when I say Biden, I mean him and his genocidal administration equally). What they fail to realize is it’s actually the very proof that the US has been complicit in this all along, that it willingly chose to infantilize itself and play wary ally that has to tiptoe around Israel. It’s disgusting, it’s duplicitous, and it’s unforgivable. This is not getting any thanks from me, and I question anyone who chose to celebrate this move rather than see it for what it really is.