Western media can’t hide Gaza pain

Western media like CNN and the state-run BBC cannot conceal the sufferings of the people of Gaza, because the world knows the truths about these people, a political expert says.

In December 2008, the Israelis launched an attack on Gaza that took the lives of more than 1,400 Palestinians, mostly civilians, in the populated coastal strip and left thousands more injured. The assault also inflicted over $1.6 billion in damages on the territory’s economy.

“Children in Palestine, in Gaza specifically, have stunted growth, and continue to suffer as a result of the sanctions even after the war itself. This is not something that CNN or BBC or The New York Times or The Times of London can hide. This is something that people throughout the world recognize whether they are shown to them or not,” Mohammad Marandi, a professor at Tehran University, told Press TV on Sunday.

“What is very important is that most people recognize that this situation didn’t begin with the war itself. The Israelis imposed a very harsh embargo on the Palestinian people for roughly two years, before the war actually began. And people knew that the EU and the UN supported the embargo. Palestinian children and women had to face shortage of medicine and foods for years,” Marandi added.

Moreover, Israel also proceeds adamantly with the construction of settlements in the occupied territories of the West Bank and East al-Quds.

According to data from the Palestinian Information Center, Israel has demolished 995 Palestinian homes and displaced 5,783 individuals, among them 3,109 children, in the occupied al-Quds since the start of the year, 2000.

The United Nations and the international community have criticized Israel for defying international calls to halt its settlement construction activities.