Gaza: The world's largest prison camp

At the moment Israel talks of improving conditions at the notorious Erez crossing from Gaza into Israel, where thousands of Palestinian cheap labourers are routinely humiliated and crushed in pens for hours before they can get into Israel to work. But in the longer term it seems Israel wants to lock up Gaza and throw away the key. Shaul Mofaz, the Minister of Defence, and Ehud Olmert, the Deputy Prime Minister, have both gone on record this summer as saying that no Palestinian workers will be allowed into Israel from 2008. The wording of the disengagement bill states there are to be no labourers "in the longer term".

Paul McCann (*): The world's largest prison camp
It seems that Israel wants to lock up Gaza and throw away the key
The Independent

(*) The writer was spokesman for the UN's Palestinian refugee agency in Gaza from 2001-2005