The Ghost of Snapped Shot

Hamas has apparently issued a call for photographers to come and "observe" its smuggling operations underneath the Rafah crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. Despite the fact that such an operation is in flagrant violation of international law, a handful of stringers do appear to have heeded the call, and as such, have provided us with a propagandists' view of the Hamas humanitarian corps.It goes without saying that Hamas aims to whitewash its smuggling operations with this photo-op, presenting itself as a heavenly force, engaged in smuggling nothing other than what those Dastardly Zionists™ prevent it from bringing into Gaza legally.

Of course, this is a blatant farce, as Israel does not block food and medicine from crossing the border. [Ed.:—Updated link courtesy Soccer Dad]

Does this stop our intrepid journalists from doing Hamas' bidding?

Heck, no.

Do our inquisitive young minds (or the editorial desks watching over them, for that matter) stop to think that this orchestration is being put on for their benefit, that this could very well be the only three packages of food or medicine to have ever crossed underneath this tunnel?

I'm sure you already know the answer to that one.

With that being said, on to our photographs, once again legally licensed thanks to our newfound acquaintances (and hopeful long-term friends) over at Newscom.

Series One: It's Food, Dang It!

When I go through extraordinary effort to smuggle foodstuffs through a random country's border, I usually see fit to close the sacks to make sure that nothing falls out. Not so our Hamas heroines [Ed.:—Yes, I use the feminine form on purpose], who make absolutely certain that the press notices their Oh-So-Holy task of providing trademarked Nestle™ products to the peaceful children of Palestine.









I'm licensed to use AFP/Getty pictures through Newscom as well, but for some reason, their feed appears to be lagging. For that agency, Abid Katib reports:

[ 1 ]

Series Two: And Thus Goes Medicine

Can any doctors out there certify that this is a safe and effective way of transporting medicine? Because, you know, I've always gone through extra effort to make sure that ours is stored in a nice, cool climate.

Series Three: I Laughed Out Loud

Okay, so maybe I didn't laugh that much, but I can only think of these as outtakes.

Cruft

Like I said, I'm licensed through Newscom to use these, but since I can't locate them in Ye Database, I'll abstain for now.

Update: Some of Khatib's photos have made it to Newscom. Better late than never, I say!







[AFP/Said Khatib, in no particular order: 1, 2, 3, 4 ]

 Tags: propa abid katib fday adwan ismael mohamad said khatib AFP GETTY UPI ZUMA #Intifada

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Comments:

#1 captainfish 01-Jul-2008

These pictures are from one week ago. This was before the supposed "fractured" "tottered" truce began to be stretched.

Also, I am not understanding how Egypt is not able to find these tunnels. I mean, look at that tunnels entrance and one wonders how it can even be considered in the slightest to be thought of as "secret". That is right out in the open. There is heavy machinery operating including the huge winches.

These tunnels have been underway long before this supposed truce was even thought of. To place the blame for them upon Israel's recent crossing crackdown is wholly biased and a lie.

You know, if I were a country trying to stop these tunnels, I would buy a few of those earthquake trucks. These trucks are designed to create shockwaves through the ground to analyze under-earth structures. The are like mini-earthquakes. A few of those trucks at full power will solve that tunnel problem.

#2 forest 01-Jul-2008

Yeah Cap'n. I can't imaging they'd be hard to find. I took a look on Google Earth, and it measured about 9 miles long, and there wasn't much in the way of cover.

It's interesting to look at the aerials of that area. They really don't have to draw the borders on the map to tell where Israel is.