Rubble and cleaning up Israel’s messes.

I walked by this sign today in Gaza.  Look at it closely.

Actually, what caught my eye was the huge pile of rubble behind the sign.

I don’t know what this building was 6 months ago, but it was destroyed by Israeli missiles in November 2012.  Now the United Nations is paying for the removal of the rubble and the hazardous waste.

Remarkably, the sign uses sterile language — “latest escalation” —  and it doesn’t mention that this rubble and hazardous materials were created by Israel.  It also fails to mention how much it will cost.

But I appreciate that the sign makers acknowledge that this was the “latest escalation” ….. not the first, certainly not the last …. implying there will be more.

Perhaps the Palestinians in Gaza should be thankful to the U.N. for cleaning up this site.  There were hundreds of people and cars driving by at noon.  This site is located on a very busy corner just blocks from the judicial complex.

I think the pile of rubble and the sign in front of it represent a colossal failure on the part of the U.N. and the people of the world.   They can’t stop Israel from carrying out its destructive attacks in Gaza, but they can clean up Israel’s messes!*!*!

The U.N. should seek reparations from Israel for the costs involved in cleaning up after each “mess”.  I wonder if anyone has estimated those costs.  Israeli leaders should be required to internalize those costs, and Israeli citizens should be required to pay for the clean-up out of their own pockets.  Then the next sign we see might say:

REMOVAL AND DISPOSAL OF RUBBLE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIAL GENERATED AS A RESULT OF ISRAEL’S BOMBARDMENT AT THIS SITE ON ___, 2013.  PAID FOR BY ISRAELI TAXPAYERS.