Israel could be responsible for a disaster, Meretz MK says

He said the Palestinians should look for solutions beyond the border. "The Gaza Strip has a border with Egypt, so they should buy water, electricity, food and medications from Egypt. Instead of smuggling weapons in tunnels, they should use them to transfer food and medicines, especially when food and medications can be transferred openly through the crossings with Egypt."

Eldad slammed the fact although Israel unilaterally withdrew from Gaza, it continued to supply electricity to Qassam-manufacturing lathe-shops.

"Such stupidity is unfamiliar in any violent conflict between a state and a terror organization," he said, calling on the government to immediately cut off the electricity and water supplies to the Strip.

"We must also not transfer the tax funds Israel wants to release to Fatah. Instead of cash, Abbas should receive the equivalent in food and medications," he said.

Refugees at Erez crossing over weekend (Photo: AFP)

Mk Danny Yatom (Labor) said that Gaza's residents should not suffer.

"We must transfer to them all the required humanitarian aid. However, we must do that in a way that the goods and food will not pass through Hamas, in order not to legitimize it," he said, adding that Israel should continue supplying water and electricity "until a new evaluation of the situation."

MK Effie Eitam (NU-NRP) claimed that Israel must renounce its responsibility to supply food and infrastructure to the Strip, but do it in a gradual process which will take three to six months.

"An Islamic country has been established in Gaza, which is in our backyard. The country controlling Gaza today is Iran, and from this point we must derive our decisions regarding the humanitarian aid to the Strip," he said.

MK Eitam added that the country which should be responsible of aiding the Strip was Egypt.

"I have no problem if they want to bring food into the Strip by planes or transfer it through UN convoys. I have no problem if the UN wants to supply food through convoys which will pass through Israel. But the responsibility should not be put on us, it should be put on Egypt."

'Lift blockade on Gaza'

Former MK Uri Avnery, a member of the left-wing Gush Shalom movement, said that "the situation is outrageous. Israel is committed, according to the Oslo Accords, to open four crossings between the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

"All the Israeli governments have violated this commitment. Closing the crossing to people for any reason and not letting them reach the West Bank is an inhuman and foolish thing to do from a political point of view."

According to Avnery, "There are no morals and no wisdom here. Years ago we said we would not make peace with Arafat, and then we crushed and destroyed Arafat's rule. Then came Abu Mazen (Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas), who as opposed to Arafat was considered 'the good guy.'

"He wasn't given a thing and was destroyed. This man did not get the smallest bone during his entire term. And then, when the Palestinian unity government was established, there was an opportunity to negotiate with all the Palestinian people – and instead of taking advantage of it, we destroyed everything."

Avnery called on the Israeli government "to lift the blockade on the Palestinian people, open the crossings and give a condition that we will talk in accordance with the conduct of the government in Gaza. A Palestinian split will be bad for us and will create a situation in which the most radical group will win against Israel – and it won't stop with Hamas."

Meital Zur contributed to the report