Gideon Levy, Haaretz, April 9:
The departure of Israel from Gaza does not remove a speck of the responsibility it has for the fate of Gaza’s imprisoned residents. Israel, which forbids Gazans from going to the West Bank – a violation of signed agreements – and prevents the provision of supplies from both Israel and Egypt, has never left Gaza, not even for a moment. The world and people of conscience in Israel do not need to wait for the first Palestinian child to die of hunger to raise the hue and cry. Enough Palestinian children have been killed because of too easy trigger fingers or disgraceful health services. The responsibility is not with the international relief agencies, but on Israel’s shoulders. But Israel’s conscience in recent years operates only according to one index, the index of protest from Washington. If Washington remains quiet, everything can be covered up.