Opinion: A displaced Gazan: ‘I lost my lovely big house in the last war’

To the editor: A rare well-balanced article on Gaza. Israel and the U.S. are helping rebuild. ( “2 years after Gaza war, still no homes,” Aug. 10)

The corrupt leadership is diverting the funds to insiders and attack tunnels that will have to be destroyed again.

The Arab donors have held back their funds because they know they will be misused.

Once again the U.S.A. is being “played.”

Paul Zimmelman, Marina del Rey

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To the editor: There are a number of reasons why the Gazans are having difficulty getting their homes rebuilt. Most of them appear at the end of the article after the reader has probably gotten the impression that those nasty Israelis are the cause.

The homes were destroyed because Hamas commandeered them to use as missile launching sites and as sites from which to attack Israeli soldiers. Hamas, as your article pointed out, is using most of whatever concrete has been made available to the group to build more tunnels to attack Israel and to build homes for Hamas’ elite. Corrupt Hamas leaders have taken much of the financial aid sent to Gaza to line their own pockets.

Gazans will not fare well as long as Hamas, which rules Gaza, places a much higher priority on destroying Israel than on helping the Palestinian people.

Emanuel R. Baker, Los Angeles

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To the editor: The authors wasted five columns of sympathetic filler before they got to the truth as to why Nashat Nawati’s house has not been rebuilt.

The Hamas government continues to use building materials to construct “cross-border attack tunnels” as well as giving priority to “rebuilding homes of Hamas insiders and mosques.”

Unless the people of Gaza confront the real problem, the terrorist regime, Hamas, destruction and hardship will continue, making the Gaza Strip possibly uninhabitable before 2020.

Jeffrey Melman, Los Angeles

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To the editor: I’m always surprised by The Times’ stories from Gaza that a question isn’t asked of the citizens, “Do you think it is wise to be lobbing rockets into Israel if this is the consequence?” The polls say the Gazans support attacking Israel. The dire conditions in Gaza are a direct result of their attacks and denial of Israel’s right to exist.

I’m sure their “leaders” are living well, sacrificing the local citizens for their personal agendas of wiping Israel off of the map.

Bob Aronoff, South Pasadena

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To the editor: One simple step will expedite the rebuilding in Gaza that has unacceptably left 75,000 people homeless since the 2014 war — Israel must end the blockade of Gaza. As the occupying power, Israel has a responsibility to maintain decent living standards for the millions of people living in Gaza.

Rather than fulfill that duty, Israel maintains a siege that not only delays rebuilding, but also continues to destroy the economy and social structure in the Gaza Strip.

Jeff Warner, Los Angeles

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