Double Standards in Gaza

We are used to hearing about the alleged deprivations which the people of Gaza suffer.

Some segments of Western society go as far as to refer to the strip of land, blockaded by Israel, as 'the world's largest concentration camp', in a shameless, hyperbole fuelled testament to their complete lack of ethics.

As ordinary Gazans complain about a lack of basic goods and have to pay high prices for 'poor quality' food smuggled from Egypt, a 21-strong team of foreigners have been detained trying to break the blockade:

Former Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney and 20 others were held after their relief ship was stopped in international waters by the Israeli navy. The Greek-flagged ship, the Spirit of Humanity, was carrying medical supplies, olive trees and children's toys.

Of course, there is much pressure from Leftists and other Islamist shills and Trojan horses, such as CAIR, to release these people, who were simply trying to bring 'humanitarian relief'.

Most people are agreed - Israel should simply lift the blockade, and allow the smuggling of weapons and the indiscriminate attacks on its civilians and soldiers to continue.

No one ever asks what Hamas could do to help the process along, however.

Whilst Israel and the wider West are supposed to put their safety behind the rights of Gazans to buy outside goods, Hamas have bigger fish to fry than the needs of their citizens. They are forcing their government employees to take pay-cuts in order to fund Koranic study centres.

These will enable the spread of Islamist propaganda and prop up the terrorist group's own power base:

Gaza: Hamas imposes 'Koran levy'

Salaries of public officials in Strip to be cut in effort to reinforce Koran study centers

Special Hamas tax: The Hamas government in Gaza has recently decided to cut the salaries of Palestinian Authority employees in the Strip in order to finance Koran studies. In an effort to reinforce Koran study centers across Gaza, Hamas has decided to deduct one percent of the salaries of public officials in the Strip and earmark the funds to the Koran schools. Notably, Korean study centers in the Strip are considered a major Hamas power source used to elicit support for the organization. Dr. Taleb Abu Sha'r, the Minister for Religious Affairs in the Hamas government, said the decision aims to encourage Koran studies and religious devotion.

"The decision proves that the government attaches great importance to those who teach and study the Koran, and it expresses a desire to assist them," he said.

The new "Koran levy" is not the only unusual tax introduced by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Every few months, the Hamas government enforces a deduction in the salaries of each public official in order to pay unemployment allowances in the Strip.

On the one hand, the 'international community' wants Hamas to be treated as a legitimate government.

On the other, it seems to suggest that Israel has far more moral responsibility for ordinary Gazans than those we are told they 'democratically elected' to rule them.

They can't have it both ways.