Surreal:
Five tons of unexploded Israeli bombs stored in the Gaza Strip under Hamas police guard have been stolen, UN officials said Tuesday.
UN spokesman Richard Miron said the explosives were being stored in Gaza until a UN team of disposal experts could disarm them, but they disappeared.
The bombs were dropped on Gaza during Israel’s offensive there last month, according to another UN official. The official, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter, said three one-ton bombs and eight quarter-ton bombs were taken from the warehouse.
Miron said, “It’s clearly extremely dangerous and needs to be disposed of in a safe manner.” He said the material was under Hamas guard between Feb. 4 and 14 “in a warehouse in Gaza City under guard by Hamas police when it was stolen.” — Jerusalem Post [my emphasis]
Let’s see, you are the UN and you have five tons of unexploded bombs. You want to keep them safe so that they can be disarmed and disposed of safely. This is a huge amount of military-grade explosive. I estimate that it could be used to make about 500 suicide vests if the bombs could be safely disassembled; or, as is they could be used as truck bombs, buried as antitank mines, or used as massive roadside IEDs.
You really don’t want them to fall into the wrong hands. So who do you get to guard them?
Hamas police.
I’m speechless again.
Some one-ton bombs, to give you an idea of size:
Seriously. When is the UN going to recognize that it is in a dysfunctional situation with Hamas and Gazans?
The UN could not be more disillusioned. By virtue of the fact that the UN is a primary source of supplies and aid to the Gazans, it places itself in a position of savior and punisher. When Hamas stole the supplies a week or so ago, the UN laid down its foot and said no more aid until the supplies were returned. The supplies were returned, and Hamas was not grounded. Then, in order to provide Gazans with a sense of entitlement and responsibility, Hamas is guarding explosives.
There are human rights and rule of law initiatives, and then there is plain negligence. The UN relief efforts in the area are generally administered by locals, or people with some affinity to the local culture and causes. Basically, it is not like Ban Ki Moon is assigning posts in Gaza, Gazans working for the UN are assigning posts.
The new commercial enterprise of the third-world plight is directly dependent on taking advantage of the graces of the UN and its mission to rehabilitate areas in trouble.