The Defiance that Launched Gaza's Flaming Kites Cannot be Extinguished

http://www.counterpunch.org/2018/06/25/the-defiance-that-launched-gazas-flaming-kites-cannot-be-extinguished
Date Written:  2018-06-25
Publisher:  CounterPunch
Year Published:  2018
Resource Type:  Article
Cx Number:  CX22655

Now Israel is facing a new and apparently even tougher challenge: how to stop Palestinian resistance from Gaza using flaming kites, which have set fire to lands close by in Israel. F-16 fighter jets are equipped to take on many foes but not the humble kite.

Abstract: 
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Excerpt:

Palestinians encaged in Gaza, denied entry and exit by Israel via land, sea and air for more than a decade, know that life there is rapidly becoming unsustainable. Most young people are unemployed, much of the infrastructure and housing are irreparably damaged, and polluted water sources are near-unpotable.

After waves of military attacks, Gaza's children are traumatised with mental scars that may never heal.

This catastrophe was carefully engineered by Israel, which renews and enforces it daily.

The kites have long served as a potent symbol of freedom in Gaza. Children have flown them from the few spots in the tiny, congested enclave where people can still breathe – from rooftops or on Gaza’s beaches.

Five years ago, the film "Flying Paper" documented the successful efforts of Gaza's children to set a new world record for mass kite-flying. The children defied Israel's blockade, which prevents entry of most goods, by making kites from sticks, newspapers and scraps of plastic.

The children's ambition was – if only briefly – to retake Gaza's skies, which Israel dominates with its unseen, death-dealing drones that buzz interminably overhead and with missiles that can flatten a building in seconds.