fungus:

“…regarding the Shebaa Farms, well if the solution to the situation is for Israel to abide by international law and withdraw from them anyway, then I believe the ball is in Israel's court…”

How is the ball in Israel’s court? This contradicts our discussion above; there's nothing in International Law stating that Israel has to withdraw from Shebaa Farms. According to the UN it’s Syrian territory, not Lebanese. It therefore falls under R242 – land for peace. As long as there is no peace – no land needs to be returned. The ball is actually in Syria’s court.

As for the Gaza blockade and the article I referenced. Here is an extract of what the Egyptian journalist wrote:

“A sense of absolute prosperity prevails, as manifested by the grand resorts along and near Gaza's coast. Further, the sight of the merchandise and luxuries filling the Gaza shops amazed me…The resorts and markets have come to symbolize prosperity, and prove that the siege is formal or political, not economic… everything already was coming into the Gaza Strip from Egypt. If this weren't the case, businessmen would not have been able to build so many resorts in under four months.”

This is far from a description of a territory under a “crippling blockade”. It is not simply a moderate improvement, as you imply.

But don’t just take the word of an Egyptian journalist. How about the word of Muhammad Dahlan, founder and head of the Palestinian Authority’s Preventive Security Force in Gaza between 1994 and 2000:

“…the Gaza Strip [is] not under siege and its residents [are] not lacking anything. Hamas [not Egypt or Israel] is laying siege to the Gaza Strip”

Dahlan also said that a pro-Hamas Sudanese minister who visited Gaza recently told him that he wished that Sudan had as much basic goods as the Strip.

Or, how about the word of Mahmoud Zahhar, a senior Hamas official:

“Gaza is free of occupation, and contiguity with the outside world is easier as visitors from all over the world visited the coastal enclave.”

The crippling blockade is a myth.

Avw, Resolution 242 states that Israel should withdraw from all territories it conquered in the Six Day War. Israel conquered the Shebaa Farms in the Six Day War. I believe this means that international law says Israel should withdraw from them.

I totally disagree with your statement that "the crippling blockade is a myth". The comprehensive, objective reports I linked to definitely describe a crippling blockade. The quotes from Arab individuals you have, should their statements be true, means they believe the blockade has eased, and/or that the smuggling through tunnels system is working.

There are no shortages of anything in Gaza
http://www.israelmuse.com/2010/11/pic-pictures-of-real-gaza-album-3.html

About 20% of the population in Gaza owns a personal computer – this is more than Portugal, Brazil, Saudi Arabia or Russia. They have access to ADSL and dial-up Internet service, provided by one of four providers.

About 70% of Gazans own a TV and radio and have access to satellite TV or broadcast TV from the PA or Israel.

Gaza has well-developed telephone landlines, and extensive mobile telephone services provided by PalTel (Jawwal) and the Israeli provider Cellcom.

According to USAID report, 81% of households in Gaza have access to a cell phone. The PA-owned cell phone provider Jawwal has more than 1 million cellular subscribers.

They have three-story retail complexes
http://www.demotix.com/news/761236/palestinians-inside-shopping-malls-new-andalusia-gaza-city

They have nightclubs http://www.rootsclub.ps/index.php

They have large luxury hotels.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FePZ0y6aOos
http://www.israellycool.com/2010/07/20/a-taste-of-concentration-camp-gaza-the-grand-palace-hotel/
http://www.aldeira.ps

In its 9th year, EXPOTECH Technology Week was a few weeks ago
http://www.israelmuse.com/2010/06/pictures-of-real-gaza.html

Ooooh, that sounds just dandy, SF.

Can't wait to book a trip - how about you?

http://wikitravel.org/en/Gaza

I haven't been there but I know of two people who have.

I have looked into Gaza, from Sderot "The bomb shelter capital of the world" Beautiful buildings, skyscrapers looks great

fungus:

R242 definitely does NOT state that Israel should withdraw from ALL the territories it gained in 1967. Please show me any credible reference that states otherwise. Furthermore, withdrawal is only half of the story. The resolution also calls for the termination of all claims or states of belligerency and respect of sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of each state and their right to live in peace within secure borders, free from threats or acts of force. BOTH principles called for by the resolution need to be applied.

You will note that when peace and recognition was offered by Egypt, the entire Sinai peninsula (the bulk of the area captured by Israel in 1967), was returned. You will also note that similar peace negotiations with Syria have failed in the past. R242 needs to be implemented in full; you cannot ask one side (Israel) to comply with the first half of the resolution while the other side (Syria) is unwilling to comply with the second half. Until a peace agreement is reached between Israel and Syria, Israel is under no obligation to withdraw from any Syrian territory captured in 1967, and that includes Shebaa Farms.

Regarding the quotes I provided about the blockade, these are not just ‘Arab individuals’. They are senior figures within the Palestinian Authority and Hamas, you cannot dismiss their statements as simply the opinions of some Arab individuals. And a statement such as

“the Gaza Strip [is] not under siege”

does not mean ‘the blockade has eased’, it explicitly states that there is no siege, no blockade.