Israel's 'invisible hand' in Gaza

Gaza's not free? Holy cow. What a revelation. From the BBC:

Although Israel withdrew from Gaza more than a year ago, its control over the lives of Palestinians there is in some ways even tighter than before, a new report by an Israeli human rights organisation says.

In the days after Israeli troops and settlers pulled out of the territory, the then Israeli leader, Ariel Sharon addressed the United Nations.

He declared "the end of Israeli control over and responsibility for the Gaza Strip".

But a study by Gisha challenges that claim. The organisation says it aims to "protect the fundamental rights of Palestinians living in the Occupied Territories by imposing human rights law as a limitation on the behaviour of Israel's military".

"Israel continues to control Gaza through an 'invisible hand'," the organisation says, in a detailed, 100-page report.

"In contrast to the rhetoric used to describe the disengagement plan, Israel has not relinquished control over Gaza but rather removed some elements of control while tightening other significant controls."

Some people, of course, prefer to use more vivid language to describe what's going on in Gaza...