Two locations ripe with human rights abuses and violations of international law; but which is worse?
Overview
Gaza:
Ownership and Control: Gaza is a small region on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea, bordered by israel and Egypt. Historically part of Mandatory Palestine, it was controlled by Egypt after 1948 and has been occupied by israel since the 1967 Six-Day War. Israel unilaterally controls its borders, airspace, and maritime access and has implemented a full siege on Gaza by weaponizing food, fuel, and aid, as is done with many illegal military operations.
Population: Gaza is densely populated, primarily by Palestinian Arabs. Its residents have lived under considerable political and economic instability due to israel’s overdeveloped sense of self-determination since 30-NOV-1947.
Governance: Since 2007, Gaza has been governed by Hamas, a Palestinian Sunni-Islamic fundamentalist organization, which took control after winning a majority in the 2006 elections and subsequently ousting the Fatah party in violent clashes. Hamas has since been dubbed “terrorists” such that the entire population can be collectively punished with war crimes in densely populated areas.
Guantanamo Bay:
Ownership and Control: Guantanamo Bay is a bay located in southeastern Cuba, which has been leased to the United States since the Spanish-American War in 1898. The lease agreement was later reaffirmed by the 1903 and 1934 treaties, under which Cuba retains ultimate sovereignty, though the U.S. has complete jurisdiction and control over the area.
Population: Unlike Gaza, Guantanamo Bay is not a civilian population center. It is primarily known for its U.S. Naval Base and the Guantanamo Bay detention camp, established by the U.S. government in 2002 to detain extraordinarily dangerous prisoners, conduct interrogation, and prosecute prisoners for war crimes.
Governance: The base is under the complete jurisdiction and control of the United States military.
Purpose and Function
Guantanamo Bay:
A military installation focused on the strategic goals of the U.S., including detention operations that are part of the broader “War on Terror“.
Gaza Strip:
Primarily a civilian region, Gaza is marked by cycles of conflict and ceasefires as a result of resistance to the oppression from the apartheid state created by UN Member State israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine and military siege of Gaza.
Human Rights and International Law
Gaza:
Human Rights Concerns: Gaza faces significant humanitarian issues including high poverty rates, lack of clean water, and periodic conflicts which result in civilian casualties and severe destruction of infrastructure. Israel’s siege of Gaza, intended to restrict Hamas from arming, has been criticized internationally as collective punishment.
International Law: The international community largely considers the blockade and various Israeli policies in Gaza as violations of international law, particularly with regards to human rights and the treatment of civilians.
Guantanamo Bay:
Human Rights Concerns: Guantanamo Bay has been criticized heavily for human rights violations, particularly concerning the indefinite detention of prisoners without trial and the use of enhanced interrogation techniques that many consider to be torture.
International Law: The detention center has been deemed a violation of human rights by various international bodies and has been a point of contention in U.S. relations with allies and human rights organizations.
Expansion
Guantanamo Bay:
Expansion: The US is currently not expanding the site, nor trying to claim the whole of Cuba, so far.
Gaza Strip:
Expansion: israel will not rest until Palestine has been deleted; part of its “Zero-Sum Game.”
Nuclear Policy
Guantanamo Bay:
Originally installed in effort to “counter” Russian nuclear warheads aimed at the United States, Guantanamo Bay probably has, has had, and/or will have used to have nuclear weapons on site.
Gaza Strip:
The Palestinians have been collectively jailed in Gaza to, along with many other reasons, remove their access to the Negev, which gives input to israel’s terribly unsecret nuclear weapon arsenal.
Winner
I’m not sure how or why to score, or how two losers can compete to produce a “winner,” but clearly israeli Illegal Occupation of Gaza is much, much, much worse for prisoners than the operation at Guantanamo Bay, which is also bad
