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Last update - 23:13 22/06/2008 4 days into truce, Israel moves to gradually ease Gaza blockade By News Agencies Tags: Israel, truce, Hamas, Gaza Four days after the two sides launched at tentative truce, Israel on Sunday began gradually easing its economic blockade of the Gaza Strip as part of the Egyptian-brokered deal with Hamas, though Palestinians said the increase in deliveries was meagre. The High Court of Justice later Sunday ordered the state to keep border crossings to the Gaza Strip closed until noon on Monday. The temporary injunction was issued in response to a petition submitted by the family of abducted Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit demanding clarification on the terms of the Gaza cease-fire deal. Peter Lerner, spokesman for Israel's military coordinator for the Gaza Strip, said Sunday the army allowed 78 truckloads of food and commercial goods a day into the territory, up from about 60 before the truce took hold last Thursday. Advertisement Israeli and Palestinian officials said trucks passed through the Israeli-controlled Sufa border crossing into the Gaza Strip in the morning. The goods were left there by the Israelis to be picked up in the afternoon by the Palestinians. Israel refuses to deal directly with Hamas. Hamas, which seized control of the Gaza Strip a year ago from rival Fatah forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, said it deployed its security forces near Sufa "to prevent looting" and to ensure the goods are distributed in an orderly manner. Hamas official Sami Abu Zuhri said the Islamist group would not be able to judge Israel's commitment to lifting the blockade "until they have removed the ban and the restrictions on the numbers and the types of materials and goods needed for our people in Gaza." Raed Fattouh, who oversees the supply of goods to Gaza on behalf of Abbas's government in the occupied West Bank, questioned whether Israel was serious about easing the embargo. While Israel increased the number of trucks, it did not expand the range of goods allowed through the crossing, he said. Israel had let an estimated 100 truckloads per day through the border crossings of Kerem Shalom and Sufa until mid-April, when Gaza militants attacked Kerem Shalom, causing heavy damage. Since that attack, Kerem Shalom has been shut down and the impoverished Gaza, home to 1.5 million people, has been receiving an estimated 60 truckloads of supplies a day through Sufa, Lerner said. Palestinian officials said 80 truckloads entered the Gaza Strip on Sunday. But officials on both sides played down the immediate impact on humanitarian and economic conditions in the territory. Israeli officials said last week that the army would, as a first step, increase supplies by an estimated 30 percent over pre-truce levels. Hamas officials said they expected Israel next week to expand the range of goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, provided the ceasefire holds. Under the Egyptian-brokered deal, Israel and Hamas have halted cross-border fighting, though officials on both sides remain deeply sceptical the calm will last. Israeli officials said last week that the army would, as a first step, increase supplies by an estimated 30 percent over pre-truce levels. Under the ceasefire agreement that came into force last Thursday, Israel and Hamas have halted cross-border fighting. The truce appears to be holding for now, despite mutual fears that the calm will not last. A rocket warning system sounded an alert in southern Israel early Sunday, sending residents scrambling for bomb shelters. But the military said no rocket had been fired and the alert was likely to be the result of a technical malfunction. In agreeing to the truce, Israel dropped an earlier demand that Hamas free Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, whom it is holding as a condition for the cease-fire. Hamas militants seized Shalit in a cross-border raid in 2006, killing two other members of his tank crew. Related articles: Noam Shalit: Gaza siege mustn't be lifted until Gilad freed Gaza protest of Israeli blockade yields disappointing turnout Abbas to press Olmert on lifting Gaza blockade, control of crossings Bookmark to del.icio.us   Purchase price More consumers are letting their consciences do the shopping. Fighting fear N.Y. mayor urges Jewish voters to denounce Obama Muslim rumors.   1.   Gaza truce 13:04  |  steve a 22/06/08   2.   Sad State of Affairs 16:17  |  Yossi 22/06/08   3.   This is Good 16:28  |  Mark of Lewiston 22/06/08   4.   Great move, Israel 18:28  |  judith 22/06/08   5.   Dont ease blockade until Gilad`s out of there 19:48  |  Free Gilad Shalit 22/06/08

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