Israel eases embargo on food and drink allowed into Gaza
Israel announces decision hours before U.S. President Barack Obama due to host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington.
By Reuters Tags: Israel news Gaza
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A Palestinian man carries a sack of wheat inside a shop in northern Gaza Strip June 8, 2010. |
| Photo by: Reuters |
Israel is easing its Gaza embargo to allow snack food and beverages into the Palestinian enclave, Palestinian officials said on Wednesday, following an international outcry over Israel's raid on an aid flotilla.
An Israeli government official said the decision, announced hours before U.S. President Barack Obama was to host Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington, was unrelated to Israel's May 31 takeover of the convoy that challenged its Gaza blockade.
The talks between Obama and Abbas are expected to focus on ways to ease the embargo, which has drawn mounting international criticism since Israeli commandos, who met violent resistance on a Turkish-flagged ship, killed nine pro-Palestinian activists.
The Palestinian officials, based in the West Bank, said that as of next week, Israel will allow a wider variety of food, such as potato crisps, biscuits, canned fruit and packaged humous, as well as soft drinks and juice, into the Gaza Strip.
"They will send the first course. We are waiting for the main course," Palestinian Economy Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said in Ramallah. "We are waiting for this unjust siege to end."
Israel says its blockade of Gaza is necessary to choke off weapons supplies to Hamas Islamists who run the enclave and are opposed to Abbas's peace efforts with the Jewish state.
The United Nations says the Israeli blockade has caused a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, an allegation Israel denies.
Raed Fattouh, head of a West Bank-based Palestinian government committee that coordinates entry of goods into the Gaza Strip from Israel, said it was unclear whether Hamas would let the Israeli-made drinks and snack food in.
A Palestinian merchant, who spoke to Reuters in the Gaza Strip on condition of anonymity, said Hamas officials ordered businessmen in the enclave not to import most of the items from Israel. A variety of goods come into the Gaza Strip from
neighbouring Egypt via smuggling tunnels.
There was no immediate comment from Hamas.
WIDER VARIETY
Asked about the new list of Israeli-approved products, the Israeli government official said: "Over the last six months, Israel has increased the volume of goods going into Gaza and their variety. That policy is continuing."
Last week the United States backed a U.N. Security Council statement on the flotilla raid that demanded a "prompt, impartial, credible and transparent investigation conforming to international standards".
Israel has said it would investigate on its own, but has been consulting with Washington on a format for an inquiry that could include foreign observers.
Commenting on the blockade, an Israeli security source said Israel aimed to remove all restrictions on imported food items for Gaza within a few weeks and noted that jam and several other products were approved recently.
"This has nothing to do with the flotilla," the source said.
Israel's ban on cement imports into the territory, critics say, has limited efforts to rebuild homes and infrastructure destroyed or damaged in a three-week war it launched in December 2008 with the stated aim of curbing cross-border rocket fire.
Israeli authorities said that last week, Israel transferred 12,413 tonnes of humanitarian aid through Gaza border crossings.
The shipments included 994,000 litres of fuel for Gaza's power station, 748 tonnes of cooking gas and eight truckloads of medicine and medical equipment, according to an Israeli list.
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"as of next week, Israel will allow a wider variety of food, such as potato crisps, biscuits, canned fruit and packaged humous, as well as soft drinks and juice, into the Gaza Strip" (source: Haaretz 9.6.2010). I ask you, is there any more proof needed for the evil nature of the siege, where, with the pretext of preventing weapons smuggling, instead an evil collective punishment is applied?
There should be absolutely no restrictions on food or anything else that is not a actual offensive military weapon. That would be easing the humanitarian situation. The siege should be lifted entirely. Nobody in Israel is shipping arms anyway.
How can Israel dare go so far in easing the blockade? Surely, this will undermine the security of the State of Israel. Those Israelis, always going one step more than they have to for the sake of peace and relieving suffering!
so many leftist on..... what type of people read these news? Lets face it. Anything remotly anti israel or anti american gets thumb downed........look at that
Hamas and their criminal friends resort to any denigration of Israel whether imaginery or contrived. Hamas has threatened any Arab politician who seeks a peaceful negotiation with Israel whilst they arm themselves and adopt a hostile threat to any peaceful settlement. Unfortunately, neighbouring Arab countries acquiese in order to give an appearance of support to the Palestinians who are pawns in the middle east conflict. Israel is made to be a scape-goat whilst Hamas adopt threatening and physical destruction to any settlement leading to peace. Here in the West Moslim teenagers are led to protest around Israeli embassies under a movement of confrontation espressing hostility to the Jewish faith (kill all Jews!) all this has the support of Hamas and extremist Arabs who have no wish to compromise or seek peaceful co-existence with the Israeli state.
The Gaza siege needs to be stopped
Has nothing to do with food blocking, weapons is easely to be hide with food packages and this is not adorable.
If these embargo items were compromising Israel’s security in the past; why allowing them and put lives and the state of Israel in danger? Or was the ban’s purpose is to make life difficult for human beings living in Gaza?
"Israel says its blockade of Gaza is necessary to choke off weapons supplies to Hamas Islamists". If this was the case then why were soft drinks/coriander banned? Clearly the blockade was a case of collective punishment for the election of Hamas.
I am confused now! I thought we've been told all along that Gaza has been getting enough aid, and that there was really no need for more aid. So, why are we now talking about easing the embargo? Can someone explain this to me?
"This has nothing to do with the flotilla." Sure. I bet the idea just suddenly occurred them, 18 months after the end of Operation Cast Lead. I am concerned, though, that this increase of potato crisps and juice in the Gaza strip might be an extra risk to Israeli security. Nothing more dangerous than a crisp-munching Hamas activist.
Ohh, how nice is that?! Now, there can be peace!
The very headline of this article confirms the hateful pettiness of the Gaza blockade. The siege is broken and Israel will get no credit for any humanitarian aspect of it's easing because it will be drug from a grudging heels dug in inhumane Israeli power structure. Free Gaza.
The very headline of this article confirms the hateful pettiness of the Gaza blockade. The siege is broken and Israel will get no credit for any humanitarian aspect of it's easing because it will be drug from a grudging heels dug in inhumane Israeli power structure. Free Gaza.
I hear from many pro-Israeli sources that food has been coming into Gaza for sometime now. But now I hear Israel is allowing in snacks and beverages, suggesting it didn't before today. Who do I believe?
Gaza is open prison, Israil use every oputunity to block everything. Israil said to Gazans"live like an animal" or leave the country then Israil can get more land. don't they doing same for years.