RAMALLAH, June 14 (JMCC) - Middle East envoy Tony Blair declared on Monday that in principle
Israel has agreed to ease the three-year- old
blockade of
Gaza. This announcement coincides with the convening of EU foreign ministers in Luxembourg to decide how best to pressure Israel to lift the blockade.
Tony Blair said he saw no real prospect of Israel lifting the naval blockade of the territory. However, he said, it was possible the list of items permitted to be brought into Gaza by land could be redrafted to allow more necessities of ordinary life to enter.
He added: I think it's possible to get a role back for the EU and the Palestinian Authority in the way that these crossings, or some of them, are monitored.
The idea would be to make a significant change where the blockade would remain in respect of those items that are a security risk for Israel, but items for daily life will be able to come in.
The gathering will be chaired by the EU's foreign affairs head, Britain's Lady Ashton. A draft EU ministers' statement released conditions for 1.5 million people in Gaza, as unacceptable and counter-productive.today described the three-year-old Israeli blockade, which has severely affected living conditions for 1.5 million people in Gaza, as unacceptable and counter-productive.
Read more at
The Guardian…
EU foreign ministers, meeting in Luxembourg, concluded that ‘The situation in Gaza remains unsustainable. The continued policy of closure is unacceptable and politically counterproductive”.
Though recognizing Israel’s security concerns, the EU called for “full and regular access via land crossings, and possibly by sea, on the basis of a list of prohibited goods”. This, it says, should be in accordance with the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access that would permit the reconstruction of Gaza and the revival of its economy.