RAMALLAH, July 16 (JMCC) - Catherine Ashton, the foreign affairs chief for the European Union, will be in
Gaza on Sunday as part of a three-day tour of the region, which begins on Saturday.
Ashton will be meeting with Palestinian President
Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister
Benjamin Netanyahu, as well as the Quartet representative Tony Blair.
She makes her second visit to the Gaza Strip in four months on Sunday after Israel pledged to ease its blockade of the Hamas-run territory following an Israeli raid on an aid flotilla that left nine Turkish activists dead.
The European Union has been calling for an urgent and fundamental change of policy regarding the closure of Gaza which can lead to a durable solution to the situation, Ashton said in a statement.
We have welcomed the announcements made by Israel following the flotilla incident and are now awaiting their implementation, she said.
We stand ready to support the opening of the Gaza crossings for the traffic of goods to and from Gaza.
Ashton is not scheduled to meet any officials from
Hamas, which effectively controls the Gaza Strip.
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AFP...