Know More About Palestine



Sunday July 18, 2010 10:56 AM (EST+7)
EU envoy urges Israel to ease off further on Gaza


Read more: Gaza blockade, blockade, Israel-EU relations, Israel foreign policy

GAZA, July 18 (Reuters) - Israel should ease its Gaza blockade further and allow Palestinians to resume exports from the territory, the European Union's foreign policy chief said on Sunday during a visit to the Hamas-controlled enclave.

The position of the EU is very clear: that we want the opportunity for people to be able to move around freely or to see goods not only coming into Gaza but exports coming out of Gaza, Catherine Ashton told a news conference.

Israel relaxed its land blockade of the Gaza Strip, where its Islamist Hamas enemy rules, after an international outcry over its deadly raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla on May 31. But it still bans exports from the territory.

Ashton said she would discuss the issue later in the day with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

At the moment, there is no proposal on the table to open a port, she said. The best option seems to be, and that is the most supported by Palestinians, is to open the land crossings, and that's what we're working on.

In Gaza, Ashton visited U.N. facilities and was due to meet local businessmen. She had no plans to see leaders of Hamas, which the EU and the United States regard as a terrorist organisation.

It was her second visit to the Gaza Strip in four months. (Writing by Jeffrey Heller in Jerusalem, Editing by Mark Heinrich)

WHAT'S NEW


BACKGROUND


POLLS


WAYS TO GET JMCC


CONTACT US


Subscribe

Al-Madaris St. (same building as
MBC and al-Arabiya studios)
First Floor, Al-Bireh
PO Box 4045, Ramallah
PO Box 25047, Jerusalem 97300
Phone: ++972-2-297-6555
Fax: ++972-2-297-6555
Log in to My JMCC
Email
Password
 or Sign Up
Forgot your password?Close
 My JMCC
Front Page
My Comments Photo of the Day
Calendar Hot Spot(for journalists)
Audio of the Day Video of the Day
Most Popular Historical Timeline
Noticeboard Blogs
My Tags Help Desk
  
User Info
First Name
Last Name
Email
My Tags 
I am a
After signing up,you will receive
an automatically
generated password in your
email.
Close
Recover Password
Submit Your Email
 or Sign Up
Close