JERUSALEM – Israel took a first step yesterday to temper the uproar caused by its deadly high-seas raid on a blockade-busting flotilla by allowing in potato chips, cookies, spices and other previously banned items into the Gaza Strip.
But the things Gazans need most – cement, steel and other materials to rebuild their war-ravaged territory – are still mostly banned, and critics denounced the move as insignificant. President Barack Obama called for a new approach on the blockade.
Instead of easing international criticism of Israel following the May 31 raid that killed nine pro-Palestinian activists, yesterday’s decision focused more attention on its three-year-old blockade of impoverished Gaza and the seemingly arbitrary decision-making about which goods are allowed in.
After meeting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington, Obama said the Mideast situation was “unsustainable”. He called the flotilla clash a “tragedy” and said a “better approach” was needed in Gaza. He called for a “new conceptual framework” for Israel’s blockade.
Maxwel Gaylard, the UN’s senior humanitarian official in the Palestinian territories, said Israel’s move was insufficient.
“A modest expansion of the restrictive list of goods allowed into Gaza falls well short of what is needed. We need a fundamental change and an opening of crossings for commercial goods.”
Israel and Egypt have been enforcing an embargo on Gaza, banning all exports and allowing in only basic humanitarian and consumer items, since the territory was violently overrun by Hamas militants in 2007. (AP)
