Israel Easing Gaza Land Blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel said on Thursday it was easing a land blockade of the Gaza Strip that drew heightened international criticism after its deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Hamas-run territory. A new Israeli-approved product list included all food items, toys, stationery, kitchen utensils, mattresses and towels, said Raed Fattouh, the Palestinian coordinator of supplies to the enclave.

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Erekat slams Israeli 'claim' of relaxed Gaza siege
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Chief Palestinian Negotiator Saeb Erakat called the Israeli cabinet decision to ease Gaza restrictions "not sufficient," in a statement released moments after the decision was announced. "With this decision, Israel attempts to make it appear that it has eased its four-year blockade and its even longer-standing access and movement restrictions imposed on the population of Gaza. In reality, the siege of the Gaza Strip, illegally imposed on Palestinians continues unabated," the statement read.

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Hamas calls Israeli decision to ease siege "trick"
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
June 17, 2010 - 12:00am

Gaza-ruling Islamic Hamas movement on Thursday described Israel's decision to ease the blockade on the Gaza Strip as "a trick." "This is a new trick aiming at enhancing the siege's image and securing its continuation instead of lifting and ending it," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri told Xinhua. The Israeli security cabinet, which comprises top ministers, on Thursday approved a series of measures to increase cargo flow to the Hamas-controlled territory as a result of international criticism over the effectiveness of the sanctions that Israel has imposed three years ago to isolate Hamas.

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Gaza: U.N. to Distribute Aid Seized by Israel in Blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from The New York Times
by Neil MacFarquhar - June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

The United Nations expects to soon distribute the aid brought by a Turkish flotilla trying to run the Gaza blockade and seized by Israel after a bloody confrontation. Robert H. Serry, the United Nations envoy to the Middle East peace negotiations, told the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday that despite such attempts, Gaza received only a fraction of its needs. Three-quarters of the damage caused by the 2009 war— including homes schools and hospitals — has not been repaired or rebuilt, Mr. Serry reported.

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Israel braces for Iranian attempt to break Gaza blockade
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Xinhua
by David Harris - June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Three ships bound for the Gaza Strip, two from Iran and one from Lebanon, are expected to set sail in the next few days, and a confrontation with the Israeli navy is likely. These are the latest missions to break the blockade on Gaza, following an Israeli naval raid on an aid flotilla on May 31, killing nine people. Israel officially started an investigation into the raid after its cabinet approved on Monday the establishment of an inquiry panel including two foreign observers.

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Egypt: Israel wants to 'dump' Gaza on us
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA)
June 16, 2010 - 12:00am

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak discussed efforts to lift the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, at a meeting with his Palestinian counterpart Mahmoud Abbas. Egypt reopened its border with the Gaza Strip following the deadly raid on a flotilla of Gaza-bound aid boats by Israeli forces in May. Mubarak's government on Tuesday rejected an Israeli proposal that would leave Gaza entirely dependent on Egypt for goods and access.

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Israel reviewing Gaza blockade format - minister
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ori Lewis - June 15, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel is examining ways to ease its Gaza blockade, a cabinet minister said on Tuesday, calling the current policy counterproductive and confirming remarks by Middle East envoy Tony Blair that change was likely. "It is time to end the closure in its current form. It does not provide any value to Israel. From a diplomatic standpoint it causes great image problems," Welfare Minister Isaac Herzog told Israel Radio. He said Israel had informed Blair, who briefed EU foreign ministers on Monday, that it intends to "permit an easier passage of goods" to the Gaza Strip.

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ICRC says Israel's Gaza blockade breaks law
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from BBC News
by Imogen Foulkes - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

In a statement, the ICRC describes the situation in Gaza as dire, saying the only sustainable solution is a lifting of the blockade. It says Israel is punishing the whole civilian population of Gaza. It also urges Hamas movement to allow ICRC delegates to visit a detained Israel soldier Gilad Shalit. The ICRC, a traditionally neutral organisation, paints a bleak picture of conditions in Gaza: hospitals short of equipment, power cuts lasting hours each day, drinking water unfit for consumption.

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PA denies report Abbas maintaining Gaza siege
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Ma'an News Agency
June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

The Palestinian Authority denied Israeli media reports on Sunday that President Mahmoud Abbas asked his US counterpart for a continuation of Gaza's blockade, presidential spokesman Nabil Abu Rudaineh told reporters on Sunday. "President Abbas had raised the issue of the necessity of lifting the blockade as a matter on a par with the fate of the peace process," Abu Rudaineh told the Palestinian Authority-run WAFA news agency about a Wednesday meeting between the two heads of state, where the request was allegedly made.

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Penpix of Israel's flotilla affair inquiry panel
ATFP World Press Roundup Article from Reuters
by Ori Lewis - June 14, 2010 - 12:00am

Israel on Monday announced the establishment of an independent public commission of inquiry into its actions when intercepting a Gaza-bound flotilla of ships last month. These are brief profiles of the members of the three-man commission and its two international observers: * - Chairman, Jacob Turkel, 75 - Former Israeli supreme court justice, born in Tel Aviv in 1935, an expert in civil law retired from the bench in 2005. Described by Israeli pundits as a conservative jurist, who also say he has little experience in inquiry commissions. He still sits on a military court appeals panel.

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