Report: US pressuring Israel to ease Gaza blockade

Date: 18 / 06 / 2009  Time:  19:12
Bethlehem – Ma’an –

The United States has lodged an official diplomatic protest with Israel over the blockade of Gaza, the Israeli newspaper Haaretz reported on Thursday.

According to the paper the US sent Israel a diplomatic note three weeks ago demanding “a more liberal opening of the border crossings to facilitate reconstruction.”

The report comes just days after the two-year anniversary of Israel’s imposition of the Gaza blockade.

The US said that Israel’s linking the status of the Gaza Strip’s borders to the fate of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit is “not constructive,” according to the paper. The note was sent after a decision by senior US officials including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Special Envoy George Mitchell.

The paper said the US demands were raised during Mitchell’s visit to Israel last week and during Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s trip to Washington this week.

According to the same report, the US is concerned about specific aspects of Israel’s closure of Gaza, including a ban on construction materials, restrictions on imports medicine, and a refusal even to disclose a list of what food items are permitted. Restrictions on cash transfers to Gaza wee also raised in the letter.

The US also said it is willing to help set up an international mechanism to ensure that materials through an impartial mechanism, bypassing Hamas’ authority, Haaretz reported.

Haaretz also quoted an American source paraphrasing US officials’ message to their Israeli counterparts, saying, "Until you change this, it will be impossible to progress,"

The closure of Gaza, meanwhile, remains very much in effect. The UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, OCHA reported on Wednesday that the number of truckloads of goods allowed into Gaza last week was just 15% of the weekly average from the five months preceding the blockade.