The international community asked Israel to end its newly
strengthened siege on the Gaza strip, which is causing a looming
humanitarian crisis in the region.
The Arab League (AL) Council held an emergency meeting Monday on
the Gaza situation, urging the UN Security Council to help ending
the crisis.
AL Secretary General Amr Moussa called on countries that took
part in the Annapolis conference in the United States to shoulder
their responsibilities for Gaza.
Last Thursday, Israel decided to tighten a siege that has been
imposed on Gaza since mid-June last year, when Hamas took control
of the coastal strip. All crossings leading to Gaza were closed
down on Friday as a result.
Israel barred fuels and basic food products from Gaza, in
retaliation to ongoing rocket attacks on Israel by militants in
Gaza.
The only power plant in Gaza was forced to shut down Sunday due
to fuel shortage, plunging large parts of the strip into
darkness.
On Monday, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak made phone calls
with Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defense Minister Ehud
Barak respectively, urging Israel to stop its continued military
operation and siege on Gaza.
Syria also called for a lift of the siege, warning against a
humanitarian tragedy due to what it called the Israeli violations
of the simplest human rights norms.
Libyan Foreign Ministry presented an urgent note to the AL,
calling on it to help lift the blockade Israel imposed on Gaza.
Meanwhile, Tunis expressed its deep worry about the situation in
Gaza, calling for effective international interference to put an
end to Palestinians' suffering.
Kuwaiti Foreign Ministry appealed to the United Nations for
pressuring Israel to stop the siege. The ministry called on the UN
Security Council to make efforts in realizing peace in the Middle
East.
Jordanian Prime Minister Nader Dahabi also reiterated Jordan's
full support to the Palestinians. He said Jordan's political and
diplomatic moves are focused at this stage on "putting an end to
Israeli military violations in the Gaza Strip, which claimed the
lives of innocent civilians."
France "strongly condemned" the Israeli siege, which it said
perpetrated a "collective punishment" on a population "already
quite affected."
It called for the reopening of negotiations and the immediate
resumption of delivering fuel in order to ensure electricity.
The European Union also voiced concerns over the cutting of fuel
supplies to Gaza.
EU Commissioner for external relations Bentita Ferrero-Waldner
said "The recent decision to close all border crossings into Gaza
as well as cutting provision of fuel will exacerbate an already
dire humanitarian situation."
Moreover, the U.N. Security Council was scheduled to start a
closed-door meeting Monday afternoon to help end the worsening
situation in Gaza.
The Israeli siege has also caused anger among Palestinians
overseas.Palestinian refugees in Syria staged a protest against
their claimed "Israeli massacres" in Gaza and the siege on the
strip.
The protestors, marching in the Yarmouk refugee camp on the
outskirts of Damascus, called on the Arabs to take a united stance
to face up to the Israeli aggressions.
In response to appeals and pressure across the world, Israel on
Monday evening decided to slightly ease the siege on Gaza, allowing
medical supplies and a minimal amount of diesel fuel for the power
plant in Gaza. But restrictions would remain on petrol used by
cars.
Israeli Defense Minister Barak made the decision following a
security assessment, which found rocket attacks against Israel from
Gaza had dropped after the latest siege, Israeli media
reported.
(Xinhua News Agency January 22, 2008)
