Israel says EU pressure grows to end Gaza blockade
JERUSALEM (AFP) — The European Union is increasing pressure on Israel to end its nine-month old blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip in a bid to prevent a humanitarian crisis, an Israeli official said on Thursday.
"EU ministers are expressing growing concern over the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip and the lack of progress in the peace talks" with the Palestinians, he told AFP on condition of anonymity.
"Our embassies in Europe report increasing pressure to try to end the blockade."
The European Parliament on Thursday adopted a resolution calling on Israel to lift the siege, with MEPs saying "the policy of isolation of the Gaza Strip has failed at both the political and humanitarian level."
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni said at a meeting with her Romanian counterpart Adrian Cioroianu that any talk of ending the sanctions only weakens Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, with whom Israel renewed peace talks in November.
"Any indirect support of Hamas, even if it is done through discussions on the crossings or the humanitarian situation, weakens those interested in reaching an agreement," Livni's office quoted her as saying.
"The Palestinian people have no future with Hamas and we will continue to fight its terrorism," she added.
Meeting with the European Union's Middle East envoy Mark Otte, Livni said "Europe should understand that Gaza represents a 'zero sum game'. It is either Hamas or the moderates. We should not allow Hamas to win points."
Brussels does not recognise Hamas's rule in Gaza and considers the Islamist group a terror organisation, but it has repeatedly opposed Israel's blockade, urging it to allow supply shipments into the impoverished territory.
"We're in favour of opening up crossings into Gaza, particularly Rafah (with Egypt) and Karni," an EU official told AFP.
"We've expressed our concern about the limitation of fuel and electricity supplies, which we don't think is helpful and could compound the humanitarian crisis in Gaza."
The European Parliament resolution said the blockade had failed and called for the controlled reopening of crossings in and out of the territory, home to 1.5 million people who depend mostly on aid.
It also called for Israel to cease military action killing and endangering civilians, as well as extrajudicial targeted killings.
As for Hamas, the parliament described the Islamist group's bloody seizure of Gaza in June as illegal and said it should prevent the firing of rockets on Israeli territory.
Israel closed vital border crossings and restricted supplies to Gaza after Hamas, which does not recognise the Jewish state, took over the territory, violently routing forces loyal to Abbas.
Last month Israel began reducing fuel and electricity supplies to Gaza in response to near daily rocket fire on southern Israel, further raising fears of a humanitarian crisis.
Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said earlier this week that Israel would maintain the tight blockade.
"We will continue to apply sanctions that are hurtful to the needs of the (Palestinian) population in order for it to be clear that living conditions cannot be altered only from our side," he told MPs of his Kadima party in allusion to rocket attacks from Gaza.
"Hamas bears responsibility for everything that goes on in the Gaza Strip, and it matters little whether it is or is not directly responsible for any given incident," Olmert said.
