Israel must lift Gaza siege ‘fully’

NOTHING short of the full lifting of Israel’s blockade on Gaza would allow the territory to be rebuilt, the UN agency responsible for Palestinian refugees said yesterday, a day after Israel said it would ease its siege.

Israel, which sealed off the coastal territory to prevent Hamas from arming, is under international pressure to lift the blockade after its forces killed nine people in an assault on an aid flotilla on May 31.

Under the blockade’s previous rules, any item that was not explicitly permitted was banned. Israel says it will now allow items to enter Gaza unless they are on a list of banned items, including weapons and materials that can be used to make them.

However, critics say the new rules could still make it difficult to import building materials to rehabilitate the territory, damaged by war in 2008-’09.

“We need to have the blockade fully lifted,” said spokesman Christopher Gunness of UNRWA, the United Nations relief agency that looks after Palestinian refugees.

International donors at the conference pledged $2.8 billion (€2.27bn) to rebuild Gaza after the war, but the blockade has hampered the inflow of building supplies.