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Ban Ki Moon crosses into Gaza in peace tour
 [Al Arabiya Latest] U.N. chief Ban Ki-moon crossed into the Gaza Strip on Sunday for an hours-long visit as part of a regional tour aimed at reviving the Middle East peace process, an AFP reporter said.Ban crossed through Erez crossing that links Israel and the Palestinian enclave. He was met by a small group of people waving Palestinian flags. Ban was to make his second visit to the Gaza Strip since the 22-day war ended in January 2009 as part of a regional tour aimed at reviving the peace process, which ground to a halt when the fighting broke out. "I'll go to Gaza... to express my solidarity with the plight of the Palestinian people there and to underscore the need to end the blockade," Ban told reporters in the occupied West Bank on Saturday. Israel tightened its blockade on Gaza after the Islamist Hamas movement violently seized power there in June 2007, and has said the border closures are necessary to contain the group, which is pledged to its destruction. But Ban insisted ahead of a meeting with Israeli President Shimon Peres on Saturday that the closures imposed "unacceptable hardships" on civilians. "I understand and share Israel's concerns about the challenges posed by Hamas, but Israel's blockade continues to impose unacceptable hardships while empowering extremists," he said. "I am confident the blockade can be lifted while addressing Israel's legitimate security concerns." Posted by: Fred 2010-03-22 |
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