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| Israel-Palestine-Jordan |
| Israel reopens Gaza border crossings |
| 2009-01-30 |
| (AKI) - Israel reopened the border crossings into the Gaza Strip on Wednesday, following Israeli strikes in the Rafah border area in retaliation for the killing of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants. The crossings had been closed on Tuesday following the death of the soldier near the border crossing of Kissufim. A crossings authority official also said that Israel allowed humanitarian aid to reach the coastal territory. Israel informed the Palestinian Authority "that they reopened the borders in the Strip for dozens of trucks at 7am this morning.(Wednesday)", said Raed Fatouh, quoted by Palestinian news agency Maan. Fatouh also said Israel allowed 110 trucks, 82 of them which were carrying humanitarian aid, through the Kerem Shalom border crossing, located in southern Gaza. On Tuesday, a top UN official called on Israel to immediately open the crossings. "Israel has a particular responsibility as the occupying power in this context, because of its control of Gaza's borders with Israel, to respect the relevant provisions of international humanitarian law," Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs John Holmes told the Security Council. "It is therefore critical that new steps are taken immediately by the Israeli authorities to move to the sustained reopening of crossing points," he said. The crossings opened the same day as US envoy to the Middle East and former senator, George Mitchell, began his visit to the region. Mitchell said it was critical that a Gaza-ceasefire after Israel's three-week offensive "be extended and consolidated". He was speaking on Wednesday after a meeting in Cairo with Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak at the beginning of his week-long tour of the region. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #1 WAFF > HAMAS LEADERS [e.g. Khalid Maaschal]: GAZA VICTORY FOR PALESTINIANS PAVES THE WAY TO JERUSALEM. HAIFA, JAFFA, THE NEGEV, AND THE WEST BANK/ ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN, MIDDLE EAST EQUATIONS HAVE CHANGED IN FAVOR OF MUSLIMS AND ISRAEL'S ENEMIES??? Also on WAFF > HIZBOLLAH MODEL FOR FUTURE CONFLICTS [agz ISRAEL]. Better Islamo-Militant TRAINING + EQUIPMENT E.G. IMPROVED = LONGER-RANGED/ACCURATE KATYUSHA + GRAD ROCKETS, and ANTI-ARMOR/TANK MISSLES. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-01-30 21:12 |