JERUSALEM - Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has invited his Italian counterpart to lead a delegation of European foreign ministers to the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, an Israeli official said on Thursday.
| The catch is that they have to stay ... |
Israel has largely refused to let foreign diplomats pass through its checkpoints into Gaza since it tightened its blockade on the territory after Hamas Islamists seized it in 2007.
The official said Lieberman extended the invitation to Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini during a visit to Italy so that top European diplomats could see there was no humanitarian crisis in the coastal enclave.
The delegation could come within weeks but would not meet Hamas officials, the Israeli official added.
Lieberman asked Frattini to lead the trip, which will also include a visit to Israeli towns along the Gaza border that have been frequent targets of Palestinian rocket fire, because of Italy's close relationship with Israel, the official said.
| Nice, force the Euros to confront the mortars and rockets. Perhaps Hamas or Islamic Jihad would be kind enough to arrange a demonstration while the diplomats are in Sderot? |
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