http://www.jpost.com/Home/Article.aspx?id=179196 Turkey: Fully lift Gaza blockade
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
06/22/2010 20:15
Turkey calls Israel's blockade ease "positive, yet insufficient."
Talkbacks (1)
Turkey is calling Israel's decision to ease the blockade on Gaza a "positive" but "insufficient" step, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement released on Tuesday.
Turkey denounced the blockade as inhumane and urged Israel to lift it entirely, and stated that they will continue their efforts to deliver aid to the region.
The security cabinet on Sunday lifted nearly three years of restrictions on civilian goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, in the hope – according to senior diplomatic sources – that Israel would now have international legitimacy for the more important naval blockade, aimed at keeping out heavy weapons.
“Our government’s policy towards Gaza is clear,” Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said at a meeting with Quartet envoy Tony Blair soon after the security cabinet’s decision.
Ties between Turkey and Israel reached a new low last month when Israeli commandos raided a Gaza-bound Turkish aid flotilla. Eight Turks and one Turk wish US citizenship died in the attack.
Israel said its commandos acted in self-defense after being attacked by the pro-Palestinian activists.