Israel cabinet votes to ease Gaza Strip blockade

[Jeffersons Ghost]

Israel cabinet votes to ease Gaza Strip blockade

Israel has announced it will ease the land blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow more civilian goods to enter the Palestinian territory. It comes amid growing international pressure to end the embargo.

An Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza last month was widely condemned.

Israel and Egypt tightened the blockade after the Islamist Hamas movement took control of Gaza in 2007.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/world/middle_east/10338199.stm

[Jeffersons Ghost]

1. here's another slant

(Reuters) - Israel said on Thursday it was easing a land blockade of the Gaza Strip that drew heightened international criticism after its deadly raid on an aid flotilla bound for the Hamas-run territory.

A new Israeli-approved product list included all food items, toys, stationery, kitchen utensils, mattresses and towels, said Raed Fattouh, the Palestinian coordinator of supplies to the enclave.

But Israel maintained its sea blockade of the coastal strip and a ban on the private import of building materials, vital to widescale reconstruction after Israel's December 2008-January 2009 war. Hamas called the Israeli measures "media propaganda."

http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE65G10H20100617