Gaza, June 21: Hamas has slammed a decision by Israel to allow civilian goods into the Gaza Strip, saying the move is aimed at evading international pressure weeks after Tel Aviv attacked a Gaza aid convoy.
Israel said on Sunday that it would ease its land blockade on the Gaza Strip, allowing all goods except for arms and weapons-related material into the Palestinian territory.
Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu, his Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Ehud Barak are expected to issue a list of banned commodities, which according to the Israeli media could include thousands of items, such as aluminum products, various metals and fertilizers.
The decision by Tel Aviv to ease the years-long siege comes after a May 31 attack on a Gaza-bound aid convoy killed at least 9 activists onboard the fleet. The attack triggered soaring anti-Israeli sentiments across the globe and prompted an international front against the blockade of Gaza.
Meanwhile, the Islamic resistance movement of Hamas condemned the decision saying it fell short of international demands to completely lift the blockade.
“Hamas rejects this decision,” senior Hamas official Ismail Radwan told Reuters. “This is an attempt to sap international anger over the blockade on the Gaza Strip,” he explained.
Israel claims the severe restrictions it has imposed against Gazans for years is aimed at preventing its arch-enemy Hamas from having access to missiles and launching rocket attacks.
The international community, however, has repeatedly condemned the closure of Gaza, describing it as collective punishment of some 1.5 million Palestinians in the impoverished territory, half of whom depend on UN food aid handouts in their struggle against starvation.
Palestinian lawmaker Hanin Zoabi, who was onboard the Freedom Flotilla seeking to break the Gaza blockade, said the decision to ease the siege “proves that it is not a security blockade, but a political one.”
——–Agencies