Israel urged to lift blockade in Gaza

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Source: CCTV.com | 01-25-2008 09:11

Politicians on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict have weighed in on the recent developments in Gaza.

Salam Fayyad, Palestinian Prime Minister.(CCTV.com)

Israel has been enforcing a tight blockade in Gaza leading to food shortages and an outcry of humanitarian concern across the world.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has urged Gaza's neighboring countries to reopen border crossings.

Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Fayyad said the current situation is unacceptable.

Salam Fayyad, Palestinian Prime Minister, said, "Life has become completely unbearable. This is a situation that is not sustainable and one that has to change, and change in a hurry. The best way to deal with this situation is to open the passages in a formal way, with the Palestinian Authority, with us and the Palestinian Authority, managing the Palestinian side of the crossings."

Ehud Barak, Israeli Defense Minister.(CCTV.com)

Also speaking in Davos, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said on Thursday that his government was still considering a large-scale military operation to counter continuing rocket attacks from Gaza.

Ehud Barak, Israeli Defense Minister, said, "I believe it is up to the Hamas leadership, they can very easily put an end to the shootings in Israel, and I can tell you that as long as the effort to terrorize the Israeli population will continue, we will keep acting in Gaza and against the Hamas government."

Secretary-General of the Arab League, Amr Moussa, said the situation in Gaza was "deplorable" and condemnable." He says Israel has a responsibility for the welfare of residents.

Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League, said, "Therefore whatever is happening is the result of a starving campaign, or a campaign to starve the people over there, and to maintain a siege that is killing all opportunities for them to have a nice living, even to live at the simplest (level) they can. This is a case that one should not accept."

Amr Moussa, Secretary-General of the Arab League. (CCTV.com)

Crowds of Palestinians continued to stream across the Rafah border crossing into Egypt from Gaza, to get much-needed provisions.

The UN's top human rights body held an emergency session on Thursday, and passed a resolution urging Israel to lift the blockade and reopen border ports.

It condemned Israel's military actions, and called for help from the international community.

Editor:Zhang Pengfei