Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a meeting of Likud ministers on Sunday that he supports easing the three-year blockade Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip, but that he would not approve the lifting of the naval blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said during a meeting of Likud ministers on Sunday that he supports easing the three-year blockade Israel has imposed on the Gaza Strip, but that he would not approve the lifting of the naval blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory.
With this declaration, Netanyahu rejected the proposal made by the foreign ministers of France, Spain and Italy, who suggested that in the future, Gaza-bound ships be searched by European inspectors in Cyprus.
The suggestion was made after a clash between Israeli navy commandos and Turkish activists aboard a Gaza-bound aid ship, part of a flotilla of ships aiming to break the blockade, resulted in the deaths of nine activists last month.
Netanyahu said during the meeting that "Israel will continue to prevent ships from reaching Gaza, while simultaneously easing the blockade." He added that other nations in the region also oppose lifting the naval blockade, saying that "the arrival of ships directly to Gaza is problematic, not only for us, but for others as well."
TVNL Comment: Israel does as it pleases, period. Internal Law be damned, human rights be damned, Israel is above it all. They know it all will be yesterday's news as US Congress members fall over themselves to be loudest and strongest in their support of every move. How sad is that?