Israel widens list of allowed items into Gaza: Palestinian official

A Palestinian liaison official confirmed that Israel on Tuesday widened the list of permitted products into the Gaza Strip as part of a new policy to relax the blockade on the Hamas-ruled territory.

However, Israel did not increase the number of trucks used to carry the goods, which currently stands at 130, Raed Fattouh said.

The list of allowed products now includes 350 items, with most of them being consuming goods, Fattouh said, adding that the newly added items include car parts, agricultural tools, cosmetics, perfumes and fishing tools.

Israel imposed a tight blockade on the Gaza Strip in 2007 when the enclave was taken over by the Hamas movement, which was regarded as a terrorist group by the West and the United States.

The Israeli government, which has been under growing international pressure to end its three-year tight siege of the Gaza Strip after its navy raided a Gaza-bound aid flotilla last month, announced Sunday it would ease the land embargo.

Fattouh said goods enter the enclave through the Kerem Shalom crossings between Israel and Gaza, while the rest Gaza crossings remain blocked.

While the international community lauded the Israeli steps to alleviate the embargo, the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) and the Hamas rulers said the moves are not enough. They urged for a complete lift of the siege.

The steps will not end the suffering of the blocked people in Gaza, a spokesman for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said, while Hamas Minister of Economy Ziad al-Zaza said the Israeli decision to ease the blockade on Gaza does not mean the end of the siege.

Source: Xinhua