Israel Decides to Ease Closure Against PalestiniansIsraeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Wednesday night convened the first meeting of his security cabinet, which decided to take a series of measures aimed at easing closure of the Palestinian self-rule areas.After a four-hour meeting, the 13-member security cabinet decided to ease economic sanctions against the Palestinians by allowing them to import raw materials and resume fishing in the Gaza Strip, Israel Radio reported. The Palestinians are also allowed to continue building power plants in Gaza and to travel freely inside the Gaza Strip or the West Bank, the radio said. But despite the easing of the closure of the Palestinian territories, Palestinian workers are still not allowed to enter Israel for jobs. And the ban on movement between the West Bank and Gaza Strip will remain in place. The Palestinians have been barred from working inside Israel since the outbreak last September of the Palestinian uprising against Israeli aggressions. The Israeli measures will be taken against the backdrop of Sharon's planned first visit to the United States as prime minister on Sunday and the upcoming Arab summit, to be convened on March 27- 28 in Amman, Jordan. Israel has repeatedly imposed closures of the Palestinian areas for security reasons since the start of the Palestinian uprising. The Palestinians accuse Israel of carrying out collective punishment. And the world community has also been critical of the Israeli blockades. |
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