Arab League chief calls for breaking Gaza siege
Monday, 14 June 2010
GAZA, June 13 (Xinhua): Arab League chief Amr Moussa Sunday called for an immediate lifting of Israel's blockade on the Palestinian coastal enclave.
"The siege must be broken and lifted," Moussa told reporters after arriving at the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on Gaza-Egypt borders.
Members from the deposed Hamas government and representatives of Palestinian factions received Moussa and his delegation, marking the visit of the highest Arab diplomat since Islamic Hamas movement took over the enclave June 2007.
Moussa said he came to Gaza to see "the steadfastness of people before the arbitrary siege" and to see the situation 18 months after the end of Israel's massive offensive on Gaza.
The stalled Palestinian reconciliation is also on the top of Moussa's agenda in Gaza.
"The file of reconciliation is a key and real question," Moussa said, reminding the Palestinian factions, especially Hamas which refused last year to sign an Egyptian offer to reconcile with Fatah, that the unity of the Palestinian people "is an attitude" and that "the history will not stand still" if Hamas signed the initiative.
Hamas ousted Fatah-dominated security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza in a weeklong bloody infighting, restricting the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)'s rule to the West Bank.
"The siege must be broken and lifted," Moussa told reporters after arriving at the Palestinian side of the Rafah crossing on Gaza-Egypt borders.
Members from the deposed Hamas government and representatives of Palestinian factions received Moussa and his delegation, marking the visit of the highest Arab diplomat since Islamic Hamas movement took over the enclave June 2007.
Moussa said he came to Gaza to see "the steadfastness of people before the arbitrary siege" and to see the situation 18 months after the end of Israel's massive offensive on Gaza.
The stalled Palestinian reconciliation is also on the top of Moussa's agenda in Gaza.
"The file of reconciliation is a key and real question," Moussa said, reminding the Palestinian factions, especially Hamas which refused last year to sign an Egyptian offer to reconcile with Fatah, that the unity of the Palestinian people "is an attitude" and that "the history will not stand still" if Hamas signed the initiative.
Hamas ousted Fatah-dominated security forces loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza in a weeklong bloody infighting, restricting the Palestinian National Authority (PNA)'s rule to the West Bank.