Israel cabinet votes to ease Gaza Strip blockade
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev on the easing of the blockade in Gaza
Israel has announced it will ease the land blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow more civilian goods to enter the Palestinian territory.
It comes amid growing international pressure to end the embargo.
An Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza last month was widely condemned.
Israel and Egypt tightened the blockade after the Islamist Hamas movement took control of Gaza in 2007.
The decision to ease the land blockade was agreed by Israel's security cabinet after a two-day meeting.
The move will see an expansion in the number of products Israel will allow into Gaza via border crossing points, although the naval blockade will remain in place.
The new Israeli-approved product list includes all food items, toys, stationery, kitchen utensils, mattresses and towels, Reuters news agency quotes Raed Fattouh, Palestinian co-ordinator of supplies to Gaza, as saying.
An Israeli government statement said construction materials for civilian projects would also be allowed in under international supervision.
Israel has until now blocked materials like cement and steel, arguing that Hamas could use them to build weapons and fortifications.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel would: "liberalise the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza"; "expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision"; and "continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war material".
It added: "The cabinet will decide in the coming days on additional steps to implement this policy."
It also said that Israel expected the international community to work toward the immediate release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas fighters on the Israel-Gaza border in 2006.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said some of the goods that would now be allowed in were "trivial and secondary", adding: "What is needed is a complete lifting of the blockade.
"Goods and people must be free to enter and leave. Gaza especially needs construction material, which must be allowed to come in without restrictions."
In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority government of Mahmoud Abbas also criticised the Israeli decision, saying the blockade should be lifted in its entirety.
A Turkish foreign ministry official told Reuters that Ankara wanted to see how the Israeli move would be implemented.
"However, our attitude on the issue is obvious: we expect the blockade to be lifted altogether," said the official, who was not named.
Israel says the blockade - which aims to put pressure on Hamas and secure the release of Gilad Shalit - prevents war material entering Gaza while allowing the entry of humanitarian aid.
It has been widely criticised as "collective punishment" of the 1.4 million residents of Gaza.
Nine Turkish activists died in the Israeli commando raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters on 31 May.
It was the ninth attempt since 2008 to break the blockade by sea, but the first that resulted in bloodshed.
BBC News - Israel cabinet votes to ease Gaza Strip blockade
Israeli government spokesman Mark Regev on the easing of the blockade in Gaza
Israel has announced it will ease the land blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow more civilian goods to enter the Palestinian territory.
It comes amid growing international pressure to end the embargo.
An Israeli commando raid on an aid flotilla attempting to break the naval blockade of Gaza last month was widely condemned.
Israel and Egypt tightened the blockade after the Islamist Hamas movement took control of Gaza in 2007.
The decision to ease the land blockade was agreed by Israel's security cabinet after a two-day meeting.
The move will see an expansion in the number of products Israel will allow into Gaza via border crossing points, although the naval blockade will remain in place.
The new Israeli-approved product list includes all food items, toys, stationery, kitchen utensils, mattresses and towels, Reuters news agency quotes Raed Fattouh, Palestinian co-ordinator of supplies to Gaza, as saying.
An Israeli government statement said construction materials for civilian projects would also be allowed in under international supervision.
Israel has until now blocked materials like cement and steel, arguing that Hamas could use them to build weapons and fortifications.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said in a statement that Israel would: "liberalise the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza"; "expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision"; and "continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war material".
It added: "The cabinet will decide in the coming days on additional steps to implement this policy."
It also said that Israel expected the international community to work toward the immediate release of Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier captured by Hamas fighters on the Israel-Gaza border in 2006.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said some of the goods that would now be allowed in were "trivial and secondary", adding: "What is needed is a complete lifting of the blockade.
"Goods and people must be free to enter and leave. Gaza especially needs construction material, which must be allowed to come in without restrictions."
In the West Bank, the Palestinian Authority government of Mahmoud Abbas also criticised the Israeli decision, saying the blockade should be lifted in its entirety.
A Turkish foreign ministry official told Reuters that Ankara wanted to see how the Israeli move would be implemented.
"However, our attitude on the issue is obvious: we expect the blockade to be lifted altogether," said the official, who was not named.
Israel says the blockade - which aims to put pressure on Hamas and secure the release of Gilad Shalit - prevents war material entering Gaza while allowing the entry of humanitarian aid.
It has been widely criticised as "collective punishment" of the 1.4 million residents of Gaza.
Nine Turkish activists died in the Israeli commando raid on the Gaza-bound flotilla in international waters on 31 May.
It was the ninth attempt since 2008 to break the blockade by sea, but the first that resulted in bloodshed.
BBC News - Israel cabinet votes to ease Gaza Strip blockade
