Hamas slams Israel's decision of banned items

Hamas slams Israel's decision of banned items

[ 07/07/2010 - 09:03 AM ]


DAMASCUS, (PIC)-- The Hamas Movement rejected outright all attempts to reproduce the blockade and ration the Gaza people's vital needs and said that Israel's talk about banned items debunked its claims about lifting the siege.

In a press release on Tuesday, Hamas warned of the seriousness of dealing with this Israeli policy and called for ending the blockade fully and completely.

Hamas also appealed to pro-Gaza pressure groups and the free people around the world to continue their solidarity with Gaza until the blockade is lifted.

For his part, director of Al-Mizan center for human rights Isam Younis stated that the Israeli replacement of the list of goods to be allowed in for a list of banned stuff is a flagrant attempt to circumvent international calls for necessarily ending the siege imposed on Gaza.

Younis stressed the need for ending the mass punishment of Gaza people, which he described as a war crime, and all restrictions that deny them their right to freedom of movement and prevent them from importing and exporting products.

The popular committee against the siege, for its part, refuted the Israeli premier's claims about alleviating the siege on Gaza in a letter it sent to US president Barack Obama.

The committee called in its letter on Obama to pressure the Israeli government to end the blockade on Gaza immediately and completely and to deal fairly and humanely with Gaza issue.

The committee described the White House's welcome of Israeli media statements about the alleviation of Gaza blockade as "hasty" because it did not make sure that Israel would take action to ease the siege.

It underscored that it cannot be said that the siege has ended before all Gaza commercial crossings were opened and Israel allowed the flow of goods and building materials.

The Palestinian international campaign to end the siege also criticized Israel's decision to issue a list of items banned entry into Gaza, saying this move would dwarf the mounting international demands for ending the siege.

The campaign noted that Israel wants to dump consumer goods in Gaza, thus exacerbating the humanitarian and economic crisis and increase the population's dependence on international aid.

In a statement to the Palestinian information center (PIC), economic analyst Mu'iyn Rajab affirmed that Gaza is in dire need of building materials, hardware and raw materials in order to cycle the Palestinian economy and not for consumables.

"We need to rotate the economy, re-run factories and reduce unemployment in the Palestinian street through providing them with job opportunities, and this can be realized after allowing in raw materials for production," he stated.

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