BARACK Obama has committed the US to easing Israel’s blockade of Gaza and pledged an extra $US400 million ($477m) in American aid, declaring the present situation is “unsustainable”.
Mr Obama used a meeting with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas in Washington yesterday to urge a rethink of the Israeli blockade of the territory.
“It seems to us that there should be ways of focusing narrowly on arms shipments, rather than focusing in a blanket way on stopping everything, and then in a piecemeal way allowing things into Gaza,” Mr Obama said. The new approach urged by the US President indicates the Israeli military raid on a Turkish aid flotilla heading to Gaza last week was a political and public relations breakthrough of sorts for Palestinians – despite nine activists being killed in the incident.
Mr Obama yesterday seized on the “tragedy with the flotilla”, saying it had drawn attention all around the world to the continuing problems in Gaza.
Repeating his condemnation of acts that led to the tragedy and his demand for a full investigation, he said: “What we also know is that the situation in Gaza is unsustainable. I think increasingly you’re seeing debates within Israel, recognising the problems with the status quo.” The $US400m offered in US aid – in addition to $US500m already provided to the Palestinians – is to go towards housing, rebuilding schools, constructing a sewerage system and assisting business development in Gaza and also in the West Bank.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists the Gaza blockade is necessary to prevent arms shipments into Gaza for the territory’s government, controlled by Hamas, which Israel and the US consider a terrorist organisation.
But the US President’s position demonstrates his belief that the measure started in 2007 after the Israeli military conflict with Gaza has proved overly harsh, coming at too great a cost to the territory’s civilian population.
Critics who regard the Turkish flotilla as a manipulated stunt intent on bringing violence will interpret Mr Obama’s position as encouraging further such operations and as appeasing Hamas.
The President said Mr Abbas agreed that Israelis had the right to prevent arms from entering Gaza that could be used to launch attacks on Israeli territory.
He stressed, however, that the flotilla tragedy should become an opportunity to directly improve lives in Gaza “so we can have goods and services and economic development”.
Despite its continued tough talk, Israel appears to have relaxed the blockade by allowing basic food and humanitarian necessities into Gaza. Israel has reportedly allowed new items into Gaza in recent weeks, including shoes, clothing, jam and a sweet sesame paste called halva. Any materials that could be used by Hamas for weapons are seized.
During yesterday’s meeting with Mr Abbas, the White House allowed journalists and photographers to witness greetings, and afterwards Mr Obama and the Palestinian leader held a joint press conference.
Their session was in marked contrast to the meeting out of public view between Mr Obama and Mr Netanyahu earlier this year at the White House, which was obviously strained after disagreement over Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem that contributed to the latest stalling of peace talks with the Palestinians.
After cancelling a further meeting with Mr Obama in Washington last week so he could deal with the flotilla crisis, Mr Netanyahu is now expected to go to Washington later this month to hold discussions that both sides hope will be more cordial.
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