Clinton raps Israel for delaying Gaza aid

ISRAEL: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is pressing Israel to stop blocking aid to the besieged Gaza Strip and will raise the issue during her visit next week, an Israeli newspaper reported on .

US Middle East envoy George Mitchell is expected to issue a strongly-worded statement on the situation when he travels to Israel ahead of Clinton this week, the Haaretz said.

“Israel is not making enough efforts to improve the humanitarian situation in Gaza,” the paper quoted US officials as telling their Israeli counterparts last week.

Clinton has relayed messages to Israel about the aid issue in the past week, and senior aides have made it clear the question would be central to her visit to Israel on Tuesday.

Influential US Senator John Kerry last week witnessed first-hand the difficulties involved in delivering key supplies to Gaza, which has been under an Israeli blockade since Hamas seized power in June 2007, and is struggling to recover from Israel’s devastating 22-day war. Israel insists it will not reopen its crossing points into Gaza until Hamas releases Gilad Shalit, a soldier captured by Palestinian militants in a deadly cross-border raid from Gaza in June 2006.

JERUSALEM, Wednesday, AFP