ID :
128893
Mon, 06/21/2010 - 11:42
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Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/128893
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German minister rips Israel for denying entry to Gaza
Berlin, June 21, IRNA - German Development Aid Minister Dirk Niebel slammed Israel for barring him from entering Gaza, news reports said Sunday.
Talking to the daily newspaper Leipziger Volkszeitung, Niebel branded the Israeli decision a "major foreign policy mistake."
Niebel was denied entry into the Gaza Strip during his ongoing visit to Israel, German officials said Saturday evening.
The German official who arrived in Israel earlier Saturday, had planned to tour a sewage treatment plant in Gaza financed by the German government.
Speaking on German television Saturday evening, Niebel voiced outrage at the Israeli action.
"I would have wished for a clear political signal would be sent for an opening and for transparency," said Niebel, who belongs to the German Free Democratic Party (FDP).
"Sometimes the Israeli government does not make it easy for its friends to explain why it behaves the way it does," he added.
Niebel reiterated Israel's latest announcement on easing the Gaza blockade was "not sufficient" and that Israel must "now deliver" on its pledge.
Beyond that, the government in Jerusalem should be "clear about how Israel, within an international context, wants to cooperate with its friends in the future as well," said the German minister who is also the vice-president of Germany's most influential pro-Israel lobby, the German-Israeli Society.
Niebel warned the Jewish state that it was facing an "imminent high noon" unless it rectifies its policies.
The latest developments followed press reports that the German parliament was expected to discuss a government motion which would call for an end to Israel's sea blockade.
The motion which has the backing of the ruling coalition parties, as well as the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party, urged the Zionist regime to allow humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip via sea.
"The living conditions for the civil population in Gaza must urgently be improved," the motion was reportedly quoted him as saying.
"Israel's Gaza blockade is factually a blockade of the United Nations," the Greens' foreign policy spokeswoman Kerstin Mueller told the paper.
"This is unacceptable," the Green legislator added.
Mueller stressed that the Jewish state had to provide the United Nations sea access to Gaza, so humanitarian aid could be delivered "quickly and unbureaucratically."
The motion calls also on the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to pave the way for negotiations between Israel and the UN.
Berlin has repeatedly urged a total lifting of the Israeli siege of Gaza which was imposed in 2006./end
Talking to the daily newspaper Leipziger Volkszeitung, Niebel branded the Israeli decision a "major foreign policy mistake."
Niebel was denied entry into the Gaza Strip during his ongoing visit to Israel, German officials said Saturday evening.
The German official who arrived in Israel earlier Saturday, had planned to tour a sewage treatment plant in Gaza financed by the German government.
Speaking on German television Saturday evening, Niebel voiced outrage at the Israeli action.
"I would have wished for a clear political signal would be sent for an opening and for transparency," said Niebel, who belongs to the German Free Democratic Party (FDP).
"Sometimes the Israeli government does not make it easy for its friends to explain why it behaves the way it does," he added.
Niebel reiterated Israel's latest announcement on easing the Gaza blockade was "not sufficient" and that Israel must "now deliver" on its pledge.
Beyond that, the government in Jerusalem should be "clear about how Israel, within an international context, wants to cooperate with its friends in the future as well," said the German minister who is also the vice-president of Germany's most influential pro-Israel lobby, the German-Israeli Society.
Niebel warned the Jewish state that it was facing an "imminent high noon" unless it rectifies its policies.
The latest developments followed press reports that the German parliament was expected to discuss a government motion which would call for an end to Israel's sea blockade.
The motion which has the backing of the ruling coalition parties, as well as the opposition Social Democrats (SPD) and the Green Party, urged the Zionist regime to allow humanitarian aid to reach the Gaza Strip via sea.
"The living conditions for the civil population in Gaza must urgently be improved," the motion was reportedly quoted him as saying.
"Israel's Gaza blockade is factually a blockade of the United Nations," the Greens' foreign policy spokeswoman Kerstin Mueller told the paper.
"This is unacceptable," the Green legislator added.
Mueller stressed that the Jewish state had to provide the United Nations sea access to Gaza, so humanitarian aid could be delivered "quickly and unbureaucratically."
The motion calls also on the European Union's foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton to pave the way for negotiations between Israel and the UN.
Berlin has repeatedly urged a total lifting of the Israeli siege of Gaza which was imposed in 2006./end
