Anger as UN debates Gaza blockade
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_enl_1201019772/html/1.stm)
Rafah has been mainly shut since June at Israel's insistence
_Enlarge Image_
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/08/middle_east_enl_1201019772/html/1.stm)
Israeli and Palestinian envoys have clashed at the United Nations Security
Council during a debate on Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip.
The Palestinian UN observer accused Israel of fuelling violence, while the
Israeli envoy said his country had to protect its people from rocket attacks.
The council was considering a call for Israel to allow humanitarian aid to
enter Gaza freely.
Earlier, Israel eased its four-day Gaza lockdown by allowing fuel
deliveries.
But it has indicated restrictions may be re-imposed if rocket attacks
continue.
Meanwhile, 60 women were injured, when Egyptian police broke up a protest
against the siege and shots were fired.
It is the duty of all states to ensure the right to life and safety of its
people
Gilad Cohen
Israeli ambassador to the UN
The police had fired into the air and used water cannon to drive back
Palestinian women who tried to surge across the Rafah border crossing between Egypt
and Gaza.
Hundreds of Palestinians demanded the crossing be reopened to allow the
passage of vital supplies made scarce by the blockade.
And early on Wednesday, a Hamas militant was killed during an exchange of
fire near Gaza's border with Israel, Palestinian officials said.
Residents near the closed Sufa crossing said Israeli tanks crossed into the
Strip after the clash, Reuters news agency reported.
Talks adjourned
Tuesday's day-long council debate had been requested by Arab and Islamic
states amid a growing international outcry at what the European Union termed the
"collective punishment" of Gaza's 1.5m residents.
Palestinian UN observer Riyad Mansour said the council "must demand that
Israel, the occupying power, immediately cease its collective punishment of the
Palestinian people".
But Israeli representative Gilad Cohen denied that Israel was violating
international law.
"It is the duty of all states to ensure the right to life and safety of its
people, especially from vicious acts of violence and terrorism," he said,
adding that Israel would "ensure the humanitarian welfare" of Gaza.
Israel imposed its blockade last week in response to rocket attacks from
Gaza, and the UN had warned that food aid to about 860,000 Gazans could be
halted within days as a result.
Libya, the council chair this month, had drafted a text that would call on
Israel to end its blockade of Gaza and ensure "unhindered access for
humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people".
Council split
But American and French representatives to the UN said the current draft was
unacceptable as it did not refer to militant rocket attacks on Israel from
within the Gaza Strip.
_Gaza's rocket threat to Israel_
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/3702088.stm)
_'Wartime' on Israeli border_
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7203040.stm)
_Gaza diary: Day One_
(http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/7203458.stm)
French Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert said the draft "ought to be amended to
take into account all aspects of the deteriorating situation in Gaza."
UN under secretary general for political affairs Lynn Pascoe had earlier
briefed the council and demanded Israel "reconsider and cease its policy of
pressuring the civilian population of Gaza for the unacceptable actions of
militants".
Israel has said the council discussions were one-sided.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice blamed Hamas for the lockdown but
said she had urged Israel to avoid a humanitarian crisis.
Israel allowed lorries to deliver industrial diesel for Gaza's sole power
plant on Tuesday.
The Israeli foreign ministry said it would allow more fuel to be delivered
in the coming days along with food and medicine.
'Futile launchings'
But Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas labelled the move
"insufficient" and called for a total end to the blockade.
He said civilians in Gaza were not responsible for the "futile launchings"
of rockets into Israel.
The blockade forced the Nusseirat power plant to shut down on Monday,
plunging Gaza City into darkness.
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