blockade eases on Gaza with Hamas -Israel agreement
Palestine-Israel, Politics, 6/23/2008

Israel has begun easing its blockade of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip under a truce agreement reached last week.

One of the objectives of the US sponsored 2007 Annapolis Conference on the Middle East was to enhance security for Israelis and Palestinians, so a truce between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip can be helpful in moving peace negotiations forward, says US Department Of State deputy spokesman Tom Casey.

"Anything that helps maintain security for Israeli citizens, that helps end the kind of violence that has been fairly constant along the border with Gaza, is something that's positive," Casey said at a June 18 news briefing. "We certainly support the efforts that Egypt has made to help ensure that this truce or calm ... takes place."

Israeli and Hamas negotiators reached an Egyptian-brokered cease-fire agreement June 18 that took effect June 19. The agreement would last for six months. "We believe that establishing calm in Gaza and elsewhere is a good thing, and we're supportive of Egyptian efforts and other efforts to achieve that," Casey said.

The Annapolis Conference was launched by President Bush to begin intensive negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and resolve considerable core issues that will lead to the creation of a Palestinian state. Both sides agreed at the outset of talks to try to reach an agreement by the end of the year.

About 90 trucks of food and other supplies were sent across the border on Sunday, up from a daily average of 60 to 70 before the ceasefire. The shipments include milk, fruit and vegetables. Other goods like cement, which has been banned under Israel's crippling blockade of Gaza, are supposed to be allowed in next week.

"If the quiet is sustainable, and I hope it will be, then in the coming days you will see the gradual easing of the sanctions on the Gaza Strip,' said Israeli spokesman Mark Regev," Israeli spokesman Mark Regev said.

Regev says there will not be open borders until Hamas releases Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, kidnapped from his base near Gaza two years ago.

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