G8 says Gaza blockade not sustainable

The Group of Eight nations say Israel must lift the blockade of the Gaza Strip and allow aid through to its impoverished Palestinian population.

“We urge all parties to work together to implement UN Security Council Resolution 1860 and to ensure the flow of humanitarian and commercial goods and persons, to and from Gaza,” the final communique said late Saturday.

At the end of the G8 summit in Canada, the leaders of the world’s major industrialized nations said that the blockade of the Gaza Strip is “not sustainable” in the current form and must be changed.

“We urge full and effective implementation of this policy in order to address the needs of Gaza’s population for humanitarian and commercial goods, civilian reconstruction and infrastructure, and legitimate economic activity,” the statement said.

It added that they also “deeply regret the loss of life” in last month’s Israeli attack on the aid ship that tried to breach the blockade of Gaza. The flotilla of six ships was carrying nearly 700 activists of 42 different nationalities as well as some 10,000 tons of relief supplies to the Gaza Strip.

The Israeli military attacked the Freedom Flotilla in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea on May 31, killing nine Turkish citizens on board the M.V. Mavi Marmara and injuring about 50 other people who were part of the team on the six-ship convoy.

Over 1.5 million Palestinians are living under a relentless Israeli siege that has now entered its fourth year.

Meanwhile, Palestinians girls in the Gaza City on Saturday night lit candles to protest against the Israeli blockade on the Gaza Strip.