Norway FM calls for end to Gaza siege

Norway’s Foreign Minister Borge Brende has called for an end to Israel’s seven-year blockade of the Gaza Strip.

Brende said on Monday that conditions in besieged coastal enclave must change, so that “both people and goods can cross the borders.”

He also unveiled plans for an international donor conference on Palestine with a focus on the reconstruction of Gaza, noting that the donors would meet in the Egyptian capital Cairo once there is a lasting truce between Palestinians and Israelis.

“The people of Gaza are suffering, and emergency help is urgently needed,” said Brende, adding, “Basic infrastructure must be repaired, so that people get electricity, water and sewage [facilities].”
The comments came after the UN’s Undersecretary General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Valerie Amos said on Sunday that it may take months to repair the damage Israel inflicted on Gaza’s infrastructure.

She added that 97 UN installations, including health centers and schools, were damaged in the Israeli war.

The Israeli regime has blockaded the Gaza Strip since June 2007, as a result of which the standards of living there have deteriorated markedly. The siege has also led to unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty in the Palestinian coastal enclave.

Israel launched its latest offensive against Gaza on July 8, killing at least 2016 Palestinians, including 540 children. As many as 10,193 others have suffered injuries in the Israeli onslaught.

Palestinian resistance movement Hamas and Israel had agreed on the extension of a 72-hour truce for five more days late on August 13. The five-day truce is due to expire Monday at midnight.

Hamas stresses that any deal with Israel to end its latest war on the impoverished territory must include Palestinians’ demand to end the Gaza blockade.