Egypt: Gaza blockade a failure, border stays openAn Egyptian security official declared the blockade of Gaza a failure Monday and said his country will keep its border with the Palestinian territory open indefinitely.
Keeping that crossing point open long term would seriously undercut Israel's efforts to isolate and punish Gaza's Hamas rulers and give the Palestinians back a crucial link to the outside the world.
Egypt opened its border with Gaza soon after Israel's deadly raid on an international flotilla of activists trying to break the blockade last week.
The deaths of the activists has focused the attention of the world on Gaza with most major countries, including Hillary Clinton, saying that the blockade is unsustainable. With Egypt keeping its border open indefinitely, and pressure from almost every country in the world, the U.S. is 'looking for new ways' to try to resolve the situation:
Vice President Joe Biden said in a statement Monday the U.S. is closely consulting with Egypt and other allies to find new ways to "address the humanitarian, economic, security, and political aspects of the situation in Gaza." He spoke in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh after meeting Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak.
> snip The security official said a new policy must be found to end the suffering of the Palestinians, while keeping pressure on Hamas. He spoke Monday on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
The official said Israel is now under pressure to at least open all its land crossings with Gaza. Egypt will keep its border crossing at the town of Rafah open indefinitely but will not allow large cargo or shipments of construction material through because the terminal is designed primarily to be a civilian passage, the official said.
Meanwhile, the U.S. and the family of the young woman who was injured in Israel while protesting the attack on the Flotilla, are demanding an investigation of the incident:
US wants Israeli inquiry after protester loses eyeBy DIAA HADID
Associated Press Writer
The United States has asked Israel to investigate the incident in which an American woman lost an eye after Israeli forces shot her with a tear gas canister during a pro-Palestinian protest in Jerusalem, a U.S. embassy spokesman said Monday.
Emily Henochowicz, a 21-year-old visual arts student from Potomac, Md., and a dual Israeli-American citizen, was struck in the face by a canister fired by a policeman during a violent demonstration on May 31 against Israel's deadly naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla carrying aid and hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists. Nine activists were killed in the raid on the same day.
>snip "We demand a full and transparent investigation from the Israeli government. Certainly, we want an apology," Henochowicz's mother Shelley Kreitman, 54, said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. "She's a beautiful young girl and she's been maimed for life."
Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said Israel is fully cooperating with the U.S. request for an investigation but said an apology would be forthcoming only if the inquiry shows Israel was at fault.
Henochowicz, an artist whose chief icon on her Internet blog is a large eyeball, returned to the U.S. over the weekend and couldn't immediately be reached for comment. Her lawyer, Michael Sfar said he filed a complaint demanding a criminal investigation of the incident.
This is so sad. Emily Henochowicz is a talented artist and human rights activist. You can see some of her artwork on her blog which she named
Thirsty Pixels