After deadly Israel raid, U.S. to push for new way to deal with Gaza aid
This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.
President Obama on Wednesday called for a new approach to dealing with Israel’s blockade of Gaza and said the United States would provide about $400 million in aid to improve the daily life of Palestinians.
Speaking after a White House meeting with Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas, Obama in televised remarks called the situation in Gaza “unsustainable.” On May 31, nine people died in an Israeli raid on a flotilla of ships bound for Gaza with humanitarian aid.
“If we can get a new conceptual framework,” Obama said, “it seems to me we should be able to take what has been a tragedy and turn it into an opportunity and create a situation where lives in Gaza are actually directly improved.”
Israel has insisted that its blockade of Gaza is necessary for security reasons. The danger of arms and terrorist material being smuggled into Hamas-controlled Gaza is high, Israel argues, so all shipments must be examined. Hamas is considered a terrorist group by Israel and the United States.
Obama, as he had before, defended Israel. “The key to dealing with the issue is making sure that Israel’s security needs are met but that the needs of people in Gaza are also met,” Obama said.
“It seems to us that there should be ways of focusing narrowly on arms shipments rather than focusing in a blanket way on stopping everything and then in a piecemeal way allowing things into Gaza,” Obama said with Abbas at his side.
Obama said the only real solution in the Middle East is the two-state one: Israel and a Palestinian state in the region. “Both sides have to create an environment, a climate that will be conducive to an actual breakthrough” in any peace talks, Obama said.
Meanwhile, the administration announced it was moving ahead with $400 million in aid for Palestinians on the West Bank and Gaza. The money will go for projects such as health and water, job creation and housing.
-- Michael Muskal
