Los Angeles Times website said Monday that two days of “complete clam” on the border between Israel and Gaza have led Israeli army minister Avigdor Lieberman to consider easing sanctions recently imposed on the besieged coastal enclave.
A senior Israeli official familiar with talks over Gaza who was not authorized to speak publicly told Los Angeles Times that a ceasefire deal with Hamas is “virtually done.”
The Israeli official said that the deal would lead to reopening of Karam Abu Salem crossing and expanding the fishing zone in Gaza waters.
Also Monday Nickolay Mladenov the UN special coordinator for the Middle East peace process announced two new programs to help Gaza. One will provide 4400 new short-term jobs and the other will help 200000 “extremely poor Palestinians” buy food for the next six weeks.
Gaza has been blockaded by Israel since 2007. More recently Israel shut down any possibility of importing or exporting consumer goods and launched a wave of deadly and destructive aerial attacks on Gaza.
Last July Israel closed the Karam Abu Salem crossing where hundreds of trucks loaded with goods usually rumble daily in and out of Gaza and also limited the ability of Gazans to fish off the Mediterranean coast.
Even the supply of fuel and gas has been intermittently halted.
Israel claimed that these punitive measures were taken after months of violent protests at the border and as Gazans launched dozens of flaming kites and balloons into Israel burning agricultural fields.
