Clegg says Gaza blockade should end
Updated on 02 June 2010
Amid worldwide condemnation of Israel, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg describes the country's blockade of Gaza as a "human catastrophe" and backs calls for it to be lifted.
Israel argues that the blockade was imposed to ensure that weapons are not smuggled to Hamas, which has controlled Gaza since 2007, writes David Weisbloom for Channel 4 News.
Mr Clegg, who campaigned against the blockade as Liberal Democrat leader before joining the coalition government, told BBC Radio 4's Today programme that Israel had "every right" to protect itself from terrorism.
But he added: "However, is it in Israel's long-term security interest to have so many people confined in that way? No, I don't think it is - and what I ask my Israeli friends and Israeli politicians and officials I meet is, 'What's the strategy? Where do you go next?, How are you going to secure in the long term, not just day to day, the security which you rightly crave?
"It (the blockade) is an absolute humanitarian catastrophe, and we should acknowledge it as such, but it is also not in Israel's own long-term self-interest.
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"So the events of the last 24-48 hours confirm in my mind, as they do if you hear what William Hague and David Cameron have done and everyone in government, the view that the blockade on Gaza is neither sustainable nor tenable in its present form."
An Israeli official said there was an "ongoing dialogue" with the international community on how to improve the flow of goods into Gaza.
Egypt said it was opening its border with Gaza for the first time in more than a year to allow in humanitarian aid.
The US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said: "Israel's legitimate security needs must be met, just as the Palestinians' legitimate needs for sustained humanitarian assistance and regular access to reconstruction materials must also be assured."
She said America would continue to push for Gaza and the West Bank to be unified as part of a "two state" solution negotiated with Israel.
"This incident underscores the urgency of reaching this goal and we remain committed to working with both sides to move forward these negotiations."
US Middle East peace negotiator George Mitchell was on his way to the region yesterday for indirect peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said the administration expected the talks to go ahead.
Many of the activists on the ships, and some of those killed, were Turkish, and the attack has strained relations between two countries - one Jewish, the other Muslim - that have in the past enjoyed good relations and co-operated in the defence field.
The Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said the psychological effect for Turks was similar to the way Americans felt after the 9/11 attacks on New York.
Israel is reported to have ordered the families of its embassy staff in Turkey to leave the country, but a spokesman for the Israeli foreign ministry refused to confirm this.
There has been worldwide criticism of Israel, with the French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner saying the country's reputation had been damaged.
On French radio station RTL, he was asked if a country had the right to intervene in international waters, as Israel had done.
He said : "In international waters, one does not, nobody has the right to intervene. It was done in an extremely detrimental manner for the very image of Israel."
But Mrs Clinton was wary of adding America's voice to some of the most forthright criticism.
"I think the situation from our perspective is very difficult and requires careful, thoughtful responses from all concerned," she said after a meeting with Mr Davutoglu.
"We support an Israeli investigation that meets those criteria. We are open to different ways of ensuring a credible investigation including international participation."
A State Department spokesman said the US would work with the UN Security Council on how "an international element" could feature in the investigation.
An unnamed senior administration official told the Reuters news agency that mistakes had been made by Israel and the organisers of the aid convoy.
"We believe that there was a good-faith effort to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.
"By the same token, the organisers of the flotilla were clearly seeking a confrontation, and tragically they got one," he said.
