The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has released a report slamming Israel’s frequent closings of border crossings with Gaza. The international body said the quality of life for PA Arabs is worse now that it was a year ago, prior to the signing of the Agreement on Movement and Access.
The accord promised that control over the Rafiah crossing would be transferred to Egypt after a year of video surveillance by Israeli security personnel and on-site monitoring by European Union observers.
People, goods and services have been stalled on one side of the border or the other for weeks at a time as a result of terror alerts and other security concerns.
For example, the Rafiah and Kerem Shalom border crossings with southern Gaza were closed in March after the EU observers fled the area, as a result of the numerous kidnappings of foreign nationals by terrorists in Gaza.
IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in a cross-border raid on an army post near the Kerem Shalom crossing on June 25. Shalit’s whereabouts and condition are still unknown, and negotiations for his release have dragged on for months.
Significant prisoner swap deals brokered by Egyptian intelligence officials have been repeatedly rejected by Damascus-based Hamas politburo chief and arch-terrorist Khaled Meshaal.
The most recent offer came in a speech by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a memorial service for the first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion.
"I hereby declare that when Gilad Shalit is released and returned to his family, safe and sound, the Government of Israel will be willing to release numerous Palestinian prisoners – including ones who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms – in order to increase the trust between us and prove that our hand is truly extended in genuine peace," said Olmert.
The Prime Minister made no such offer to Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon, however. IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped by the terrorists in an attack at the northern Israel-Lebanon border in July. The incident touched off a second Lebanon War between the two countries as a result.
According to Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) and Ma’ariv reports, in a Tuesday night closed-door meeting with EU diplomats, Olmert stated that Israel will not accommodate Hizbullah requests “at any price”.
The prime minister was also quoted as saying Israel will not release prisoners in exchange for bodies.
As with Shalit in the south, Goldwasser and Regev have not been seen by anyone, nor has their been any information about their condition since their capture.
While it is presumed they are alive, all three prisoners of war were wounded in the attacks that led to their capture. Their terrorist kidnappers have not permitted anyone to visit with them to confirm their status.
Representatives of the International Red Cross have also not been given any information nor permitted to see them – a direct of the Geneva Conventions.
The accord promised that control over the Rafiah crossing would be transferred to Egypt after a year of video surveillance by Israeli security personnel and on-site monitoring by European Union observers.
People, goods and services have been stalled on one side of the border or the other for weeks at a time as a result of terror alerts and other security concerns.
For example, the Rafiah and Kerem Shalom border crossings with southern Gaza were closed in March after the EU observers fled the area, as a result of the numerous kidnappings of foreign nationals by terrorists in Gaza.
IDF Corporal Gilad Shalit was kidnapped by Hamas terrorists in a cross-border raid on an army post near the Kerem Shalom crossing on June 25. Shalit’s whereabouts and condition are still unknown, and negotiations for his release have dragged on for months.
Significant prisoner swap deals brokered by Egyptian intelligence officials have been repeatedly rejected by Damascus-based Hamas politburo chief and arch-terrorist Khaled Meshaal.
The most recent offer came in a speech by Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at a memorial service for the first Prime Minister of Israel, David Ben Gurion.
"I hereby declare that when Gilad Shalit is released and returned to his family, safe and sound, the Government of Israel will be willing to release numerous Palestinian prisoners – including ones who were sentenced to lengthy prison terms – in order to increase the trust between us and prove that our hand is truly extended in genuine peace," said Olmert.
The Prime Minister made no such offer to Hizbullah terrorists in Lebanon, however. IDF reservists Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev were kidnapped by the terrorists in an attack at the northern Israel-Lebanon border in July. The incident touched off a second Lebanon War between the two countries as a result.
According to Galei Tzahal (Army Radio) and Ma’ariv reports, in a Tuesday night closed-door meeting with EU diplomats, Olmert stated that Israel will not accommodate Hizbullah requests “at any price”.
The prime minister was also quoted as saying Israel will not release prisoners in exchange for bodies.
As with Shalit in the south, Goldwasser and Regev have not been seen by anyone, nor has their been any information about their condition since their capture.
While it is presumed they are alive, all three prisoners of war were wounded in the attacks that led to their capture. Their terrorist kidnappers have not permitted anyone to visit with them to confirm their status.
Representatives of the International Red Cross have also not been given any information nor permitted to see them – a direct of the Geneva Conventions.