Increasingly isolated Israel 'liberalizes' blockade of Gaza

In an update to one of the Memphis Conservative Examiner's earlier stories surrounding the Israeli blockade of Gaza and attack on Israeli soldiers by so-called “peaceful” activists, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed to lighten the blockade placed against Hamas-controlled Gaza in the south of Judea, which is officially a joint Egyptian-Israeli effort.

BBC News reports that Mr. Netanyahu has declared his administration will '"liberalise the system by which civilian goods enter Gaza"; "expand the inflow of materials for civilian projects that are under international supervision"; and "continue existing security procedures to prevent the inflow of weapons and war material".' The blockade of Gaza is a result of the control of the region by the anti-Israeli terrorist organization Hamas, which holds the support of the majority of the 1.4 million residents of the small strip of land.

The blockade will continue to prevent landing by sea and the flow of arms and weaponry into the region, but the Israeli government has agreed to oversee the flow of humanitarian aid across the buffer-zone created to contain Hamas violence. Hamas has, unsurprisingly, issued statements that the “liberalization” of the blockade is insufficient, calling the food, clothing, and luxury goods that Israel has agreed to regularly ship into Gaza 'trivial and secondary'.

The agreement of the Israeli government to send in more food and supplies and to consider sending in construction materials, heretofore denied because they would enable Hamas to fortify their bases, has been met with suspicion in Europe and hostility from the Arabs. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad called the Netanyahu administration a 'pyromaniac government' and said there was no chance for peace with Israel.

The decision to lighten the blockade has not generated any positive reactions, and even strong proponent of Israel Tony Blair has begun to turn skeptical toward the Jewish State, joining US leftists in moving towards an even further isolated Israel. The general tensions in the region, however, remain largely unchanged, and despite comments from Hamas, war remains undesirable to all legitimate parties.