German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urges Israel to lift the export embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip, saying economic prosperity is necessary for the impoverished Palestinian enclave.
German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle urged Israel on Sunday to lift the export embargo imposed on the Gaza Strip, saying economic prosperity is necessary for the impoverished Palestinian enclave. Following a meeting with his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, in occupied Jerusalem, Westerwelle said negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and the Israelis would continue to fall in unless Tel Aviv gives the Palestinians a chance to achieve economic progress. "We want to strengthen moderate Palestinian forces, and to do that we need better economic development," AFP quoted Westerwelle as saying. "That is why I called for exports from the Gaza Strip to be permitted and made concrete proposals to my counterpart," he added. Westerwelle, who arrived in the occupied Palestinian territories on Sunday as part of a two-day visit to the occupied Palestinian territories, was scheduled to pay a rare visit to the Gaza Strip and to hold talks with business leaders and representatives of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees. He also made a reference to the stalled talks between the Palestinians and the Israelis, suggesting that the two sides should reach a compromise on the extension of the partial moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank. The German foreign minister is expected to meet with Israeli President Shimon Peres, but not with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is currently in the United States.German FM: Lift Ban on Gaza Exports
