Envoy Presses for Deal on Gaza Crossings

[norml]

Envoy Presses for Deal on Gaza Crossings

Sunday November 13, 2005 4:16 PM


AP Photo JRL116

By IBRAHIM BARZAK

Associated Press Writer

KARNI CROSSING, Gaza Strip (AP) - A top Mideast envoy warned Sunday that the Gaza Strip was in danger of becoming a giant prison if Israel and the Palestinians do not conclude an elusive deal on Gaza's border crossings, an official close to the mediator said.

Palestinians want accommodations that would speed up the flow of goods to revive their shattered economy and allow them freer movement. For Israel, security considerations remain paramount.

International envoy James Wolfensohn is frustrated because after five months of talks, Israel and the Palestinians have not been able to clinch an accord on crossings between Gaza and Israel or the key Gaza crossing into Egypt, an official close to Wolfensohn said on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak to the media.

If the talks do not come to fruition, Gazans will not be able to leave the coastal strip, and that sounds like a giant prison, the official quoted Wolfensohn as saying.


snip


http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-5412109,00.html