Finnish Foreign Minister finally granted entry to Gaza

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The Finnish foreign minister, Alexander Stubb, finally arrived in Gaza this morning (14.10.210) after spending days on the Beit Hanoun or ‘Eretz’ border crossing awaiting permission from the Israeli authorities to be allowed in.

Sources have asserted that Stubb was denied immediate entry on the grounds that his visit could constitute recognition of the Islamic Resistance Movement(Hamas).

The aim of Stubb’s visit is for him to witness the facts and the humanitarian situation in Gaza first hand. At a joint press conference with the director of United Nations Relief and Works Agency [UNWRA], John Ging, he spoke of his shock upon first entering Gaza and witnessing the devastation wrought by both Israel’s most recent and brutal assault and the continuing siege. He extended an invitation to all ministers to visit Gaza and to also witness the reality for themselves.

Israel’s belligerent foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman, challenged EU Foreign Ministers to visit Gaza in order to ascertain that there was no blockade.

Stubb also spoke of the hope that he had witnessed in the people of Gaza intermingled with bitterness and despair as a result of the poverty, tears and destruction. He stressed the need for freedom of  movement for people and goods in and out of the Strip as well as the need to create real opportunity for a just and lasting peaceful settlement to the conflict.

Stubb is expected to visit other areas devastated by the Israeli assault, particularly in the north, where more than 20,000 civilian homes were destroyed along with major damage to the sector’s infrastructure. He is also expected to convene various meetings with Palestinian figures, businessmen, human rights organisations and international bodies.

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MEMO Photographer: Mohammed Asad