UN calls for opening of Israeli and Egyptian Gaza crossings

The spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, Stéphane Dujarric, called on Wednesday for the opening of Israeli and Egyptian crossings with the Gaza Strip, Anadolu agency reported.

In a press conference, Dujarric said that Ki-Moon had been exerting concerted effort on the matter, including issuing repeated calls for Israel and Egypt to end the siege that has been imposed on Gaza since 2007.

Dujarric said that the continuous closure of the crossings is one of the reasons that for the slow reconstruction of buildings and infrastructure destroyed in last year’s Israeli war.

On 16 September last year, the Israelis reached an agreement with the PA to allow the entrance of construction material to the Strip.

The UN official also blamed the stalled political efforts and the difficult situation inside the Gaza Strip for the poor conditions enforced on ordinary Gazans.