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| The German parliament |
In an unusual demonstration of unity against Israeli policy, a German cross-party motion is urging the parliament to call on Tel Aviv Israel to lift the Gaza blockade.
The German parliament is expected to back the motion, urging Israel to immediately lift its comprehensive blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip in 2007.
The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel is under internal pressure to work on the resumption of peace talks in the Middle East and include Hamas in negotiations.
"The living conditions of the civilian population of Gaza must be urgently improved," said the motion, adding that the blockade was counterproductive.
"You shouldn't talk to them (Israelis) in a way which raises their international standing -- unless they show a substantial change in their position," the motion added.
"The motion will be adopted. There's no doubt," Rainer Stinner, foreign policy spokesman for the FDP, told Reuters late Thursday.
The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and the three-year blockade have sparked severe global criticism.
The Israeli onslaught left more than 1,400 Palestinians killed and thousands of others wounded.
International pressure on Tel Aviv increased following Israel's vicious May 31 attack on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
Nine Turkish activists were killed in the attack and more than 50 others were injured in the attack.
The German parliament is expected to back the motion, urging Israel to immediately lift its comprehensive blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip in 2007.
The government of Chancellor Angela Merkel is under internal pressure to work on the resumption of peace talks in the Middle East and include Hamas in negotiations.
"The living conditions of the civilian population of Gaza must be urgently improved," said the motion, adding that the blockade was counterproductive.
"You shouldn't talk to them (Israelis) in a way which raises their international standing -- unless they show a substantial change in their position," the motion added.
"The motion will be adopted. There's no doubt," Rainer Stinner, foreign policy spokesman for the FDP, told Reuters late Thursday.
The Israeli invasion of the Gaza Strip in December 2008 and the three-year blockade have sparked severe global criticism.
The Israeli onslaught left more than 1,400 Palestinians killed and thousands of others wounded.
International pressure on Tel Aviv increased following Israel's vicious May 31 attack on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza.
Nine Turkish activists were killed in the attack and more than 50 others were injured in the attack.
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