Israel tells foreign dignitaries not to visit Gaza

Dec 8, 2009, 10:40 GMT

Jerusalem - Israel does not want foreign dignitaries to visit the Gaza Strip, because that would grant undue legitimacy to Hamas, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday.

The Jerusalem Post daily said the government of hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, since taking office in March, had imposed a de-facto ban on the entry of foreign diplomats into Gaza.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor denied the existence of a formal ban, but confirmed that his government objected to visits into Gaza by foreign officials.

He also confirmed that Israel had turned down recent requests to enter Gaza via Israeli territory by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin.

He denied that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner during his visit last month had submitted any request to include Gaza in his itinerary.

'There is no ban, but we feel at this point that Gaza is a territory being controlled by terrorists and should not be visited by foreign ministers or any high-ranking dignitaries,' said Palmor.

'This could only provide legitimacy for a terrorist group who would doubtlessly manipulate the presence of the foreign leader to gain internal and foreign legitimacy,' he told the German Press- Agency dpa.

Palmor was referring to the radical Islamist Hamas movement, which seized sole control of Gaza in June 2007 by overpowering security forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel had no say over the movement of foreign dignitaries into Gaza via Egypt, he said, but those who would seek to enter the coastal enclave via Israeli territory would be told its position against this.

'They can do anything outside Israel. We can't control that. We're not telling them what to do when it's not on Israeli territory, but when it is we can say what the Israeli position is,' he said.

The main crossing point into Gaza from Israel is the Erez terminal, on the northern border of the territory, north of Gaza City.

During and ahead of last winter's Gaza war, Israel for more than two months banned the entry of foreign journalists into the strip, sparking complaints that this was a violation of press freedom.

Journalists have since been allowed to visit the coastal salient, with the exception of those holding Israeli citizenship.