Israeli rejects Gaza truce appeal
2008-06-24 10:42
Jerusalem - Israel's Supreme Court on Monday rejected an appeal by the parents of a soldier held by Palestinian militants against the easing of an Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip under a four-day-old ceasefire.
In a unanimous decision released to the media, the
three-judge panel said that while it understood the plight of
Sergeant Gilad Shalit's family, any court intervention in
political matters must be very limited.
Shalit was captured on June 25, 2006, by Palestinian gunmen
who tunnelled into Israel from the Gaza Strip.
His case is expected to be part of the discussions Prime
Minister Ehud Olmert is scheduled to hold on Tuesday in Egypt
with President Hosni Mubarak.
Egypt brokered a truce that went into effect on Thursday
between Israel and the Gaza Strip's Hamas Islamist rulers.
Guarantee for release
Shalit's family had asked the court to prevent the
implementation of any agreement to ease Israel's blockade of the
Gaza Strip until the soldier was freed or a guarantee for his
release was given.
Israel cut back the supplies of fuel and other goods into
the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized the territory from Palestinian
President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah movement a year ago.
As part of the ceasefire, operations have been stepped up at
the Israeli-run Karni and Sufa crossing, with the flow of goods
set at 30% of the levels before Hamas took over Gaza.
But Gaza's crossing with Egypt, at Rafah, remains closed and
its renewed operation is widely seen as linked to efforts to
secure a prisoner exchange deal between Israel and Hamas.