国际英语新闻：Gazans seek EU role to end blockade upon Ashton's visit

"Israel tries to show the world that it is changing the reality of the siege and relaxing it, but on the ground, it still completely closes all the commercial crossings of the Gaza Strip and bans raw-materials for industry and construction materials," al-Khodari said in a letter to Ashton.

He stressed that it is impossible to speak about easing the siege without allowing all kinds of goods, products and items into the Gaza Strip. Before Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza, around 4,000 items were allowed in Gaza, but so far only around 200 items are now allowed.

The EU had proposed to send its inspectors to the commercial crossings between the Gaza Strip and Israel and to Rafah border crossing between the enclave and Egypt. The EU inspectors, who were previously present at Rafah crossing, left the Gaza Strip after Hamas seized control of the enclave in June 2007.

Meanwhile, around 20 Palestinian non-governmental organizations (NGO) urged Ashton to help the Palestinians to end the Israeli blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. They said in a letter to Ashton that the EU should work on ending the blockade and not on relaxing it.

Palestinian officials and experts ruled out on Saturday that the Israeli relaxing of the blockade would change the hard living conditions in the Gaza Strip "as long as Israel keeps banning raw- materials for industry and materials for construction."

Mo'een Rajab, a professor of economy at the Gaza-based al-Azhar University, told Xinhua that the Palestinians are waiting for Ashton to announce about a new mechanism that leads to completely ending the blockade and rebuilding the destroyed houses and infrastructure of the Gaza Strip.