An association representing international news organizations is campaigning for an end to an unusual Israeli policy barring foreign reporters from entering Gaza that has lasted for almost two weeks.
The local Foreign Press Association, which represents reporters working for foreign news companies in Israel and the Palestinian territories, asked presidents of major news organizations on Tuesday to sign a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert of Israel protesting the policy. The association said it was also enlisting the help of a number of foreign governments and was consulting with lawyers regarding possible legal action.
Israel has almost sealed the crossing points along its border with Gaza since a five-month cease-fire with Hamas, which controls the strip, began to unravel on Nov. 4.
At least 15 Palestinian militants have been killed in clashes with Israeli forces since, and about 140 rockets and mortar shells have been fired from Gaza into southern Israel, the Israeli military said.
Although Israel has often closed border crossings and halted deliveries of goods and fuel to Gaza in response to rocket fire, foreign journalists have usually been allowed to cross to report.
This time, all movement in and out of Gaza is being halted, except for essential humanitarian cases, said Shlomo Dror, a spokesman for the Israeli Defense Ministry.
“The decision is not directed against journalists,” Mr. Dror said. “The situation in Gaza is clear: There is daily firing, we have information about possible attacks on the crossings and we are limiting our activity there as much as possible.”
Mr. Dror added that he was not “shedding tears” over the journalists’ frustration. He said that Israel, in any case, considered much of their previous coverage from Gaza unfair.
Last week, 20 European consuls who were scheduled to meet with business leaders and human rights advocates in Gaza were denied entry, on grounds that their mission was not strictly humanitarian.
On Monday Israel allowed 33 trucks carrying basic food and medical supplies to enter, as international aid organizations warned that the lack of supplies was jeopardizing their operations in Gaza. Israel has also allowed one limited delivery of fuel, and Mr. Dror said that a number of Gazans in need of medical treatment had been allowed to leave.
He denied that there was a food or fuel crisis in Gaza, and said that the crossings would reopen after the Palestinians stopped firing.
The truce broke down after an Israeli force entered Gaza to destroy a tunnel that the military feared Hamas, the Islamic group that took control of Gaza in 2007, might use to abduct soldiers in a cross-border raid.
On Tuesday, Israeli forces conducted what the military called a “routine operation” along the border fence in southern Gaza, searching for explosives, and, the military said, three rockets were fired from Gaza into southern Israel.
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