A top security official warned this week that Israel would open itself to grave danger by lifting its three-year naval blockade of Gaza, but did not oppose easing the embargo to allow more goods in through Israeli-controlled land crossings.
Yuval Diskin, head of Israel’s Shin Bet internal security agency, also told a parliament committee that Gaza militants possess 5,000 rockets, Israel’s most specific estimate yet. Diskin’s closed-door testimony was offered by an unnamed participant.
The embargo — meant to keep weapons from reaching militants and to turn ordinary Gazans against their Hamas rulers — has come under heavy international scrutiny since the May 31 death of nine activists by Israeli commandos who were intercepting a blockade-busting flotilla.
Israel has been easing its land blockade of Gaza since the event. But Diskin warned against ending the naval closure.
Meanwhile, the International Red Cross charged this week that the blockade constitutes “collective punishment” in violation of international law. — ap