A two-day conference hosted by Denmark on how to halt arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip opened on Wednesday, the Dutch foreign ministry said.Israel has stood firm on not opening the borders until the arms smuggling is stopped--and it looks like there may be results. Of course there is no mention of weakening or phasing out Hamas as part of the process, but the meeting is a good beginning.
The meeting was organized in conjunction with the United States to review how international help could be offered to prevent weapons smuggling, legal issues as well as charting the routes used by smugglers. It includes officials from the United States, several European Union member states and Norway.
Preventing the flow of arms to Hamas-controlled Gaza was one of the conditions Israel demanded on ending its 22-day offensive on Gaza last month.
'The expert meeting is a significant contribution to further the international community's collective efforts to ensure a lasting ceasefire and to improve the situation for the populations in the area, including the suffering Palestinian population in Gaza,' Danish Foreign Minister Per Stig Moller said in a statement.
Technorati Tag: Israel and Gaza and Hamas and Operation Cast Lead.
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