Beit Hanoun, Gaza Strip: Relatives of Palestinians held in Israeli jails flung slippers yesterday at an armoured convoy carrying visiting UN chief Ban Ki-moon and tried to block the vehicles from entering the Gaza Strip.
About 40 relatives of Palestinian prisoners gathered at the Erez Crossing between Gaza and Israel, hoisting posters with pictures of their loved ones and signs in English and Arabic reading, ‘Ban Ki-moon, enough bias to Israel.'
Two of them threw slippers at his car — an insulting gesture mostly associated with an Iraqi protester who hurled shoes at former US President George W. Bush at a news conference in Baghdad in 2008.
The Gaza prisoners' relatives, angry that Ban would not be meeting with them, formed a human chain at the crossing in an effort to block his vehicle, but Hamas security forces moved them away so Ban could enter the coastal territory.
"We came here in a symbolic message to Mr Ban Ki-moon that Palestinians from Gaza want to have the right to visit their children and loved ones in Israeli jails," said Jamal Farwana, a spokesman for Gaza prisoners' families. "He should make more of an effort to release the prisoners and we wonder why every time he avoids meeting families of Palestinian prisoners."
Israel holds about 7,000 Palestinian prisoners. Relatives haven't been able to visit since 2006 because of strict restrictions on who can enter Israel from the coastal strip, which is run by Hamas militants violently opposed to Israel.
‘Lift the siege'
Ban is hoping to try to keep informal talks between Palestinians and Israelis going. In Gaza, he met with UN relief officials, aid groups and human rights organisations. He also visited a UN-funded housing project in southern Gaza, where protesters held up signs saying, ‘We want to lift the siege on Gaza', referring to Israeli restrictions.
Ban's visit is being secured by Hamas security forces, but he will not be meeting with members of the Hamas government — shunned internationally over their refusal to renounce violence.
