Dubai: The United Nations on Sunday called the Israeli blockade of Gaza "unacceptable" amid increasing calls to end the illegal siege and a proposal by the UN chief to conduct a multinational investigation of the Israeli attack on the Gaza-bound aid ship last week.
The blockade is "unacceptable, counterproductive, [and] very damaging for the people of Gaza," John Holmes, UN Under Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs said.
Britain, too, joined a growing chorus of calls for Israel to end the blockade.
"The humanitarian situation in Gaza is both unacceptable and unsustainable," International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell said.
The calls came as UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon suggested establishing a panel headed by former New Zealand prime minister Geoffrey Palmer.
Turkey's Ambassador to the United States, Namik Tan, in an opinion piece in Gulf News today, says the Free Gaza flotilla was "a humanitarian initiative".
In Tehran, a representative of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said the Revolutionary Guards are ready to provide a military escort to cargo ships trying to break the Gaza blockade.
