EU foreign policy chief says pressure mounting for lifting of Gaza blockade

Luxembourg: EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton says the EU is increasing pressure on Israel to lift the Gaza blockade that has left the territory's 1.5 million Palestinians mired in poverty.

A draft statement on Monday by EU foreign ministers meeting ahead of a summit of the bloc's 27 heads of government described the three-year-old Israeli blockade as "unacceptable and counterproductive".

The European Union has reacted angrily to the Israeli commando raid, which resulted in the deaths of nine Turkish activists. It has joined in the international push that gained momentum after the naval attack.

Spain, which holds the EU's rotating chairmanship, said on Saturday it will propose the bloc exert strong diplomatic pressure on Israel to end the closure.