Germany’s foreign minister paid a rare visit Monday to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to ease a blockade on the territory and urging Hamas to make sure no more rockets are fired into Israel.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the latest in a series of Western diplomats to tour Gaza since a 50-day war with Israel last summer. While international donors have pledged billions of dollars in aid, little reconstruction has taken place on the estimated 18,000 homes destroyed in the fighting.
Steinmeier said that more efforts are needed to rebuild and to improve the economy. He said, “This requires the opening of crossing points by Israel.” (READ MORE)
