(MENAFN- Kuwait News Agency (KUNA)) BRUSSELS, Sept 18 (KUNA) -- The Israeli authorities have once again refused the European Parliament's delegation for relations with Palestine permission to enter the Gaza Strip.
The six-member EP delegation had formally requested clearance to enter the Gaza Strip as part of a three-day mission to Palestine, said an EP press release Tuesday.
The purpose of the visit is to monitor the humanitarian situation caused by a decade of blockade, assess the destruction in the area following the armed conflicts, evaluate reconstruction efforts and visit a number of development projects funded by the European Union. This includes a newly constructed desalination plant providing fresh water to 75,000 people.
But the MEPs were prevented from entering the poverty-stricken Gaza Strip by the Israeli authorities. Israel has repeatedly denied the delegation access to visit the Strip since 2011, it noted.
The EP delegation started its work in East Jerusalem and other parts of the Occupied West Bank on Tuesday and was set to visit Gaza on Thursday.
"Denying the European Parliament entry to Gaza has become systematic. It is arbitrary and unacceptable. For years, Israeli authorities have prevented us from meeting with Palestinians in Gaza and witness the situation for ourselves, despite the need to assess the humanitarian and development aid provided by the European Union and European governments that keeps Gaza afloat.
It is clear that Israel is ashamed and afraid of letting us witness the dire situation that the people of Gaza live in today," delegation chair Neoklis Sylikiotis said, calling for an immediate end to the blockade.
"We call on the international community to put pressure on Israel to put an end to the blockade of Gaza", he added. (end) nk.bs
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