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Israel Lifts Gaza Total Closure After Elections

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Israel on Wednesday lifted a full closure on Gaza Strip and opened all commercial crossing points before the delivery of limited aid and basic food stuff, Palestinian officials said.

The blockade tightened Tuesday due to the Israeli elections.

Ra'ed Fatouh of the crossings' coordination committee said that three crossings will be open Wednesday before aid trucks and fuel needed for running the only power plant in Gaza Strip.

The reopening of the crossings means the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) will be able to resume food distributing to the Palestinian refugees and those who were displaced as a result of the last Israeli war into the impoverished territory.

"86 trucks will pass through Kerem Shalom crossing, 30 of them will go for the UNRWA and 22 for the World Food Program," Fatouh said.

The UNRWA suspended its operations in Gaza last Friday after it accused Hamas, the Islamic movement which controls Gaza, of seizing tons of aid allocated for the largest relief organization in the Palestinian territories. The UNRWA called off the suspension Tuesday after Hamas returned the aid.

Another 70 trucks, laden with wheat and animal fodder, will make their way through Karni crossing in eastern Gaza city while the nearby Nahal Oz crossing will be open to allow 500,000 liters of industrial diesel in for the power station.

(Xinhua News Agency February 12, 2009)

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