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Israel tells foreign dignitaries not to visit Gaza
Israel does not want foreign dignitaries to visit the Gaza Strip, because that would grant undue legitimacy to Hamas, a foreign ministry official said Tuesday.
The Jerusalem Post daily said the government of hardline Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, since taking office in March, had imposed a de-facto ban on the entry of foreign diplomats into Gaza.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor denied the existence of a formal ban, but confirmed that his government objected to visits into Gaza by foreign officials.
He also confirmed that Israel had turned down recent requests to enter Gaza via Israeli territory by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Irish Foreign Minister Michael Martin.
He denied that French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner during his visit last month had submitted any request to include Gaza in his itinerary.