France Says Blockade Must End
Joseph S. Mayton - All Headline News Middle East Correspondent Beirut, Lebanon (AHN) - France said Wednesday that Israeli's sea and air blockade of Lebanon must be ended. Foreign Minister Phillippe Douste-Blazy added that United Nations forces should maintain a strict enforcement of the embargo on arms to the country. "I will today ask the Israeli foreign minister, who is coming to Paris to meet with me, to lift the blockade on ports and airports because we cannot continue like this," Douste-Blazy told France 2 television. He said that if Lebanon is to reconstruct, everything possible economically must be undertaken and the blockade is one of those impediments. Israel imposed a total embargo on its northern neighbor almost immediately following the beginning of their offensive against Hizbollah on July 12. It has remained in place despite the UN-brokered ceasefire that went into effect on August 14. France has repeatedly called on Israel to lift the blockade, most recently on Douste-Blazy's trip to Beirut on August 16.
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