Israel, Egypt ease blockade of Gaza Strip

June 2, 2010 at 12:00a.m.

Associated Press

JERUSALEM

Israel and Egypt signaled a temporary easing of the Gaza Strip blockade Tuesday in the wake of harsh international condemnation of the deadly Israeli raid on an aid flotilla en route to the sealed-off Palestinian territory.

Egypt said it was freely opening its border with Gaza for the first time in more than a year to allow in humanitarian aid, setting off a mad rush to the crossing by thousands of residents, while an Israeli official said there is an “ongoing dialogue” with the international community on how to expand the amount of goods entering the area.

At the same time, Israel began expelling some of the nearly 700 activists it rounded up in the naval raid and strongly rejected criticism that its tactics were heavy- handed. The government said late Tuesday it would deport almost all of them within the next two days, but about 50 would be held for investigation into their part in the violence at sea.

Israel pledged to halt a new attempt by pro-Palestinian groups to sail more ships into Gaza and claimed some of the arrested activists carried weapons and large quantities of cash, raising questions about whether they were mercenaries.

Worldwide condemnation has been flooding in since Israeli naval commandos halted the aid flotilla in international waters overnight Monday, setting off a melee that left nine activists dead and dozens wounded. Turkey, an unofficial backer of the flotilla, has led the criticism, accusing Israel of committing a “massacre,” and the U.N. Security Council demanded an impartial investigation.

There were signs, however, that the long-term strategic partnership between Israel and Turkey — the Jewish state’s most important Muslim ally — would endure.

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak spoke to his Turkish counterpart Tuesday, and they agreed the raid wouldn’t affect weapons deals, defense officials said.