Turkey: Siege relief insufficient

Following the government's decision to ease the Gaza blockade, the Turkish Foreign Ministry on Tuesday issued its first official statement on the matter, saying the step was positive but "insufficient."

In its statement, the Ministry denounced the blockade as inhumane and urged Israel to lift it entirely. It also said Turkey will continue its efforts to deliver aid to the region.

The Israeli Cabinet on Sunday announced it would lift the blanket restriction on transfer of goods into the Gaza Strip, and decided to compile a list of banned items that are considered "combat related."

Many observers said the decision was taken because the government caved in to international pressure following the flotilla incident.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday that "the effectiveness of the civilian blockade has diminished with time, which gave Hamas a propaganda advantage."

Netanyahu stressed that he had considered lifting the civilian blockade as early as on June 9, "in order to tighten the security blockade and the international support for it.

"We have taken the right decision for Israel from a security and political point of view, because we have taken away Hamas' ability to blame Israel for harming the civilian population and because our friends around the world are backing us on this decision and granting legitimacy to the continued security blockade against Hamas," Netanyahu said.