Abbas calls for lifting Gaza blockade

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas Wednesday called on Israel to lift the siege on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

"The siege must be lifted and the crossing points of Gaza should be opened to remove the gloominess on our beloved people who are under siege," Abbas said in a meeting with Gaza businessmen who succeeded to travel to the West Bank.

Israel imposed the blockade on Gaza in June 2007 after Islamic Hamas movement routed pro-Abbas forces and took over security and governmental installations in the enclave.

Abbas told the Gaza delegation that the Palestinian National Authority (PNA) "has presented and will continue to present all available facilities to the Gaza Strip to ease the suffering of the people there."

Yasser al-Wadeya, the head of the Gaza delegation, said the businessmen also talked with Abbas some economic issues, especially the rebuilding of Gaza after Israel's major December-January offensive.

Meanwhile, the two sides discussed the Egyptian efforts to reconcile Hamas and Fatah.