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World Jewish News
'US, Europe agree on program to combat arms flow to Gaza'
14.03.2009
Interception at sea, information sharing and diplomatic pressure were among the methods agreed upon by the US, UK, Canada, and six European countries on Friday in order to try and prevent arms from entering the Gaza Strip.
An unnamed British official said that experts from the nine states, meeting in London, agreed on a program of action to stop the weapons flow into Gaza, Reuters reported late Friday night.
The Jerusalem Post could not independently confirm the report.
Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway signed onto the program, which set guidelines for steps they could take under international law, the UK diplomat reportedly said.
According to the report, the program stated that the nine nations will "take action, to the extent that national legal authorities permit and consistent with international law, to support interdiction efforts."
The program provides "a platform to start some form of practical cooperation," the British diplomat was quoted by the news agency as saying.
However, the official reportedly noted that the nations, all NATO members, were not obliged to join any particular action.
The program reportedly went on to state that while ships would not use force, efforts to prevent arms from reaching the Strip "may include inquiry, boarding, searching, stopping, seizing, or other efforts necessary to prevent transfers of arms, ammunition and weapons components."
In addition, the international experts proposed cooperation to put diplomatic pressure on countries involved to stop weapons reaching Gaza and sharing information about points of origin, carriers and transit routes of suspected arms shipments to the Strip, Reuters reported.
Источник: JPost.com
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