UN Rts Chief: Israel Must Lift Restrictions On Aid To Gaza

GENEVA (AP)--Israel must lift restrictions on delivery of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip, the U.N.'s top human rights official said Wednesday.

Louise Arbour, U.N. high commissioner for human rights, said the "level of desperation" among the Palestinians became apparent earlier Wednesday when tens of thousands of Gazans poured into Egypt after gunmen used land mines to blast down parts of an Israeli-built barrier between the two territories.

"The 1.4 million people of Gaza live under abhorrent conditions," she told an emergency meeting of the 47-member U.N. human rights council called by Syria and Pakistan and supported by 20 other countries.

Israel closed off much of the flow of goods and people across Gaza's borders a week ago in response to ongoing rocket attacks onto its territory by Palestinian militants. The blockade was eased slightly Tuesday when Israel transferred fuel to restart Gaza's only power plant, and also sent in some cooking gas, food and medicine.

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