Al Zaeem & Associates :: The Senior Partner met the Irish delegation, headed by Irish Foreign Minister Mr. Michael Martin

The Senior Partner met the Irish delegation, headed by Irish Foreign Minister Mr. Michael Martin

25/05/2011

On Thursday, February 25^th 2010, Mr. Al Zaeem met the Irish delegation, headed by Irish Foreign Minister Mr. Michael Martin, along with Political Director and Assistant Secretary General Mr. David Donoghue, Director of Middle East and North Africa, Ms. Pat Kelly, and Mr. Feilim McLaughin, Director of Emergency and Recovery Section at the Department of Foreign Affairs. The meeting took place at the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, where they discussed the current situation in Gaza after the Israeli war and the negative effects of the closure imposed on Gaza Strip.

Mr. Martin's visit to the Gaza Strip was arranged by the UNRWA. He visited hospitals and schools, as well as destroyed cities and towns, and several sites operated by UNRWA in Gaza in order to understand the realities of the situation in which Gazans are living.

In a brief interview, Mr. Martin said that he came to Gaza to see for himself what had transpired in Gaza after it had been targeted by a three-week Israeli military campaign last year.

Mr. Martin, who is known as a critic of the Israeli-led blockade of Gaza, was forced to enter the Gaza Strip via the Egyptian-controlled Rafah crossing after being denied entry through the Erez crossing by Israel. He condemned Israel for denying him entry into the Gaza Strip, claiming no clear reason was given for the decision.

Several western officials have visited Gaza since the war last winter, but Mr. Martin is only the second European minister to visit the region, after Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt in February 2009.

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