TEL AVIV, July 09, 2008, (WAFA)-The European Union, Middle East peace envoy Tony Blair and France on Tuesday criticized Israel's checkpoints in the West Bank and blockade of Gaza as preventing an economic recovery there and limiting the impact of international aid, Haaretz reported.


After a regular follow-up meeting on Monday to monitor the aid effort, Blair, French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner and European Union External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner said the international effort's impact would be limited if Israel's roadblocks remained in place.

'Restrictions by the government of Israel on Palestinian movement and access continue to weigh heavily on the economic outlook,' the officials said in a statement issued overnight.

'Without a significant lifting of such barriers in the West Bank, and a relaxation of the restrictions on humanitarian and commercial flows to the Gaza Strip ... any economic recovery will continue to be inhibited,' they said.

Several states, the World Bank and the Quartet of Middle East peace negotiators represented by Blair said in December Israel had to lift the checkpoints that criss-cross the West Bank if it wanted the aid to make a big difference.