PARIS, June 13, 2010 (WAFA)-Presidency Spokesperson Nabil Abu Rdeina denied on Sunday reports in the Israeli daily Haaretz saying that President Mahmoud Abbas told U.S. President Barack Obama during his recent visit to Washington that he opposed the lifting of the naval blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip.

Abu Rdeina told WAFA that Abbas had told Obama that the lifting of the blockade on Gaza was like the peace process in the sense that Abbas has raised the demand to lift the blockade in all his meetings with world leaders.

'The world should take advantage of the assault of the Gaza flotilla to push Israel to lift the blockade and end the suffering of Gaza's citizens,' Abu Rdeina, added. “This would be a good opportunity to revive the Middle East peace process.