cheese-wire.com

Israel is lifting restrictions on cheese entering Gaza, outgoing Prime Minister Ehud Olmert says, announcing an end to one of the more bizarre blockades on the Palestinian enclave.

U.S. President Barack Obama had protested the embargo on cheese and other foodstuffs, including pasta, certain types of noodles and fruit preserves, to 1.5 million conflict-hit Palestinians.

The move to lift the restriction comes two months after Gaza was subjected to a major military offensive by Israel aimed at halting rocket attacks on Israeli targets by militants linked to the Hamas movement that seized the territory in 2007.

More than 1,300 Palestinians were killed and 5,000 homes were destroyed in the offensive. The United Nations said the military action and a tight blockade on Gaza pushed the area to the brink of humanitarian disaster.

Reuters reported on Monday that Olmert’s office has informed the United States, the European Union and the United Nations that all “foodstuff” would now be allowed into Gaza.

“The policy of the government is clear. All food is humanitarian and all humanitarian supplies can go through, as is our policy,” a senior Israeli official said, according to Reuters.

“We have made sure that that is clear,” a senior Israeli official said. “We want the process to be streamlined.

Cheese-wire has no information which cheeses were being affected by the blockade. Research indicates haloumi and feta are both popular in the territory.