Palestinian protesters block French FM's vehicle in Gaza

Dozens angry at her stance on Schalit prisoner deal surround Alliot-Marie's convoy, try to block passage through Erez Crossing.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Palestinians protest French foreign minister 311 (photo credit: AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Palestinians protest French foreign minister 311
(photo credit: AP Photo/Adel Hana)
Dozens of furious Palestinians protested against the French foreign minister on a visit to the Gaza Strip on Friday, pelting her motorcade with eggs and narrowly missing her with a lobbed shoe.
The protesters, relatives of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli prisons, were angry about comments Michele Alliot-Marie reportedly made the day before in support of kipnapped soldier Gilad Schalit.
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Protesters were waiting for Alliot-Marie as she crossed from Israel into Gaza through the Erez Crossing, lying on the road and jumping on her vehicle. Hamas police eventually dispersed those protesters, but more gathered outside a United Nations office in Gaza City that was her first stop in the Palestinian territory, and later followed her to a nearby hospital, pelting her motorcade with eggs. AP Television footage showed Alliot-Marie narrowly dodging a shoe thrown by a protester as she climbed into a jeep under heavy guard.
Schalit, is an Israeli-French dual national and France has repeatedly called for his release.
Alliot-Marie made no public statement Thursday after meeting with Schalit's parents in Jerusalem, but the soldier's father, Noam Schalit, said afterward that the minister had called on Hamas to allow the Red Cross to visit his son for the first time. He referred to his son's capture as a "war crime."
The Palestinians linked the comments to Alliot-Marie, although she did not say anything publicly before or after the meeting.
Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said the statements reflected a "total bias toward Israel" and ignored the thousands of Palestinians held in Israeli prisons. "They are the true prisoners of war," he said.
Hamas is demanding that Israel release hundreds of Hamas prisoners, including militants behind deadly attacks against Israelis, in return for Schalit. Talks facilitated by a German mediator have produced no result. Schalit has been seen by no one but his captors since 2006. A videotape released in 2009 showed him talking and reading a newspaper.
In keeping with the policy of the European Union, which considers Hamas a terror organization, Alliot-Marie did not meet with Hamas officials during her half-day visit.
Speaking at a French cultural center in Gaza, Alliot-Marie called for the establishment of a Palestinian state and security for Israel. She also called on Israel to fully lift all restrictions on goods and people coming and out of Gaza.