Olmert: As far as I'm concerned, Gazans can keep walking

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Speaking at the Kadima faction meeting, Prime Minister Olmert said: "In the South, there is a war. We are not fighting Gaza residents not involved in terror. We will reach people involved in terror. We won't let there be a humanitarian crisis in Gaza. But we cannot let Israeli residents near Gaza live in fear day and night while people move freely in Gaza" "As far as I'm concerned, let all of Gaza walk on foot and not have fuel for their cars, because they have a murderous regime that won't let people in southern Israel live their lives. We won't let there be a humanitarian crisis that will affect hospitals". Olmert's statement came as complaints poured in from the Gaza strip that hospitals were already affected. Hospitals were operating on emergency mode, running only emergency rooms and turning away patients with anything but immediately life-threatening conditions. NGOs "Gisha" and "Adallah" filed urgent petitions to the Supreme Court, saying the blockade was causing great damage to civilian life in Gaza. Gil Hoffman contributed to this report