SYRIA SAYS ISRAEL BLOCKS CITRUS EXPORT FROM GAZA
Syria has complained to the
United Nations that Israeli occupation authorities were
blocking the export of citrus fruit from the Gaza Strip to the
countries of the European Community, EC.
    In a letter to Secretary General Javier Perez de Cuellar,
published here today, Syrian U.N. charge d'affaires Abdul
Mou'men Al-Atassi said: "These measures threaten to create a
slump in citrus production, which constitutes the primary
source of income in the Gaza Strip....They are causing heavy
losses to farmers and all those working in the field of citrus
production and threaten to bring about economic disaster."
    The Syrian envoy said the Israel action was a violation of
the Geneva Conventions, the U.N. Charter and the "legitimacy of
the economic rights endorsed by the United Nations."
    The Gaza Strip, occupied by Egypt in the 1948 Arab-Israel
war, was captured by Israel in the 1967 Middle East war.
 Reuter
