Gaza Strip: French Foreign Minister Alliot-Marie pelted with shoes

The first visit of French Foreign Minister Alliot-Marie in the Gaza Strip began with sharp protests. The demonstrators accused her of being too pro-Israel. Some Palestinians pelted the convoy with shoes. Gaza - A visit by French Foreign Minister Michele Alliot-Marie in the Gaza Strip has been accompanied by protests of angry Palestinians on Friday.

The convoy was pelted the politician when entering the area with shoes. Alliot-Marie has attracted the wrath of a visit to the father of the kidnapped in 2006 by Palestinian extremists, Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. One of the approximately 50 protesters climbed onto the car of the Minister.


"There is Gilad Shalit, as well as 7000 Palestinian prisoners," was written on a banner. The demonstrators received Alliot-Marie also on their arrival at a hospital that was renovated in December, with financial help from France. There boos rang out to meet her, until she entered the building, she was surrounded by the angry people intervened to security forces and which relegates the demonstrators.

At the protests, the Foreign Minister responded calmly. You can understand by the demonstrators located mothers and their concerns, she said. Given the small number of participants of the rally she was but remained calm. During her conversation with Gilad's father Noam Shalit, who is also a French citizen, is that the arrest had described his son as "war crimes".

The Arabic-language program of the Israeli radio said the statement but later Alliot-Maire. In fact, she had said that the European Union should work to ensure that Shalit might be visited by the Red Cross. The radical Islamic Hamas organization accused Alliot-Marie, she was biased because it failed to mention thousands of Palestinians who are imprisoned in Israeli jails.

A Hamas-led Palestinian commando had kidnapped the soldier Gilad Shalit in June 2006. The now 24-year-old has both the Israeli and French citizenship. Hamas calls in return for the release of Shalit, Israel frees more than a thousand Palestinian prisoners from prisons. Among them are Palestinians who had been convicted of involvement in terrorist attacks in Israel to life in prison.

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