Press Release: Humanitarian crisis in Lebanon: Commissioner Michel’s visit to Tel Aviv to urge for Israeli action

Meeting Israel's Minister of Defence, Amir Peretz, in Tel Aviv on 17 August 2006, Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Louis Michel, urged Israel to bring to an immediate end its blockade of Lebanon so that urgently needed humanitarian aid can reach the people. Louis Michel also met with officers of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) responsible for IDF's Center for Coordination of Humanitarian Relief (CCHR), to discuss possibilities for expanded and improved access to the victims of the conflict in Southern Lebanon. He called for the respect of the international humanitarian rules that are designed to limit the effects of armed conflict on non-combatants. The Finnish Minister for Foreign Trade and Development, Paula Lehtomäki, representing the EU Presidency, accompanied Louis Michel on his visit.