Related: Gaza in bad food shortage as key crossing with Israel closed¡¡¡¡

John Ging (1st R), director of the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) gestures in an empty grain depot in Gaza, on March 19, 2006. Israel has shut the Karni commercial terminal, the main cargo crossing and supply route between Israel and Gaza, which caused severe food shortages in the Gaza Strip.(Xinhua Photo)

    RAMALLAH, March 20 (Xinhua) -- Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat asserted on Monday that a quartet meeting over Israeli closure of Palestinian outlets in the Gaza Strip would be held later Monday in an effort to avoid humanitarian crisis.

    Erekat told the Voice of Palestine radio that the meeting to beheld at Kerem Shalom crossing, east of Rafah town in southern Gaza Strip, would be attended by Egyptian, Israeli, the U.S. and Palestinian officials.

    Kerem Shalom crossing, which is located inside Israel and at the corner of the border with Gaza and Egypt, might be opened immediately following the Monday's meeting, said Erekat, stressing the importance of U.S. help in the Palestinian-Israeli negotiation as Israel would allow only five to ten loaded-trucks into Gaza each day.

    "We know in advance the Israeli style of negotiations, therefore we said we need the Americans with us," Erekat added.

    Israeli newspaper Ha'aretz reported that Israeli and Palestinian officials and international peace brokers reached a temporary agreement on Sunday that humanitarian aid would enter the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing on the Gaza-Israel border.

    According to the report, representatives of the United States, the European Union and Egypt as well as Israeli and Palestinian officials attended the meeting in Tel Aviv to discuss how to ease severe shortage of food and other daily necessities in the Gaza Strip.

    The senior Palestinian official disclosed that another meeting between Palestinian, U.S. and Israeli officials would also be held on Monday to discuss the reopening of Karni industrial crossing, Erez and Sofa crossing.

    Israel has shut the Karni commercial terminal, the main cargo crossing and supply route between Israel and Gaza, out of security concerns. The Jewish state said it had no immediate plan to reopen it.

    As for Rafah crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border which has been closed since the European Union (EU) monitors withdrew from the crossing on Tuesday out of security concerns, Erekat said "we don't want to be surprised by the European monitors' departure from Rafah crossing" as EU monitors did in Jericho.

    The Israeli army raided Palestinian Jericho prison early lastTuesday, demanding the surrender of Ahmed Saadat, leader of theleftist Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), andfive other militants.

    The Palestinians have denounced that the prison, which underthe supervision of monitors from the two countries, were raided byIsraeli forces only 10 minutes after the monitors withdrew fromthe prison at 9:20 a.m. (0720 GMT).

    However, Erekat assured EU monitors that the Palestinian sidewould guarantee their safety. "We informed them that we are readyto protect you and to carry out all your demands." "We want to start exporting from Gaza Strip to Egypt, we wantfor the (Rafah) crossing to be opened around the clock as theEuropeans exist to protect it from shutting it down," he added. He worried that the Gaza Strip would returned to the stage offull closure if Israel insisted to closed down Rafah crossingfollowing the Europeans' withdrawal.

    Citing security concerns, Israel has closed the crossings formost of the past two months.

    Palestinians sources said serious food shortages in the GazaStrip have forced dozens of bakeries to close down their doors andrestaurants stopped offering meals as dozens of Palestinians stoodin long lines in front of few bakeries where there are some breadleft.

    Palestinian Minister of Economy Mazen Sonokrot has recentlywarned of a humanitarian disaster in the Strip because the wheatand flour have run out for days. Enditem