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A spokesman for Ashton cautiously welcomed the announcement. "It is true that the Israeli government has so far reacted positively to this request he told sources

Israel has maintained a strict closure of Gaza's borders since the elected Hamas government took full control of the territory in 2007. In late 2008 Israel also launched an attack on the territory which killed more than 1,400 Palestinians, including 420 children and injured over 5300 others

In December Israel banned a delegation of European MPs from entering Gaza after initially authorizing the visit

Irish Foreign Minister Micheal Martin however, managed to get in via Egypt in February after being denied permission by Israel

In New York on Monday Ban Ki-moon also confirmed that he will attend a meeting of the international Quartet of Middle East peace brokers (the EU, Russia, UN, and US) in Moscow on 19 March

Ban told reporters at UN headquarters that the will provide the Quartet with an opportunity to assess and encourage the earliest possible resumption of the proximity talks which will eventually, lead to direct negotiations between the parties

Ban also confirmed that he plans to attend the Arab League summit in Libya on 27 March