Americans for Peace Now welcomes the Israeli Cabinet's decision to ease the siege on the Gaza Strip as a positive step. What is now needed is devising a comprehensive regime that would provide security and international support for Israel, while allowing Gaza's civilian population greater normalcy.

Washington, DC - Americans for Peace Now welcomes the Israeli government's decision to form an independent commission to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Israeli military raid on the flotilla headed for Gaza on May 31.

APN President and CEO Debra DeLee commented: "Today's Security Council passage of a new round of sanctions against Iran sends a strong signal of international determination..., but what happens next is more important."

According to Israeli media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is reassessing elements of the blockade on the Gaza Strip.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) hopes that these accounts are true. A reassessment of the Gaza blockade is long overdue. The policy of blockading Gaza has failed. The blockade is bad for Israel and bad for peace. Israel's security needs are not met by the current approach. APN hopes that Netanyahu is in fact abandoning his dogmatic commitment to this failed policy.

What is needed today is a new strategy -- and a new security regime -- devised and implemented in coordination with the Obama Administration, the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, and the international community. The goal should be to replace the blockade, not to offer cosmetic tweaks.

For years, APN has called for the blockade to be replaced with a more sensible policy. We repeated that call this week. A policy statement APN released today made the case that the blockade is ineffective as a security measure, is fundamentally wrong, and is ultimately counterproductive.

APN is America's leading Jewish organization advocating for peace for Israel.