Israel Revises Blockade Restrictions

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may have a crisis on his hands before he visits Washington on Tuesday: Turkey, long one of Israel’s closest allies in the Muslim world, has said it will cut ties with the Jewish state unless it apologizes for the May 31 flotilla raid that killed nine Turkish activists. Meanwhile, Israel has revised the blockade of the Gaza Strip that the protesters were trying to breach: From now on, it will allow consumer goods into Gaza; but it will continue to ban construction materials, which the Gazans say are needed to fix damage from last year’s war. Israel fears they could be used to build more gun-smuggling tunnels and defenses.