An Israeli legal watchdog demanded on Wednesday that authorities end the closure of the Gaza Strip, claiming it violates international prohibitions against collective punishment.

`We demand the immediate reversal of all restrictions on the transfer of fuel, cooking gas and humanitarian products into the Gaza Strip,` Gisha said in a letter to the Israeli military.

`The closure of the crossings is ... in violation of the absolute prohibition in international law against collective punishment`, Gisha attorney Yadin Elam wrote.

Israeli authorities tightened their blockade and completely sealed off the Palestinian territory on November 5 in response to rocket attacks by Gaza militants.

Since then it opened a fuel terminal for two days to allow the delivery of EU-funded diesel to Gaza`s sole power station, and let in 33 truckloads of basic supplies on Monday.

`Two weeks of closing Gaza`s crossings has even disrupted the provision of bread and water and caused electricity blackouts of up to 16 hours per day,` Gisha said.

`The closure of the crossings into the Gaza Strip is not undertaken to prevent a concrete threat against a specific crossing but is done with the illegal intention of inflicting pressure on the civilian population in an attempt to affect the behavior of militants and political elements,` it said.

On Tuesday, the Israel foreign ministry squarely blamed Hamas, the Islamist movement that seized power in Gaza in June 2007.

Hamas `invests all of its resources in arms and terrorism instead of providing for the civilians that it brutally controls,` the ministry said, pointing out that Gaza militants have fired more than 170 rockets and mortar rounds at Israel over the past 10 days.

Meanwhile, major foreign news outlets protested against Israel`s decision not to allow international journalists into Gaza over the past two weeks.

`We are gravely concerned about the prolonged and unprecedented denial of access to the Gaza Strip for the international media,` leading executives of nine media organisations, including AFP, said in a letter to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert.

`We would welcome an assurance that access to Gaza for international journalists will be restored immediately in the spirit of Israel’s longstanding commitment to a free press,` the letter said.