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Truckloads of goods passing through the Kerem Shalom land crossing, 2011
The import of goods into the Gaza Strip is restricted because of the blockade of the Gaza Strip by Egypt and Israel. Israel is accused by Palestinians of denying humanitarian supplies from aid organizations, including UN agencies, into the Gaza Strip in an effort to intentionally weaponize starvation against the people of certain areas of Gaza.
After Hamas won the 2006 election for the Palestinian Legislative Council, Israel and Egypt tightened the closure of Gaza's borders.[1] Israel says the reason for the restrictions on import of goods into the Gaza Strip is to pressure Hamas, which does not recognise Israel and backs attacks on its citizens.[1] Construction materials including metal pipes,[2] steel[3] and cement are regulated, because they can be used for building rockets and in constructing underground bunkers and tunnels.[2]
In September 2007, after an intensification of Qassam rocket attacks, Israel declared Gaza "hostile territory," and Israel began to monitor the supply of electricity, fuel, and other supplies into Gaza. The objective was to pressure Hamas into stopping the rocket attacks and to deprive them of the supplies necessary for the continuation of rocket attacks.[4][5][6][7] It argued that following the takeover of Gaza by Hamas and the intensification of Qassam rocket attacks, it is not legally responsible for Gaza and not obliged to help a hostile territory beyond whatever is necessary to avoid a humanitarian crisis.[8] Egypt also closed the Rafah Border Crossing in June 2007,[9] maintaining that it cannot fully open the Rafah crossing since completely opening the border would represent Egyptian recognition of the Hamas control of Gaza, undermine the legitimacy of the Palestinian National Authority and consecrate the split between Gaza and the West Bank.[10]
Imports through Egypt
The Rafah Border Crossing is the sole crossing point between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. It has been closed for the transfer of commercial goods since 2007, and Egypt maintained that it would only open the crossing if forces from the Palestinian Authority presidential guard and a European supervisory force returned to guard the border crossing.[11]
On 1 June 2010 the border was partially opened, and the Egyptian Red Crescent sent 30 tons of medicine across the border on 14 June. Egypt’s foreign ministry has made it clear that the crossing will remain open mainly for people, not for aid, to pass.[11] The Arab Physicians Union officials submitted a request to Egyptian authorities on 3 June 2010 to send 400 tons of food, blankets, electric generators for hospitals and construction material from Egypt to Gaza, but the request was denied by Egyptian authorities without specific reason. Emad Gad, political analyst at Egyptian Al-Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies, believes the government should keep the Rafah border under control because opening it completely could allow weapons smuggling or illegal financial transactions.[11]
Egypt does not limit the supply of gas and fuel, though since Egyptian fuel is heavier than Israeli fuel, it damages the newer cars in Gaza and causes malfunctions.[12]
Imports through Israel
List of items
Israel's blockade was initially more restrictive and has generally been softened over time.
Post-June 2010
On June 17, 2010, Israel agreed to ease restrictions on items permitted into the Gaza Strip.
List no. 1: Items Subject to Specific Permission
1. Arms and Munitions: forbidden transfer under all circumstances across Israel's frontiers without specific permits - as defined in the Control of Exports Security Order (Arms and Munitions) 5768-2008, and in the Control of Exports Security Order (Missile Equipment) 5768-2008.
2. Dual Use goods and items: liable to be used, side by side with their civilian purposes, for the development, production, installation or enhancement of military capabilities and terrorist capacities. This list comprises:
Items listed under the Wassenaar Arrangement: As specified in the updated (2008) "Wassenaar Arrangement on Export Controls for Arms and Dual Use Goods and Technologies - List of Dual Use Goods and Technologies and Munitions List."
Items whose entry into the PA Areas is controlled based on Israeli legislation: i.e. materials and equipment liable to be used for terror attacks and technology that could be used by terrorists - as defined in the Control of Exports Security Order (Controlled Dual Use Equipment Transferred to the PA Areas) 5768-2008 and in Orders of the OC Central Command.
These lists include, in detail, a range of chemicals used in the production of explosives (including certain fertilizers); specific types of metal profiles; ball bearings; lathes and their parts; composite materials; hunting knives and machetes; optical equipment, such as lasers and night vision goggles; certain navigation aides; diving equipment; parachutes, gliders and other nonmotorized airborne vehicles; flares and fireworks; avionics and flight control equipment; missile related computer technologies; rock drills and equipment drawing water from excavated sites. Items not necessarily included in the lists above but whose entry into Gaza is controlled, as detailed below:
i. Items and chemicals which could be used in the production of high trajectory weapons (rockets and mortars) by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza - Fertilizers or other mixtures - specifically containing KCl at more than 5%; Epoxy and Vinyl Ester resins; Hardeners for Epoxy Resins containing Amides or Amines; Accelerators for Vinyl Esters; HTPB; Water purification solutions at concentrations higher than 11%.
ii. Items used as raw materials for improving protection for terror activists - Fibers or woven fabrics containing Carbon or Glass variants.
iii. Vessels.
List No. 2: Construction Items and Materials to be Allowed Entry into Gaza only for PA-authorized Projects Implemented by the International Community
Israel will only permit their entry into Gaza to facilitate construction projects in Gaza which have been authorized by the PA and implemented and monitored by the international community. The often cited reason is that such materials could be used by Hamas for military purposes (building bunkers, fortifying positions and digging tunnels)
This list includes:
Portland cement and lime (in bulk, bags or barrels)
Natural and Quarry aggregates and all varieties of gravel
Iron for foundations and columns, at any diameter (including wielded steel nets)
Steel cables of any width
Forms for construction elements (plastics or galvanized iron)
Industrialized forms for casting concrete
Plastic or composite beams more than 4mm thick
Thermal isolation materials and products
Blocs (at any width) - Concrete; Silicate; Ytong or its equivalent; or gypsum
Materials and products for sealing structures
Asphalt and its components (Bitumen, emulsion) in aggregate or packaged
Steel elements or framing products for construction
Cast concrete elements and products for drainage over 1 m in diameter
Precast units and sea-borne containers
Vehicles, excluding private cars and including 4X4 vehicles and other categories of motor vehicles liable to be used in terror activities
Lumber beams and boards more than 2cm thick, (liable to be used in "offensive" tunneling aimed at penetrating Israeli territory), unless incorporated in finished products
Specific procedures, on a case by case basis, will be established so as to permit the transfer of such lumber for other purposes in Gaza.
Pre-June 2010
According to Amnesty International, the Economist, Haaretz and UN reports, prior to June 2010, the following were banned or restricted:
Food. According to a UN report, importation of lentils, pasta, tomato paste and juice has been restricted.[dead link][13] Pasta has since been allowed. Sugar has always been allowed.[12] Soda, juice, jam, spices, shaving cream, potato chips, cookies and candy are now permitted.[14] Fruit, milk products in small packages and frozen food products are also allowed.[12] Dry food,[15] ginger and chocolate were at one point barred.[16]
Household items. A4 paper,[16] crayons, stationery, soccer balls, and musical instruments have been, at times, banned for import.[15] AFP includes toilet paper as a banned good,[2] though the BBC lists it as permitted.[1] According to the Haaretz the following items were banned in 2009: books, candles, crayons, clothing, cups, cutlery, crockery, electric appliances such as refrigerators and washing machines, glasses, light bulbs, matches, musical instruments, needles, sheets, blankets, shoes, mattresses, spare machine and car parts, and thread.[12]
Reconstruction materials. Amnesty International and other organisations report that cement, glass, steel, bitumen, wood, paint, doors, plastic pipes, metal pipes, metal reinforcement rods, aggregate, generators, high voltage cables and wooden telegraph poles are high priority reconstruction materials currently with no or highly limited entry into Gaza through official crossings.[17] A UN report by Kevin M. Cahill said reconstruction was halted because of lack of steel, cement or glass, among other building materials.[13]
Fuel. Fuel had not been imported from Israel since 2008. While fuel is available from Egypt, in contrast to Israeli fuel, it damages the newer cars in Gaza and causes malfunctions. Israel allowed only limited amounts of industrial fuel into Gaza prior to June 2010.[12]
Agriculture and fishing. According to Gisha, fishing ropes and rods, ginger and chocolate, hatcheries and spare parts for hatcheries, were at one point barred.[16]
Medical material. Batteries for hearing aids have been restricted.[13] Wheelchairs, at various times, have been banned.[15]
According to the Haaretz, the number of items allowed into Gaza, as of May 2010, is about 100. Before the blockade, some 4,000 items were allowed. Gisha states that a large Israeli supermarket holds 10,000-15,000 items.[14]
Information about the blockade
A list of items which Israel allowed for commercial import has been compiled by the BBC[1] from information from international groups including Israeli Human Rights Organisation Gisha. Humanitarian organisations, including UN agencies, which also bring goods into Gaza have their items approved or rejected on "a case-by-case basis". The items allowed are always changing, and commercial and humanitarian importers, according to BBC, "are constantly attempting to guess what will be approved."[1]
Gisha have said that their list is approximate, partial and it changes from time to time because Israeli authorities refuse to disclose information regarding the restrictions on transferring goods into Gaza. Gisha acquires information from Palestinian traders, international organizations, and the Palestinian Coordination Committee, "all of whom "deduce" what is permitted and what is banned based on their experience requesting permission to bring goods into Gaza and the answers they receive from the Israeli authorities".[18]
In January 2010, the Israeli human rights group Gisha took Israeli authorities to court, it attempt to force them to reveal which goods were permitted and which goods weren't. The Israeli State denied it has "a list of permitted goods" for months. However, in its updated response to a petition [19] submitted by Gisha under the Freedom of Information Act, the State recently admitted that it does have a list of permitted goods and other documents relating to the transfer of goods to Gaza,[20] but claimed that revealing them would harm state security and/or Israel's foreign relations. A hearing to determine whether the documents should be revealed will be held in October 2010."[21]
Rationale
Israel says that the importation curbs are in place to pressure Hamas.[1]
An Israeli government document obtained in response to the lawsuit describes Israel's blockade as "economic warfare": "A country has the right to decide that it chooses not to engage in economic relations or to give economic assistance to the other party to the conflict, or that it wishes to operate using 'economic warfare'.[22] "An Israeli government spokesman in June 2010 added that the blockade is intended to bring about a political goal and that Israel "could not lift the embargo altogether as long as Hamas remains in control" of Gaza.[22]
In the past Israel expressed concerns about Hamas using building materials for military means.[1]
Reactions
In February 2009, then American Senator John Kerry (D-MA) visited Gaza and expressed his "astonishment" at the ban of items. Importation of pasta was allowed after that.[12]
The Gaza Strip, also known simply as Gaza, is a small territory located on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea; it is the smaller of the two Palestinian territories, the other being the West Bank, that make up the State of Palestine. Inhabited by mostly Palestinian refugees and their descendants, Gaza is one of the most densely populated territories in the world. Gaza is bordered by Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the east and north. The territory has been under Israeli occupation since 1967.
The Gaza–Israel barrier is a border barrier located on the Israeli side of the Gaza–Israel border. Before the Israel–Hamas war, the Erez Crossing, in the north of the Gaza Strip, used to be the only crossing point for people and goods coming from Israel into the Gaza Strip, with a second crossing point, the Kerem Shalom border crossing, used exclusively for goods coming from Egypt, as Israel didn't allow goods to go directly from Egypt into Gaza through the Egypt–Gaza border, except for the Salah Al Din Gate, opened in 2018.
The Gaza Strip smuggling tunnels are smuggling tunnels that had been dug under the Philadelphi Route along the Egypt–Gaza border. They were dug to subvert the blockade of the Gaza Strip to smuggle in fuel, food, weapons and other goods into the Gaza Strip. After the Egypt–Israel peace treaty of 1979, the town of Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, was split by this buffer zone. One part is located in the southern part of Gaza, and the smaller part of the town is in Egypt. After Israel withdrew from Gaza in 2005, the Philadelphi Corridor was placed under the control of the Palestine Authority until 2007, when Hamas seized power in 2007, and Egypt and Israel closed borders with the Gaza Strip.
The Philadelphi Corridor, also called Philadelphi Route, is the Israeli code name for a narrow strip of land, some 100 metres wide and 14 km long, situated along the entirety of the border between the Gaza Strip and Egypt.
This article describes transport in the State of Palestine, which consists of two non-contiguous territories, the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, different parts of which are administered by Palestinian National Authority, Hamas Administration in Gaza and Israel.
The Rafah Border Crossing or Rafah Crossing Point is the sole crossing point between Egypt and Palestine's Gaza Strip. It is located on the Egypt–Palestine border. Under a 2007 agreement between Egypt and Israel, Egypt controls the crossing but imports through the Rafah crossing require Israeli approval.
The Erez Crossing, also known as the Beit Hanoun Crossing, is a border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Israel. It is located at the northern end of the Gaza Strip, between the Israeli kibbutz of Erez and the Palestinian town of Beit Hanoun.
On 23 January 2008, Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip set off an explosion near the Rafah border crossing, destroying part of the 2003 wall. The United Nations estimates that as many as half the 1.5 million population of the Gaza Strip crossed the border into Egypt seeking food and supplies. Due to fears that militants would acquire weapons in Egypt, Israeli police went on increased alert.
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The 2008 Israel–Hamas ceasefire was an Egyptian-brokered six-month Tahdia "for the Gaza area", which went into effect between Hamas and Israel on 19 June 2008. According to the Egyptian-brokered agreement, Israel promised to stop air strikes and other attacks, while in return, there would not be rocket attacks on Israel from Gaza. Once the ceasefire held, Israel was to gradually begin to ease its blockade of Gaza.
The Protocol on Economic Relations, also called the Paris Protocol, was an agreement between Israel and the PLO, signed on 29 April 1994, and incorporated with minor amendments into the Oslo II Accord of September 1995.
"Freedom Flotilla II – Stay Human" was a flotilla that planned to break the maritime blockade of the Gaza Strip by Israel by sailing to Gaza on 5 July 2011. Ultimately, the sailing did not take place.
Kerem Shalom border crossing is a border crossing at the junction of two border sections: one between the Gaza Strip and Israel, and one between the Gaza Strip and Egypt. It is used by trucks carrying goods from Israel or Egypt to the Gaza Strip.
Hamas has governed the Gaza Strip in Palestine since its takeover of the region from rival party Fatah in June 2007. Hamas' government was led by Ismail Haniyeh from 2007 until February 2017, when Haniyeh was replaced as leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip by Yahya Sinwar. Until October 2024, Yahya Sinwar was the leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip. In January 2024, due to the ongoing Israel–Hamas war, Israel said that Hamas lost control of most of the northern part of the Gaza Strip. In May 2024, Hamas regrouped in the north.
Restrictions on the movement of Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories by Israel is an issue in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. According to B'Tselem, following the 1967 war, the occupied territories were proclaimed closed military zones. In 1972, general exit orders were issued allowing residents of those territories to move freely between the West Bank, Israel and the Gaza Strip. Following the First Intifada by 1991, the general exit orders were revoked, and personal exit permits were required. According to B'Tselem, a measure of overall closure of the territories was enacted for the first time in 1993, and would result in total closures following rises in Palestinian political violence.
The Egypt–Palestine border, also called Egypt–Gaza border, is the 12-kilometre (7.5 mi) long border between Egypt and the Gaza Strip. There is a buffer zone along the border which is about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) long.
The Agreement on Movement and Access (AMA) was an agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) signed on 15 November 2005 aimed at improving Palestinian freedom of movement and economic activity within the Palestinian territories, and open the Rafah Crossing on the Gaza–Egypt border. AMA was described as: ″an agreement on facilitating the movement of people and goods within the Palestinian Territories and on opening an international crossing on the Gaza-Egypt border that will put the Palestinians in control of the entry and exit of people.″ Part of the agreement was the Agreed Principles for Rafah Crossing.
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