During the reporting period (March), the Israeli authorities continued to impose tightened restrictions on the movement of the Gaza Strip population as most of them are not allowed to leave or return to the Gaza Strip via the Beit Hanoun Crossing “Erez.” However, the Israeli authorities narrowly allow some categorioes such as patients of urgent cases and their companions who undergo a very long and complicated process in order to get the travel permit and tighitened security measures while traveling through the crossing. During March, the Israeli authorities stationed at Beit Hanoun “Erez” Crossing obstructed the travel of 711 patients out of the total 2002 permit applications (i.e. 35.5%) referred for treatment in the hospitals in Israel and West Bank. The Israeli authorities rejected those applications under several pretexts, including security reasons, changing the companions, delaying responses to the permits and asking for new appointments and asking patients for security interviews.
The Israeli authorities continued to ban the Gaza Strip exports for the 12th consecutive year, except for very limited quantities; most of them were agricultural products. The Israeli authorities also continued to impose restrictions on the entry of goods classified as “dual-use materials”, which are around 118 types and include hundreds of basic goods and commodities.
The full report is available online at:
https://pchrgaza.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/State-of-crossings-March-2019-English.pdf
