More than one month has passed since
Israel’s declaration on the alleged easing of the closure regime imposed on the
Gaza Strip. However, to date, no changes
have taken place regarding the state of the border crossings, as they relate to
both the movement of persons and goods. Although the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) increased the amounts and
types of goods allowed into the Gaza Strip, most of these goods do not meet
even the minimal level of Gaza’s actual needs; goods which remain banned
include raw materials used for production and construction materials needed for
the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. Even if most of the items and goods were allowed into the Gaza Strip,
full economic recovery would remain impossible, as IOF continue to prohibit the
export of goods from Gaza. The Gaza
Strip will remain dependant on humanitarian aid due to the ongoing stoppage of
production and lack of development opportunities. The Palestinian Center for Human Rights
(PCHR) is concerned over institutionalization of the closure, as the
international community appears to accept Israel’s claim to have eased the
closure.

 

Statistics and data documented by
PCHR on the state of border crossings during the reporting period refute
Israeli claims with respect to the easing of the closure
imposed on the Gaza Strip and the reduction of restrictions imposed
on the entry of goods. IOF have
continued to impose a complete ban on the export of goods, and prevent the import
construction materials and raw materials needed for the development of the
economic sector in the Gaza Strip.[1] IOF have also continued to completely prevent
the movement of persons from the Gaza Strip to Israel and/or the West Bank,
including Jerusalem, excluding limited numbers of ‘humanitarian cases’.

 

According to PCHR’s observations,
there was no marked increase in the number of trucks allowed to enter Gaza in
spite of Israeli declarations to the contrary. The variety of goods allowed into the Gaza Strip increased slightly over
the past few weeks, particularly following the attack on the Freedom Flotilla,
to only 200 types out of 9,000 that used to be entered into the Gaza Strip
prior to mid June 2006. PCHR note that
most goods allowed into the Gaza Strip are consumables, except for limited
quantities of wood, aluminum, glass, electric and gas ovens, electricity
cables, air conditioners, construction materials, furniture, plastic chairs,
clothes and shoes.

 

The Israeli declaration on allowing
construction materials into the Gaza Strip for international organizations has
not been implemented on the ground. Mr.
John Ging, Director of UNRWA Operations in the Gaza Strip, stated that
construction materials allowed for UNRWA to be used for its projects do not
meet the Organizations minimum needs. He
further indicated that the situation in the Gaza Strip has not changed, as the
closure continues to be imposed. Mr.
Ging clarified that many projects in Gaza have been stopped, including projects
related to building and expanding UNRWA schools.[2] The UNRWA Spokesperson in Gaza declared that
UNRWA has been unable to reconstruct homes destroyed during the latest Israeli
offensive on the Gaza Strip as no construction materials are allowed into the
Gaza Strip. He emphasized that Israel’s
claims to now allow the entry of aggregates and other construction materials
has not been implemented on the ground. He further indicated that UNRWA distributes US$ 37 million to persons,
whose homes were destroyed, and pays the rents of apartments, where hundreds of
Palestinians live waiting for the reconstruction of their homes. The spokesperson added that UNRWA has many
projects in the Gaza Strip and is awaiting the entry of construction materials
needed to rebuild destroyed schools, clinics and homes to start the immediate
construction of 18 projects agreed on by Israel. The projects include schools and clinics,
which was agreed upon by Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United
Nations, and Ehud Barak, the Israeli Minister of Defense, during their
meeting. UNRWA has concluded building
150 housing units in the southern Gaza Strip, which have been under
construction for 3 years.

 

IOF also have continued to impose a
total ban on the export of all the Gaza Strip’s products, mostly intended for
the West Bank and Israel, since June 2007, when IOF tightened the closure
imposed on the Gaza Strip. The
continuous prevention of the export of the Gaza Strip’s products has resulted
in large losses to the majority of economic sectors, especially those which
depend on marketing their goods in the West Bank and Israel.  As a result, most industrial facilities have
been completely closed.

 

The closure imposed on the Gaza
Strip for more than three years constitutes a violation of international law. Expanding the list of items allowed into Gaza
does not change the illegality of this policy, which is inconsistent with
Israel’s legal obligations both as an Occupying Power and under international
human rights treaties to which it is party, such as the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights. The Quartet have noted that the situation of
the civilian population of Gaza is unsustainable, unacceptable and cannot be
resolved by providing increased humanitarian aid; therefore, as confirmed by
the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), there is no other
sustainable solution other than the complete, immediate lifting of the closure.^[3]

 

PCHR emphasizes that in order to put
an end to the severe crisis that is affecting Gaza, a dramatic change in
Israeli policy is needed.  The illegal
closure has caused not only a humanitarian crisis, but a crisis of human rights
and human dignity for the population of the Gaza Strip.  Measures declared recently to ease the
blockade are vague, purely cosmetic and fail to deal with the root causes of
the crisis, which can only be addressed by an immediate and complete lifting of
the closure, including lifting the travel ban into and out of the Gaza Strip
and the ban on exports. PCHR is concerned
that the new Israeli policy is simply shifting Gaza to another form of illegal
blockade, one that may become internationally accepted and institutionalized. Palestinians in Gaza may no longer suffer
from the same shortage of goods, but they will remain economically dependent
and unable to care for themselves, and socially, culturally and academically
isolated from the rest of the world.

 

The following is a summary of the
most significant developments relevant to Gaza’s border crossings during the
reporting period (16 – 31 July 2010):

 

 

 

· Beit Hanoun (Erez)
Crossing

 

IOF have continued to impose
restrictions on all categories of persons who are allowed to travel via Beit Hanoun
crossing, including patients suffering from serious medical conditions
and transferred to Israeli and/or Palestinian hospitals, Palestinians holding
Israeli ID, international journalists, workers of international humanitarian
organizations and those wishing to travel via al-Karama
International Crossing Point on the Jordanian border.  IOF had completely closed the crossing for
three days. The most significant
developments relevant to movement through Beit Hanoun crossing were as follows:

 

– IOF completely closed the crossing for the movement of
Palestinian civilians throughout the 16-day reporting period. The crossing was completely closed for three
days with respect to those limited categories of persons who were allowed to
travel via the crossing. In addition, it
was closed for five days for businesspeople and opened for only 10 days, during
which time 90 traders were allowed to pass via the crossing; i.e. a total
average of less than six traders daily. This is a sharp decline in comparison with the number of businesspeople
who were allowed to travel via the crossing, when an average of 10 traders
daily were allowed in the past to pass through the crossing. It should be noted that approximately 150
traders daily were allowed to travel via the crossing prior to June 2007.

 

– Patients’
Conditions: IOF
closed the crossing for Palestinian patients from Gaza who were transferred to
Israeli hospitals and/or Palestinian ones in the West Bank on 3 days. During
the partial opening of the crossing, only 350 patients were allowed to pass via
the crossing; i.e. an average of 22 patients daily – this figure represents 56%
of the total number compared to the first half of 2006. According to some
reports, Palestinian patients are being blackmailed by the General Security
Service’s members (Shabak).  Some
patients reported that the Shabak interrogators exploited their serious
health conditions to pressure them into giving the interrogators information
relevant to security matters.  As they
refused to do so, those patients were denied access to hospitals, which
aggravated their health conditions.

 

– Journalists,
Diplomats and Workers of International Humanitarian
Organizations:  IOF imposed a ban on access of
diplomats to the Gaza Strip for seven days. Journalists, media representatives
and workers of international humanitarian organizations were denied entry for
three days.  During the days on which the crossing was open, IOF allowed
approximately 50 journalists, 40 diplomats and 320 workers of
international humanitarian organizations to enter Gaza, often under very
complicated security procedures which resulted in delays of several days for
many of those allowed to enter.

 

– Prisoners’
Visitation: For
more than 38 months, IOF have prevented the families of Palestinians from the Gaza
Strip detained in Israeli jails from visiting their imprisoned relatives. 
There are approximately 800 Gazans detained in Israeli jails, and this denial
of family visits, imposed since 6 June 2007, constitutes a violation of
international law.  It should be noted that 150 of the prisoners from the
Gaza Strip had already been deprived of all visitation rights prior

 

 

to June
2007.  IOF attempt to justify such deprival of visitation rights by security
claims.  The prison visitation program was facilitated by the
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) until it was suspended by
Israel.

 

· Rafah International
Crossing Point

 

– During the reporting period, Rafah International Crossing
Point was partially opened for Muslims wishing to perform the pre-Ramadan pilgrimage. Humanitarian aid and limited categories of
persons, including patients who need medical treatment abroad, students
enrolled at universities abroad, people working abroad and holders of residency
permits in foreign countries, were allowed to enter via the crossing. During the reporting period, 5,500 persons
traveled abroad and 8,100 persons entered the Gaza Strip via the crossing,
while 450 were returned at the border by the Egyptian authorities, according to
the Palestinian Crossings and Borders Commission.  The number of persons who have traveled abroad
via Rafah International Crossing Point since it was opened on 2 June 2010 has
mounted to 19,900, while 23,900 persons entered the Gaza Strip and 3,120 have
been denied permission to cross the border by the Egyptian authorities.

 

– The Egyptian authorities declared the exceptional opening of
the Rafah International Crossing Point on 1 June 2010 after it had been closed
for Palestinians wishing to travel abroad for 991 days since it was closed by
IOF on 12 June 2007. It should be noted
that during the closure of the crossing point, the Egyptian authorities
occasionally allowed some limited categories of persons to enter the Gaza Strip
via the crossing for humanitarian reasons, including persons stuck on the
Egyptian side of the crossing point and patients who had received medical
treatment in the Egyptian hospitals.  In
addition, the Egyptian authorities allowed Arab and international delegations
to enter the Gaza Strip in groups to observe the humanitarian conditions and
the various impacts of the Israeli closure, including the suffering of the Palestinian
civilian population due to the ongoing closure.

 

· Karm Abu Salem
(Kerem Shalom) Crossing

 

– During the reporting period, Karm Abu Salem crossing was
partially opened for 11 days (73.3%), while it was completely closed for four
days (26.7%).  Karm Abu Salem crossing has been closed on 521 days since
18 August 2008, when the crossing was designated by Israel as the Gaza Strip’s
major commercial crossing.  According to the Ministry of Economy, the
following are the most significant developments related to the crossing during
the reporting period:

 

– During opening days the crossing, IOF allowed the entry of
1,460 truckloads of humanitarian aid, including food, blankets and medications provided
by international humanitarian aid organizations, including WFP, ICRC, UNRWA,
UNICEF and the Humanitarian Aid Office of the EU.  Food items for local
businesses were also allowed into the Gaza Strip via the crossing during the
time of its partial opening.

 

– IOF allowed the entry of 580 truckloads of goods that were
previously banned. They included
clothes, shoes, glass, refrigerators, electric and gas ovens, electricity
cables, construction tools, furniture, plastic chairs, aluminum and wood. These goods do not meet even
the minimal level of the needs of Gaza’s civilian population,
contrary to Israeli claims to double the number of truckloads allowed into the
Gaza Strip.

 

– Fuel: Following the complete closure of Nahal Oz crossing, which
was previously used for the delivery of fuel supplies into the Gaza Strip, IOF
opened Karm Abu Salem crossing for the delivery of limited quantities of fuel. 
As reported by the General Department of Petroleum to a PCHR researcher,
the delivery of fuel to the Gaza Strip during the reporting period was as
follows:

 

– IOF completely stopped supplying the Gaza Strip with the
industrial fuel needed for the Gaza Power Plant for six days.  During the days on which the crossing was
open, IOF allowed the entry of 1.7 million liters of industrial fuel to Gaza, a
quantity that sufficed to operate the Plant at less than 30% of its capacity
during the reporting period.  It should
be noted that the Gaza Strip depends on three sources of power: the Gaza Power
Plant, which provides 67-70 MW (34%); Israel, which provides 120 MW (58,5%);
and Egypt, which provides 17.5 MW.

 

– 1,620 tons of cooking gas were allowed into the Gaza Strip for
nine days, an average of 100 tons daily.  The supply of cooking gas to the Gaza Strip
stopped completely for seven days.  The
Gaza Strip’s daily need of gas is estimated at 350 tons in winter and 200 tons
in summer.

 

– IOF did not allow the entry of benzene. It should be noted that the entry of benzene
supplies had been 120,000
liters daily before IOF had reduced the quantities of
fuel supplies in October 2007. During
the reporting period, IOF allowed the entry of 95,000 liters of
diesel. It should be noted that before
reducing the quantities of fuel supplies in October 2007, Israel had permitted
the delivery of 350,000
liters of diesel to the Gaza Strip daily.  The Gaza Strip depends on the fuel smuggled
through the tunnels at the Egyptian-Palestinian borders.

 

· Al-Mentar (Karni)
Crossing

 

As reported by the Ministry of
Economy to a PCHR researcher, al-Mentar crossing was completely closed for the
supply of goods to and from the Gaza Strip for 13 days (81.2%), and it was
partially opened to allow the entry of limited quantities of imports for four
days (18.8%).  During the partial opening of the crossing, IOF permitted
the entry of 112 trucks, carrying 4,370 tons of grains, and 194 trucks,
carrying 7,560 tons of fodder, into the Gaza Strip.

 

In addition, they allowed the entry
of 700 tons of base course and 135 tons of cement for UNRWA’s use. However, IOF did not allow the entry of
construction materials for the Gaza Strip’s civilians, which refutes Israeli
claims on allowing construction materials into the Gaza Strip. These
quantities, however, do not meet the minimal level of the Gaza Strip’s needs
for a single day in normal conditions: the daily needs of the civilian
population in Gaza are estimated at 3,000 tons

 

 

 

of cement, 2,500 tons of aggregate
and 2,000 tons of iron.  Eng. Yasser
al-Shanti, from the Ministry of Public Works and Housing in Gaza, estimated
that the Gaza Strip urgently needs 1,100,000 tons of cement, 2,500,000 tons of
aggregates, and 200,000 tons of construction iron in order to meet the
immediate needs of reconstructing the Gaza Strip after three years of closure.[4] 

  

The number of days of complete
closure of the crossing has mounted to 839 since 13 June 2007, when Hamas took
over the Gaza Strip.  The closure of the crossing has resulted in the
deterioration of humanitarian conditions in the Gaza Strip and has negatively
impacted 1.5 million civilians living in the Gaza Strip.

 

 

Recommendations:

 

PCHR calls upon the international
community, particularly the High Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War, to:

 

1. Exert effective pressure on Israel to compel it to open all
of Gaza’s crossings, both those used for commercial purposes and those used for
civilian movement, to allow the civilian population of the Gaza Strip to
reconstruct the property that was destroyed during Israel’s latest offensive on
Gaza, and to enable the Civilian population of Gaza to enjoy their fundamental
civil and political rights, as well as their economic, social and cultural
rights.

2. Promptly and urgently intervene to open Rafah International
Crossing Point for those who wish to leave Gaza—including hundreds of patients
who require medical treatment abroad, students enrolled at universities abroad,
holders of residency permits in foreign countries, and other humanitarian
cases—and for those who are stranded in Egypt to return to Gaza if they wish.

3. Promptly and urgently intervene to ensure respect for the
provisions of international humanitarian law and international human rights
law, in order to put an end to the deterioration of living conditions across
the Gaza Strip.

4. Compel Israel to stop measures of collective punishment
against the civilian population of the Gaza Strip, including the closure of
Gaza’s border crossings.

5. Remind the State of Israel, the Occupying Power, of its
obligations towards the civilians of the Gaza Strip, under Article 55 of the
1949 Fourth Geneva Convention, which stipulates: “To the fullest extent of
the means available to it, the Occupying Power has the duty of ensuring the
food and medical supplies of the population; it should, in particular, bring in
the necessary foodstuffs, medical stores and other articles if the resources of
the occupied territory are inadequate. The Occupying Power may not
requisition foodstuffs, articles or medical supplies available in the occupied
territory, and then only if the requirements of the civilian population have
been taken into account”. The High Contracting Parties to the Fourth
Geneva Convention must fulfill their obligation under Article 1 of the
Convention, to ensure the implementation of the convention’s provisions by the
State of Israel, in order to ensure the protection of the Palestinian civilians
of the Gaza Strip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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For more information, please contact
the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights at [email protected]
or +972-(0)8-282-4776.