Israel to allow all 'civilian' goods into Gaza

[SpArK]

Israel to allow all 'civilian' goods into Gaza​

JERUSALEM — Israel will allow all "civilian" goods into the Gaza Strip while still preventing weapons from entering the Hamas-run territory, a senior Israeli official said Sunday.
The new policy is a response to mounting calls to ease the four-year siege on the impoverished enclave after Israeli forces killed nine activists during a May 31 raid on a flotilla of aid ships attempting to run the blockade.
"We are committed to enable the flow of civilian goods to the civilian population in the Gaza Strip," a senior official in the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told AFP.
"From today, there is a green light for all goods to enter Gaza except for military items and material that can strengthen the Hamas military machine," the official said as Netanyahu was meeting with Middle East Quartet envoy Tony Blair to discuss easing the blockade.
The announcement came ahead of a planned July 6 meeting in Washington between Netanyahu and US President Barack Obama, who has called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "unsustainable."
Earlier in the day, Netanyahu met with his security cabinet to discuss "practical steps" to ease the restrictions, following their decision on Thursday to change Israel's policy, a statement from Netanyahu's office said.
The plan is reportedly based on understandings reached by Netanyahu and Blair that call for switching from a list of allowed items to a list of banned goods.
It would also allow the entry of more construction materials for UN projects to rebuild homes and infrastructure destroyed during a devastating 22-day war Israel launched on Gaza in December 2008 to halt rocket attacks.
Currently thousands of products -- some as banal as toilet paper and ginger -- are listed by Israel as constituting a "security" risk and prevented from reaching the territory's 1.5 million residents.
The list also includes construction materials, such as metal pipes and cement, which Israel fears could be used for building rockets and constructing underground bunkers and tunnels.
Israeli authorities had already expanded the list of permitted goods in recent weeks, allowing in snack foods, condiments and other household items.
Until now most such goods have been brought into Gaza through smuggling tunnels beneath the border with Egypt and sold at inflated prices, while Gaza's own private sector and factories have almost completely shut down.
The border closures came under renewed criticism after Israel's deadly commando raid on ships trying to run the blockade, in which nine Turkish activists were shot dead.
Israel has argued the closures -- imposed when one of its soldiers was seized by Gaza militants in a deadly June 2006 raid and tightened a year later when Hamas took over -- are needed to contain the Islamist movement.


AFP: Israel to allow more 'civilian' goods into Gaza: official

 

[SpArK]

Israel approves new list of goods banned from Gaza



JERUSALEM — An official says Israel is easing the blockade of Gaza by replacing a list of allowed items with a list of banned goods limited to weapons and materials deemed to have military uses.
The official says Israel's Security Cabinet approved the new system on Sunday. He said it means practically all non-military items can enter Gaza freely. For the past three years, Israel has allowed only basic humanitarian supplies in. No new list was released.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because no announcement has been made.
An Israeli raid on a flotilla carrying supplies and pro-Palestinian activists on May 31 has focused attention on the blockade and led to demands to lift or ease it. Israeli commandos killed nine activists.



The Associated Press: Israel approves new list of goods banned from Gaza