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Israel facilitates delivery of building materials into Gaza Strip
28 trucks, each carrying 40 tons of cement yesterday entered the Gaza Strip from Israel. The materials are earmarked for rebuilding homes destroyed and damaged during Operation Protective Edge during the summer.
Israel restricted the entry of building materials into Gaza in October 2013 after it uncovered a large tunnel built by Hamas traversing the border which was designed to launch an attack. Dozens of such tunnels were destroyed by the IDF during Operation Protective Edge. Gaza imports were also restricted by Egypt, which closed the Rafah border crossing and destroyed hundreds of smuggling tunnels.
However, in September, Israel agreed a mechanism with the Palestinian Authority (PA) and the United Nations (UN), in order to allow building materials to enter Gaza without the fear that they would be appropriated by Hamas to build military infrastructure. Under this framework, last month 600 tons of cement, 10 trucks of metal and 50 trucks of additional building material entered Gaza from Israel via the Kerem Shalom border crossing.
Yesterday, a second delivery of building materials in 28 trucks crossed Kerem Shalom. Palestinian Authority official Raed Fatuh told AFP, “This is the biggest delivery of cement since the war [Operation Protective Edge] ended.” United Nations official in Gaza, Robert Serry said that the materials will give some 25,000 home-owners the opportunity to repair their homes. He commented, “In the coming weeks, all individuals in Gaza in need of building materials will be enabled to access the mechanism if they wish to do so.”
During the past several weeks, Israel has also facilitated the import of Gaza produce into the West Bank, including dates, cucumbers and sweet potatoes. The opening of the West Bank market is a potentially significant boost to Gaza’s economy. However, a long-term agreement on Gaza between Israel and Palestinian leaders has yet to be concluded. Talks scheduled last month in Egypt were postponed after Egyptian officials suspected Hamas’s complicity in a major terror attack on its forces in Sinai.