BICOM

Key points                                                      

• Despite 25 rocket and mortar attacks on Israel since the ceasefire was declared in June, Israel has continued to facilitate the provision of aid and supplied utilities in Gaza.
• In the month since the ceasefire began, the number of truckloads entering Gaza through two of the main crossings increased by 54%, as compared to the previous month.
• The attacks of Hamas and other militant groups on Israel and their continued rejection of the peace process is preventing normal cooperation and borders functioning between Israel and Gaza. The responsibility lies with Hamas to accept international demands to renounce violence, recognise Israel, and accept previous agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

What is the threat posed to Israel from Gaza?

• Since Israel withdrew all military and civilian presence from Gaza in August 2005, 4,806 rockets were fired by Palestinian terrorists into Israel. In the first four months of 2008, the rate of rocket attacks was one every three hours.
• Despite a ‘ceasefire’ between Israel and Hamas that came into force on 19 June 2008, there have been 25 separate rockets and mortars fired from Gaza into Israel since then.
• Since 2004, 16 Israelis have been killed by Qassam rockets and hundreds have been injured and maimed.
• 92% of Sderot residents have experienced a Qassam falling on their or an adjacent street.
• Despite the current ceasefire, terror groups are making every attempt to smuggle weapons into the Gaza Strip to use against Israel. At the beginning of August, Egypt began destroying 20 tunnels that were used to smuggle arms and supplies from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.[i]

How is Israel working to provide supplies to Gaza?

• Despite the obstacles put in their way by Hamas and other militants who are launching attacks on the crossing points and Israeli towns, Israel is facilitating the supply of vital provisions to the people of Gaza on a daily basis.
• Gaza also shares a border with Egypt – at Rafah – but Egypt, in contrast to Israel, has kept their border almost completely closed.
• Since the ceasefire declared in June, Israel has increased the goods going into Gaza. The UN observer mission in Palestine reported on 22 July 2008: ‘The number of truckloads entering the Gaza Strip through the Sufa and Karni crossings increased by 54% during the four weeks following the ceasefire, as compared to the month before. Imports of cement increased substantially and met Gazan requirements for the reporting period.’
• A total of 3,197 truckloads of goods entered Gaza in July 2008, alone presenting a dramatic increase compared to the previous month (see Table).
• A total of 14,094,260 litres of fuel and 3,017,190 kg of gas were imported into Gaza through the Nahal Oz entry point in June; about 69% of the imported fuel was industrial gasoline needed for the power generation station, 29% was diesel and 2% was petrol.
• Each month Israel allows hundreds of medical patients from Gaza to enter Israel to receive medical treatment. More than 10,000 Gazans received permits to enter Israel for medical treatment in the first half of 2008.
• As mutual confidence in the ceasefire grows, Israel will be in a position to further increase the quantity and variety of goods entering Gaza.

Table: Goods entering Gaza from Israel in July 2008

 

 

Cargo type	Truckloads
Aggregates	1,307
Animal feed	293
Dairy and frozen products	238
Fertilised eggs	14
Fruit and vegetables	265
Live animals	62
Medical tools	26
Other goods	259
Packed cement	85
Foodstuff	199
Cooking oil	48
Wheat	166
Flour	145
Rice	9
Sugar	81
Total	3,747

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How are terrorists preventing the normal functioning of Gaza’s borders?

• The main difficulty in ensuring a normal flow of goods in and out of Gaza is the actions of Hamas and other terror groups. Hamas, which took control of the Strip by force, has refused to accept the Quartet principles of renouncing violence, recognising Israel, and accepting previous agreements between the two sides.
• Not only have Hamas and other groups rained a campaign of terror down on Israeli civilian towns, but they have targeted the very crossings which are used to bring goods into Gaza and which allow medical patients to cross into Israel for treatment. This has made the operation of the crossings substantially more dangerous and logistically more complicated. Examples of recent attacks include:i. 22 May 2008: a Palestinian bomber blew up an explosives-laden truck on the Palestinian side of the Erez crossing, causing substantial damage.ii. 20 April 2008: Hamas gunmen wounded 13 Israeli soldiers in an assault with mortar shells, explosives-laden vehicles and gunfire against the Kerem Shalom crossing.

  iii. 9 April 2008: Two Israeli civilian fuel truck drivers working at the Nahal Oz fuel depot – which supplies fuel to Gaza – were killed in an attack by Gaza militants.

• Terror groups have repeatedly exploited the flow of goods into and out of Gaza to attack Israeli civilians:
• December 2007: 6.5 tons of potassium nitrate, used to manufacture rockets and explosives, were discovered in sugar bags entering Gaza marked as EU humanitarian aid.
• March 2004: Two Hamas terrorists entered Israel from Gaza, hiding in a concealed compartment with children’s supplies and food, and blew themselves up, killing ten people and wounding 16 at Ashdod port.

Does Gaza’s maritime access hold specific security concerns?

• To prevent smuggling and terror activity, the waters off the Gaza Strip are patrolled by the Israeli Navy. In 1999, Israel agreed to the construction of a seaport for Gaza and construction began in 2000, but the outbreak of the Second Intifada halted the plan. In the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access, it was again agreed that construction of a seaport could begin; however, after Hamas took over control of the Gaza Strip, the agreement could not be implemented.
• Hamas has used fishing boats to smuggle weapons and operatives into Gaza. In May 2005, the Israeli Navy caught a Palestinian fishing boat smuggling in hundreds of kilograms of explosives.
• Israel also fears that terrorists holding Gilad Shalit may attempt to smuggle him out of Gaza via the sea.

Background: Israel and the Gaza Strip       

• Israel withdrew all civilian and military presence from Gaza in 2005 in an attempt to help create grounds for Palestinian sovereignty without Israeli control.
• In November 2005, Israel and the Palestinian Authority reached the Agreement on Movement and Access, giving Palestinians control over their borders for the first time and, in the case of Rafah (the border between Egypt and Gaza), without any Israeli presence on the ground. The agreement created a framework for greatly advancing movement and access in Gaza and the West Bank, including the import and export of goods and the movement of people.
• Unfortunately, after winning the elections in 2006 and eventually entering into a unity government with Fatah, Hamas achieved complete control of Gaza with a violent coup against Fatah in 2007. The absence of Israeli forces was used by Palestinian terror organisations to strengthen their hold over the area, and enhance the threat they pose to Israeli communities located around Gaza.

Map: Gaza Strip border crossings

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[i] Avi Issacharoff, “Egypt closes dozens of tunnels used by Gaza smugglers”, Haaretz, 11 August 2008. www.haaretz.com; and “Gaza Tunnel Collapse Kills Three”, BBC News, 11 August 2008. www.news.bbc.co.uk