BICOM

What happened: Israel will allow fiberglass to be imported into the Gaza Strip.

• The fiberglass will be used to restore and repair fishing boats. The plan is for the boats to be refurbished in a dry dock facility that was opened last week on the Gazan side of the Erez crossing, on the northern edge of the Gaza Strip.
• The work will be conducted under strict supervision. The site is fitted with cctv cameras, which will be continuously monitored remotely by Israeli officials. In addition UN inspectors will also be present on site.
• Until now fibreglass was not allowed into Gaza as it comes under the category of ‘dual usage’ as it can also be used to manufacture weapons.
• In September, Israel expanded the Gaza Strip’s fishing zone to 15 nautical miles,  the furthest distance Israel has permitted since Hamas took control in 2007.

Attack prevented: The easing of import restrictions coincides with an announcement last week that the Shin Bet Security Service prevented an attack emanating from the Gaza Strip.

• Fathi Ziad Zakout, a 31 year old resident of Rafah in the southern end of the Gaza Strip with a permit for work inside Israel, was arrested last month.
• According to the Shin Bet, he was sent by Palestinian Islamic Jihad to plant an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) on an Israeli bus line in the south of the country.
• According to their investigation, he was trained on IEDs by an explosives expert in the Gaza Strip, and began operating to collect materials for assembly of IEDs during his entries to Israel. The materials were seized during his arrest.
• A Shin Bet official said, “Israel will not tolerate attempts to exploit the civilian axis for the advancement of terrorist activity by terrorists in the Gaza Strip and will take strong action against such attempts, while holding Hamas responsible for activities emanating from the Gaza Strip.”
• Following his arrest, it was decided to revoke the work permits of approximately 200 Gaza Strip residents with family ties to terrorists.
• The outgoing government had a policy of expanding work permits to include 20,000 Palestinians from the Gaza Strip to work inside Israel.  The income these workers generate is considered a vital element of the Gazan economy.

In parallel: It was revealed last week that a five year old child from the Gaza Strip underwent life-saving surgery at a hospital in Israel.

• Amir Yahya Mabukh from the city of Jabalia was diagnosed at birth with a congenital heart defect due to a blockage in one of the arteries.
• The surgery was facilitated by the Israeli Save a Child’s Heart foundation, which arranges the transfer of children from the Gaza Strip and the West Bank to Israel to have life-saving procedures.
• Since 1995, the Save a Child’s Heart foundation has flown over 6,000 children to Israel for similar procedures from all over the world, including  from countries with no diplomatic ties with Israel. This was the three thousandth Palestinian child they have helped.
• According to the latest data from Gisha, an Israeli NGO that promotes freedom of movement for Palestinians, over 40,000 Gazans received entry into Israel last month.
• Also last week, the latest cash assistance from Qatar was distributed to 100,000 poor families in need in the Gaza Strip, $100 per family.
• The money transfers were facilitated by the UN in coordination with Israel, but aims to remove Hamas from the process.Israel eases import restriction into Gaza Strip