Israel relaxes Gaza restrictions

2010-07-05 17:40

Jerusalem -  Israel on Monday dropped its long-standing restrictions on allowing consumer goods into the Gaza Strip but retained limits on desperately needed construction materials, redefining the rules of its heavily criticised Gaza embargo on the eve of the Israeli prime minister's trip to the White House.

The new rules, which come in response to an international outcry following a deadly Israeli raid on a blockade-busting flotilla, should bring some relief to Gaza's 1.5 million people.

The decision ends the use of a narrow and often arbitrary list of foods and consumer goods allowed into Gaza.

And in a boost to the moribund Gaza economy, officials also said some raw materials would soon be allowed to flow to Gaza's shuttered factories.

But prospects for rebuilding the damage from a punishing Israeli military offensive last year remain uncertain.

Materials like steel and cement, which Israel says can be diverted for use by the territory's ruling Hamas militants, would be allowed to enter only under Israeli supervision.

And Gazans will still remained largely confined to their tiny territory.

The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because the list was being released later on Monday.

Israel has been under intense international pressure to loosen its three-year embargo on Gaza since Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish activists in a May 31 raid on a flotilla carrying international activists trying to breach the blockade.

President Barack Obama, who is to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, has called for the blockade to be significantly eased.

Israel and Egypt closed Gaza's borders after the Islamic Hamas overran the territory three years ago.

But the blockade has failed in its goals of weakening Hamas or winning the release of an Israeli soldier held by Hamas militants since June 2006.

Sergeant Gilad Schalit's family, joined by thousands of supporters, has been marching across Israel for the past 10 days to press the Israeli government to free hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and win his release.

On Tuesday, an estimated 15 000 Israelis marched with the Schalits through Tel Aviv, snarling traffic in Israel's commercial and cultural center.

Israel has balked at Hamas' demand to free prisoners convicted in deadly attacks on Israelis. Security officials fear these prisoners will resume violent activities.

'Worthless' policy

Under its old blockade rules, Israel permitted only a few dozen types of products, including basic food and medicine, into the territory.

Now, everything will be allowed freely into Gaza, except for items on the list.

An official familiar with the list said items like iron, steel, cement, cinder blocks, chemicals, fertilizer, cement and jeeps would only be permitted in coordination with the rival Palestinian government in the West Bank, the United Nations and other international agencies overseeing construction projects.

Israel has previously allowed in only a trickle of construction materials for projects overseen by international aid agencies.

Because it isn't clear how much of these materials Israel will now allow in, it is hard to predict how significantly the new rules will help Gaza rebuild the damage caused by Israel's three-week military offensive in the winter of 2008-2009.

The operation, launched to stop Hamas rocket attacks, destroyed thousands of homes, buildings and public infrastructure.

In another complication, Israel says it will only allow in restricted materials with the approval of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' government, which has controlled only the West Bank since Hamas overran Gaza.

Israeli Defence Minister Ehud Barak met on Monday with Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad in Jerusalem to discuss the details of easing the blockade.

Sami Abu Zuhri, a Hamas spokesperson, said Israel's new policy was "worthless."

"The problem is not to approve new merchandise but to lift the blockade," Abu Zuhri said.

Barak told a parliamentary committee on Monday that a naval blockade on Gaza would remain in place to keep weapons from reaching Hamas, an official who attended the meeting said.

The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the hearing was closed.

Other obstacles also remain.

Colonel Moshe Levy, a top Israeli military official for the Gaza region, said Israel would ease its ban on raw materials for Gaza's devastated manufacturing sector.

But he said there were no plans to allow Gaza factories to begin exporting on a large scale.

The sanctions on the manufacturing sector have forced hundreds of factories to close and cost tens of thousands of jobs.

Levy also said there were no immediate plans to open Israel's three additional crossings with Gaza.

Israel currently operates one crossing on a daily basis.

Omar Sahaban, a Gaza-based economist, estimated that Gaza needs 3 million tons of cement and 600 000 tons of steel just to rebuild the damage.

"To do business, Gaza needs all crossings to be operating fully for two years, 24 hours a day, seven days a week, just to make up for what happened in the past three years and cater to natural growth," Sahaban said.

- AP