International Condemnation of Israeli Violence Against the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla Forced Minor Easing of Land Blockade
After the brutal Israeli attack on the six ships in the 2010 Gaza Freedom Flotilla in which Israeli soldiers murdered 9 persons (8 Turkish citizens and 1 US citizen) and wounded 50, international condemnation of Israeli actions forced Israel to slightly ease the land blockade of Gaza. However, this modest improvement according to the UN is "very limited compared with the huge challenges generated by three years of blockade." UNRWA, the largest UN implementing agency has received Israeli approval for import into Gaza of construction materials for only 11 percent of its projects.
Tunnels Still Provide Majority of Construction Materials
According to a March, 2011 UN report, most of the construction materials for rebuilding Gaza are brought through tunnels under the Egyptian border. UN researched revealed that 31,000 tons of cement are brought through the tunnels each month, while only 1,600 tons are allowed through the Israeli border. 11,000 tons of steel come through the tunnels while 500 tons are allowed through the Israeli border. 56,000 tons of aggregate come through the tunnel, while18,500 tons are allowed through the Israeli border.
In a new industry that has sprung up in Gaza, local groups are making aggregate out of the rubble and are contributing 38,000 tons of aggregate each month. Using data collected in January, 2011, the report states that 200-300 tunnels are operational on a regular basis, about half the number from 2009, but the number of tunnels that are used exclusively for construction materials increased from 50 to 85. As many as 2,000 to 2,500 workers are employed in the tunnel industry. Even with the tunnels and local aggregate producers, the amount of construction material coming into Gaza is only 60 percent of the amount of materials coming into Gaza before the blockade, according to the report.
Many schools have not been rebuilt due to lack of materials--operating double
and triple shifts
The American International School after the January 2, 2009 Israeli
destruction of the school and now all rumble has been removed by hand and
salvageable materials used in rebuilding
Eighteen schools were totally destroyed in the Israeli attack and 250 schools damaged. Currently, 79 percent of Ministry of Education (MoE) schools and over 90 percent of UN schools are running on double or triple shifts. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNWRA) estimate at 260 new schools were needed to alleviate the pressure on schools--100 UNRWA schools and 160 Ministry of Education schools. UNRWA has received Israeli approval for the construction of only 20 schools and since Israel will not approve the construction of any MoE schools, materials for those schools must be brought through the tunnels. Since mid-2010, the MoE has been able to start or resume construction of only four of the 160 schools it needs.
Export of Goods from Gaza Stymied by the Israelis
On November 28, 2011, in the first exports allowed leave Gaza in over six months, the Israeli government allowed two trucks carrying strawberries to leave Gaza and pass through Israel for flights to Europe. The Dutch government funded the program to bring Gaza produce to European markets.
Exporting agricultural products to the West Bank or Israel from Gaza has been strictly prohibited since June of 2007, even though the produce that is exported to Europe enters Israel and undergoes full security screening en route to the Israeli seaport of Ashdod or Ben Gurion airport. Before Israel blockaded Gaza in 2007, 85% of the goods leaving Gaza were destined for Israel and the West Bank.
Gaza's strawberry export potential is some 2,300 tons per year. In 2005, 904 tons of cherry tomatoes were exported from Gaza, 140 times the amount the Israelis are planning to allow to be exported during the upcoming season.
In 2005 before the blockade, the Israeli government allowed 1,630 truckloads of vegetables, 205 truckloads of carnations and 643 truckloads of strawberries to be exported. However, according to UN statistics, in 2010, only one truckload of vegetables, 88 truckloads of carnations and 126 truckloads of strawberries were allowed to leave Gaza.
While we were in Gaza last week, we heard that a wood furniture-making business had received Israeli permission to export a shipment of specially made furniture to a partner in Europe. Suspiciously, the night before the trucks were to pick up the furniture for delivery to Israel for trans-shipment to Europe, the warehouse where it was stored, burned to the ground destroying all the furniture.
Prisoner Release from Israeli Prisons
While in Gaza we met some of the prisoners that were released in the exchange for Israeli soldier Gilapd Shalit who had been held in Gaza for five years since 2006. There were 477 Palestinian prisoners released in October 2011 and another 550 are to be released in December 2011.
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