#GazaUnderSeige Note 2 critical issues: (1) Rafah still not opened completely; and (2) Building materials still not allowed in! The ceasefire negotiations that took place in Cairo have not yielded any substantial results for the Palestinians living in Gaza. ... Within the framework of the agreement reached in Cairo, the “Palestinian-Egyptian crossing,” as Egypt likes to call it, was excluded from the negotiations which only focused on crossings linking the Strip to the occupied territories. Meanwhile, local security sources have reported a steady increase in the amount of goods entering Gaza through the crossings with Israel. Contrary to the 2012 agreement, which allowed the Rafah crossing to be opened without the presence of the Palestinian Authority, Cairo has insisted this time that it will not open the crossing completely and will not allow it to function normally until it receives an official notification by the Palestinian Authority ensuring that it will be present on the crossing and along the borders with Egypt. ... Meanwhile, details about the functioning of the crossings with Israel and the type of materials allowed to pass through them have yet to be fully decided on, especially since building materials, crucial for the reconstruction process, have not been allowed in. .... Maher al-Tabba’a, a Palestinian economic expert, urged awareness of the goods that the occupation continues to ban. “Previously some (goods) were seized and destroyed under the pretext that they did not meet Israeli criteria, causing huge losses for Palestinian merchants,” he said. In an interview with Al-Akhbar, Tabba’a called on Palestinian negotiators to insist on “abolishing the list of materials barred from entering Gaza under the pretext that they are of dual use, and covers over 100 types of goods.” english.al-akhbar/content/opening-gaza’s-border-crossings-devil-details
Posted on: Tue, 02 Sep 2014 05:56:40 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015