Frisking at the Erez Crossing
צילום: איי פי
Humanitarian entry permits doubled
Gaza Coordination Administration statistics show 40 percent rise in humanitarian-related traffic from Gaza into Israel, but human rights organization says almost no improvement has been made in movement of Palestinians to and from Gaza
GAZA STRIP - Israel nearly doubled the number of permits for Palestinians to enter Israel for humanitarian purposes during the first quarter of 2005, according to the IDF’s Gaza Liaison and Coordination Administration.
More than 10,500 permits were issued from January to March of this year, compared with half that amount in the corresponding period in 2004.
פועלים פלסטינים ב מחסום ארז (צילום: איי פי)
Most of the additional permits were granted to sick Palestinians and their escorts for treatment in Israel, to people trying visit sick relatives, and visitors of prisoners held in Israel.
4,500 people passed through the Erez Crossing in the northern Gaza Strip, a 40 percent rise over the same period last year.
In addition, the relative calm in recent months has allowed for increased efforts between international organizations and Administration officials and led to the easing of restrictions on the Palestinian population.
Coordination Administration Head Yoav Mordechai said, “The maintaining of calm on the ground is a basic condition for the continued development of humanitarian activity and economic growth.”
'No significant improvement'
The Administration claims fly in the face of a recently published report by human rights group B'tselem, saying Israel’s continued restrictions on the movement of people and goods from Gaza and the West Bank to Israel, and the world constitute a violation of Palestinian human rights and international law.
It is easier for a Palestinian to visit an imprisoned relative than to visit a relative who resides in Gaza, the report said.
The report also warned Israel must not attempt to avoid its responsibility toward Gaza residents following the disengagement.
“Despite the easing of restrictions that Israel declared following the Sharm el-Sheikh summit in February 2005, there has been almost no improvement in the movement of Palestinians to and from Gaza, nor in the movement of goods,” the report said.
Moreover, the report claims that due to the “economic siege” on Gaza, more than 77 percent of Gaza residents (1,033,500 people) now live below the poverty line - almost double the number before the intifada.
Some 23 percent of Gaza residents (over 323,000 people) are in “deep poverty,” meaning they do not reach the subsistence poverty line even after receiving aid from international agencies, the report said.
