'State preventing goods arrivals'
Photo: AP
Gaza merchants: Israel holding our stock
Palestinian merchants petition High Court claiming Haifa, Ashdod ports have been holding their commodities since Hamas takeover in 2007 due to orders from Defense Ministry, which is employing 'collective punishment' tactic
Seventy merchants employed by Palestinian companies in Gaza petitioned the High Court of Justice on Tuesday in a plea against Defense Minister Ehud Barak and the Israeli government, demanding to receive merchandise belonging to them, which they say has been held in Israel since the Hamas takeover in 2007
The merchandise is located in warehouses in Israel, and the State is refusing to allow their transport into the Strip, the petition claims.
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Palestinian businessmen have been importing goods such as electronic equipment and food into the Haifa and Ashdod ports and trading them in Gaza. But in June of 2007, after Hamas operatives seized power over the Strip, Israel announced closure on the area and refused to hand over the imported goods.
The petition claims that the ports have been holding the commodities and refusing to transport them to their rightful owners due to instructions from the Defense Ministry, while the companies continue to pay storage fees against their will.
The merchants complained that the State's orders are wreaking financial havoc on their companies, due not only to the payment of the fees but also to the fact that many of the goods are becoming damaged during the lengthy storage period.
The petition also claims that the initial reason for delaying the transfer of the commodities was an attempt at putting pressure on Hamas. The merchants wrote that the State's "blatant violation of laws regarding personal respect and property" was a collective punishment doing harm to Palestinian civilians.
