Photo: Yoav Zitun
Photo: Yoav Zitun
Dutch scanner comes to Gaza border crossings
Security device expected to speed up scanning process on the border, increasing daily shipments of supplies from 600 to 1,000.
The Dutch foreign minister inaugurated a security scanner Wednesday that he says will increase the truckloads of supplies that enter Gaza from Israel and speed up efforts to rebuild the territory.
Israel allows trucks carrying construction materials into the Gaza Strip under strict security measures. Dutch Foreign Minister Bert Koenders, who is visiting the region, said the scanner will ease the processing of the various materials.
More of these trucks are expected to reach Gaza with the new security scanner in place. (Photo: Roee Idan)
The addition of the scanner is part of an agreement with COGAT, the defense body that handles civilian issues with the Palestinians and which is involved in reconstruction efforts for Gaza.
Some 600 trucks cross into Gaza from Israel daily, according to COGAT. Some 1,000 trucks are expected to cross with the new scanner, according to COGAT and the Dutch Foreign Ministry.
Reconstruction efforts in Gaza have made little progress since last summer's war between Israel and Hamas and tens of thousands remain displaced. Others are still living in damaged apartments.
More than 2,200 Palestinian civilians and militants were killed in the war. On the Israeli side, 73 people were killed, most of them soldiers.
