Maj. Gen. Yoram Halevy, coordinator of government activities in the territories (COGAT), sent an urgent letter Wednesday to senior international officials and Board of Peace Executive Director Nikolay Mladenov, alerting them that private merchants in Gaza had gone on strike over threats from Hamas and the oppressive taxation system it imposes on them. Halevy warned that the flow of goods into the Gaza Strip would drop by 50%, adding: "Hamas will try to blame Israel."
The dramatic move also followed an increase in direct threats against the lives of merchants who refuse to comply with the terrorist organization's demands. The letter was sent to Mladenov, Maj. Gen. Jasper Jeffers, commander of the International Stabilization Force for Gaza, and Ramiz Alakbarov, the U.N. humanitarian coordinator for the region.
According to the statement, the decision to strike came after members of Hamas' security apparatus arrested the son of a merchant whose father had refused to comply with the terrorist organization's demands for extortion payments and taxes.
According to the IDF, reports received from merchants indicate that Hamas demands a cash payment of approximately 10,000 shekels for every truck entering the Gaza Strip. It also requires merchants to sell require merchants to sell about 30% of their merchandise in cash transactions, a measure designed to enable Hamas to seize the proceeds directly and thereby preserving its grip on power.
Moreover, the practice directly violates the commitment made by merchants authorized to operate in Gaza to conduct payments exclusively through monitored bank transfers. Reports also indicate that the taxation system has recently been expanded to include secondary merchants and that Hamas intends to impose it even on drinking water supplies.
The merchants' strike directly undermines Israel's ability to meet its commitments. Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel is obligated to allow approximately 600 trucks into Gaza each day, divided roughly equally between international organizations and independent Gazan merchants. Because the private sector accounts for about 50% of all trucks entering the Gaza Strip each week, the strike is expected to reduce the daily flow by approximately 300 trucks, a drop of about 50%.
Hamas terrorists in Nuseirat
(Photo: Eyad BABA / AFP)
Three years into the war, Hamas remains standing, managing daily life for Gaza's residents and exerting significant influence over the entry of aid trucks. The IDF has acknowledged that it has so far failed to develop a system that would allow aid trucks to enter Gaza and reach residents without passing through Hamas' hands. There are concerns that the consequences of the strike — a de facto reduction in the flow of goods into Gaza — will intensify international criticism of Israel and further delegitimize its operations in the Gaza Strip.
In his letter, Halevy made clear that Hamas bears full responsibility and called on international officials to act immediately to prevent the terrorist organization from interfering with the mechanism for bringing aid and goods into Gaza and exploiting it to strengthen itself economically and militarily. Halevy also warned that Hamas would exploit the merchants' strike to spread false claims about shortages of goods and Israel's alleged failure to comply with the terms of the agreement.
Raids in the West Bank
Meanwhile, the IDF and Shin Bet security agency said they had uncovered cooperation between "charitable organizations" and terrorist groups in Judea and Samaria, the West Bank. During two targeted operations in Ramallah and Yatta, five terrorists who had collaborated with Hamas and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) were arrested. According to the IDF and Shin Bet, the "charitable organizations" served as offices for the terrorist groups.
'Break the siege.' Footage from the raid on the offices of the 'charitable organizations'
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
(Photo: IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
Earlier this week, IDF and Shin Bet forces raided the offices of the Addameer charitable organization in Ramallah. During the operations, suspects were arrested and computers, documents and checkbooks bearing the logos of organizations designated as Hamas-affiliated funds were confiscated. The IDF said Addameer is financed by terrorist funds and operates to provide legal assistance to imprisoned PFLP terrorists. Some of the terrorists employed by the organization took part in the August 23, 2019, terrorist attack at the Dani Spring, in which Rina Shnerb was murdered.
In another operation targeting centers of incitement and terrorism, IDF forces acting on Shin Bet intelligence raided the offices of the Islamic Association for the Care of Orphans, which has been designated an unlawful association, in the town of Yatta in the IDF's Judea Brigade sector of responsibility in recent weeks.
The detainees and seized materials were transferred to security forces for further investigation. The organization served as an organizational and financial arm of Hamas, including transferring funds to the terrorist group and supporting the families of terrorists and prisoners. The organization's director and other senior officials had also been imprisoned in the past.